Shimokita Hantō Quasi-National Park Explained

Shimokita Hantō Quasi-National Park
Alt Name:	下北半島国定公園
Iucn Category:	V
Map:	Japan Aomori Prefecture#Japan
Relief:	1
Location:	Honshū, Japan
Nearest City:	Mutsu
Coordinates:	41.5258°N 140.9236°W
Area:	18728ha
Established:	July 22, 1968
Governing Body:	Aomori, prefectural governments

is a quasi-national park in the Shimokita Peninsula of Aomori Prefecture in the Tōhoku region of far northern Honshū in Japan. It is rated a protected landscape (category V) according to the IUCN.^[1] The park, consists of several discontinuous locations, which include:

• the volcanic peaks and caldera lakes of the Osorezan Mountain Range and surrounding forests.
• Yagen Valley, with its hot springs
• the coastal rock formations of Hotokegaura on the west coast of Shimokita Peninsula
• Cape Ōma, the northernmost point of Honshū
• Cape Shiriya, the northeasternmost point Honshū and the Sarugamori Sand Dunes
• Taijima, an island off the coast of Wakinosawa

The park also encompasses a portion of the natural habitat of the Japanese macaque. The mountainous interior is forested with Siebold's beech and Nootka cypress, and coastal areas have stands of tilia and oak.^[2] The area was designated a quasi-national park on July 22, 1968.

The borders of the park span the municipalities of Mutsu, Higashidōri, Sai, and Ōma.^[3]

Like all Quasi-National Parks in Japan, Shimokita Hantō Quasi-National Park is managed by the local prefectural government.^[4]

See also

• List of national parks of Japan

References

• Southerland, Mary and Britton, Dorothy. The National Parks of Japan. Kodansha International (1995).

External links

• • Maps of Shimokita Hantō Quasi-National Park

Notes and References

1. Web site: Shimokita Hanto . World Database on Protected Areas. United Nations Environment Programme, World Conservation Monitoring Center. 2009-10-05.
2. Web site: List of Quasi-national Parks. 1994-03-31. Official Home Page of the Ministry of the Environment. Ministry of the Environment Government of Japan. 2009-10-05.
3. Web site: http://www.pref.aomori.lg.jp/nature/nature/kouen_shimokita.html . ja:下北半島国定公園 . Shimokita Hantō Quasi-National Park . Japanese . . 23 August 2012.
4. Web site: National Park systems: Definition of National Parks. National Parks of Japan. Ministry of the Environment of the Government of Japan. 2008-08-29. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110323131611/https://www.env.go.jp/en/nature/nps/park/system/teigi.html. 2011-03-23.