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Iriomote (西表島 Iriomote-jima) is the largest of the Yaeyama Islands and the second largest in Okinawa Prefecture after Okinawa Island itself.
Despite an area of 289 sq.km. the island's total population is less than 2,000, and infrastructure is limited to a single coastal road connecting the hamlets on the northern shore. The island does not have even an airstrip, and most visitors — over 150,000 in 2003 — arrive from Ishigaki by ferry. Administratively the island belongs to Taketomi District, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan.
Geography and climate
Iriomote has a subtropical marine climate. The average yearly temperature is 23.4°C (74.1°F), and the average monthly temperature ranges from 17.6°C (63.7°F) in January to 28.4°C (83.1°F) in July. Iriomote has a typhoon season that, on average, runs from June to September.
90% of the island is covered by dense subtropical jungle and mangrove swamps. 80% of the island is protected state land, and 34.3% of the island forms the Iriomote National Park. The highest point on the island is Mt. Komi (古見岳 Komidake) at 470 meters.
The island is famed for the Iriomote Cat (Felis iriomotensis or Prionailurus bengalensis iriomotensis; Japanese: 西表山猫 Iriomote-yamaneko), an endangered nocturnal wildcat found only on Iriomote and considered by some to be its own species. There are estimated to be only about 100 Iriomote cats left in the wild.
Culture
The Iriomote dialect of the Yaeyama language is spoken by some on the island.
History
Until the end of World war II, Iriomote was largely uninhabited due to its infestation by malaria. It was used primarily as agricultural land to grow rice. Additionally, during the war some residents of Ishigaki were forcibly made to take refuge in Iriomote, some of whom contracted malaria.
After the war, the US Forces in Japan eradicated malaria from the island, and the island has been malaria free since.
External links
"Iriomote"