Kume Island
Kume -jima (Japanese久 米 岛, Okinawaisch: Kumijima ) is an island of Okinawa islands in the Ryukyu Island chain.
Geography
The 59.11 km ² large island consists of two hills groups. The northern group with the Uegusuku -dake (宇 江城 岳) of 310.4 m height as the highest elevation was formed in the Pliocene and consists of andesite overlain by tuffartigem sandstone, siltstone tuffartigem, tuff and coarse sandstone. Separated by a plane, a southern group concurs with the Ara- dake (アーラ 岳) of 287.8 m as the highest elevation at which was formed in the Miocene andesitic.
The island is surrounded by coral reefs except the north coast. To the southwest, a coral reef extends about 6 km in length, consisting of the segments Nishime -saki (西 铭 崎), Iri - bishi, Naka- bishi, Uku - bishi - bishi and Mae. While Nishime - zaki and Iri - bishi constantly protrude above the water, dip the other segments only at low tide.
The island enjoys a subtropical climate with an annual average temperature of 22.4 ° C and an annual precipitation of 2200 mm.
Associated land masses
500 m east of the island Ou -shima [ Note is 1] (奥 武 岛, also Ō- shima, Ou -jima, Ō- jima ), another 250 m the island of Oha -jima (オーハ 島), also Agariō ( Jima ) (东 奥 武(岛), " East Oushima " ) and 300 m north-west of the island OHA -shima Ichunza - iwa (イチュンザ 岩).
These three islands are located within a coral reef, the (御 神 崎) is north of the islands a closed hook of more than 10 km in length to the eastern elevation Uganda zaki.
After that runs, but repeatedly interrupted even further south only as far south as Ou -shima, and then south-west to the southern tip of the island to the collection Shimajiri -saki (岛 尻 崎). The section between Uganda saki and OHA -jima forms three large single coral sand banks - Mēnuhama (メーヌ 浜, "front beach " ), Kuni no Hama (ナカノ 浜, "average beach " ) and Hate no Hama (はて の 浜/ハテ の 浜, " beach at the end " ), the latter being used as a collective name for all three - with a total length of 7 to 8 kilometers.
Between Iri - bishi and the island is the island Itachaku -jima (一 着 岛).
In addition there are several reefs, the largest has a land area of 0.82 km ², and six more with areas of at least 0.01 square kilometers ( one acre ) - these seven reefs have a total area of 1.49 km ².
Altogether there are thus to Kume -jima 16 smaller islands of at least one hectare of land area.
Management
Administratively, the islands belong to the municipality Kumejima, with March 31, 2011 Kume -jima of 8509 inhabitants was inhabited in 3821 households, Ou -shima by 27 people in 13 households and OHA -jima of 5 people in 3 households. 1960 lived on the latter island still 134 people.
Tourism
Kume -jima is known for its beaches. Mēnuhama, Kuni no Hama and Hate no Hama are 7-8 km long sand banks and thus Islands which consist exclusively of beach.
Stretches along the east coast of Kume -jima from height Ou -shima up half way after Shimajira -saki the sandy beach Eef Beach (イーフビーチ, IFU Bichi ), which was awarded in 1996 for its 2 km long fine white sand as one of the most beautiful beaches of Japan.
Another popular attraction is the Tatami - ishi (畳 石, " tatami stones " ), a 50 × 250 m large field of hexagonal stones that look like the pattern of a tortoise shell. These are a natural monument of the prefecture.
Tatami - ishi
Hate no Hama
Flora and Fauna
The northern group of hills the rivers Uraji -gawa -gawa and Shirase (白 瀬 川). There are also many small streams, as well as oxygen-rich ground waters. This water-rich ecosystem is home to many rare species, such as the 60 -cm-long living in the streams snake Opisthotropis kikuzatoi and the fireflies described until 1993 Luciola owadai, both of which occur only on Kume -jima, and the turtle Geoemyda japonica which refer only to Okinawa islands occurs. Therefore, this stream ecosystem is under protection and was declared in October 2008 for the Ramsar site. Other rare species are the Lidgecko Goniurosaurus kuroiwae yamashinae, the poison snake Sinomicrurus japonicus Takarai, the frog Rana okinavana, the violets Pigeon Columba janthina, the freshwater crabs Candidiopotamon kumejimense and Geothelphusa Kumejima, the beetle Allomyrina dichotoma inchachina and Prosopocoilus dissimilis kumezimaensis and the snail Satsuma mercatoria kumejimaensis. The vegetation is dominated by forests of Castanopsis sieboldii ssp appearances chestnut. lutchuensis and pine Pinus luchuensis.
History
While the Kingdom of Ryukyu Kume -jima was often used by Chinese messengers, called sapposhi, visited, who were on their way to Shuri on Okinawa. When the Ryukyu Kingdom was conquered in 1609 by Japan, the new rulers banished the old elites to the outlying island.
After the island was occupied in 1945 by the United States since September 14, 1962, a 2 -hectare area in the coral reef between OHA -jima and Uganda saki as a shooting test site Kume Jima Range (久 米 岛 射 爆 撃 场, Kume -jima shabakugekiba ) is used, first. by the U.S. Navy, from February 27, 1978 by the U.S. Air Force for ground attacks with aircraft in simulated instrument approach