Kushiro River

The Kushiro (Japanese钏 路 川, Kushiro -gawa ) is a 154 km long river on the Japanese island of Hokkaidō. It springs from the Kussharo, an 80 -acre lake in the north of the sub-prefecture Kushiro, and flows in a southerly direction until it empties in the same city in the Pacific Ocean. In its course he drained especially the Kushiro Wetlands, the approximately 200 km ², the largest of Japan and is part belongs to the Kushiro - Shitsugen National Park.

Since the 1980s, the river along with surrounding areas is under enhanced protection and undergoes a series of conservation measures.

Course

The Kushiro springs from the Kussharo lake at 121 meters above sea level, near the town of Teshikaga. As a result, the river extends into the Kushiro Wetlands, in which he receives numerous tributaries of smaller channels. At its river system with a catchment area of ​​2510 km ² belong 38 rivers, including the Setsuri 59.8 miles and the Kuchoro 60.2 km in length, with him. In the district Kawakami he has also to the lakes Shirarutoro, Takkobu and Toro before he opens port in the port of Kushiro in the Pacific.

Conservation

After the river was straightened middle of the 20th century in many places to provide land for agriculture and industry, the area of the wetland reduced within 50 years by 20%. Under the Ramsar Convention, the Japanese Ministry of the Environment ordered the appropriate countermeasures. Thus, a formerly straightened river part was returned with a cost of eight million dollars back into an original, winding form. In addition, one tries in other projects to prevent the influx of sediments as well as to enhance the vegetation.

In the catchment area of ​​the Kushiros live about 2000 different species of animals, such as the highly endangered Red-crowned Crane or Japanese Danube salmon. The salmon populations of the river be maintained with artificial breeding stations.