All Topics  
Lake Biwa

 
Lake Biwa

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Lake Biwa
 
 
  Topics Lake Biwa Topic Home

, formerly known as Omi Lake, is the largest freshwater
Freshwater

Freshwater is a word that refers to bodies of water such as ponds, lakes, rivers and streams containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids....
 lake in Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
, located in Shiga Prefecture
Shiga Prefecture

is a Prefectures of Japan of Japan which is part of the Kansai region on Honshu Island. The capital is the city of Otsu, Shiga....
 (west-central Honshu
Honshu

or Honshu is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait....
), northeast of the former capital city of Kyoto
Kyoto

Sorry, no overview for this topic
. Because of its proximity to the ancient capital, references to Lake Biwa appear frequently in Japanese literature, particularly in poetry
Japanese poetry

Japanese poets first encountered Chinese poetry when it was at its peak in the Tang Dynasty. It took them several hundred years to digest the foreign impact, make it a part of their culture and merge it with their literary tradition in their mother tongue, and begin to develop the diversity of their native poetry....
 and in historical accounts of battles.

area of this lake is about 670 kmē, which is larger than Awaji Island
Awaji Island

is an island in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, in the eastern part of the Seto Inland Sea between the islands of Honshu and Shikoku. As a transit between those two islands Awaji originally means "the road to Awa province ", the historic province bordering the Shikoku side of the Naruto strait now part of Tokushima Prefecture....
.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Lake Biwa'
Start a new discussion about 'Lake Biwa'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


, formerly known as Omi Lake, is the largest freshwater
Freshwater

Freshwater is a word that refers to bodies of water such as ponds, lakes, rivers and streams containing low concentrations of dissolved salts and other total dissolved solids....
 lake in Japan
Japan

Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south....
, located in Shiga Prefecture
Shiga Prefecture

is a Prefectures of Japan of Japan which is part of the Kansai region on Honshu Island. The capital is the city of Otsu, Shiga....
 (west-central Honshu
Honshu

or Honshu is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait....
), northeast of the former capital city of Kyoto
Kyoto

Sorry, no overview for this topic
. Because of its proximity to the ancient capital, references to Lake Biwa appear frequently in Japanese literature, particularly in poetry
Japanese poetry

Japanese poets first encountered Chinese poetry when it was at its peak in the Tang Dynasty. It took them several hundred years to digest the foreign impact, make it a part of their culture and merge it with their literary tradition in their mother tongue, and begin to develop the diversity of their native poetry....
 and in historical accounts of battles.

Area and use

The area of this lake is about 670 kmē, which is larger than Awaji Island
Awaji Island

is an island in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, in the eastern part of the Seto Inland Sea between the islands of Honshu and Shikoku. As a transit between those two islands Awaji originally means "the road to Awa province ", the historic province bordering the Shikoku side of the Naruto strait now part of Tokushima Prefecture....
. Small rivers drain from the surrounding mountains into Lake Biwa, which serves as a reservoir for the cities of Kyoto
Kyoto

Sorry, no overview for this topic
 and Otsu
Otsu, Shiga

is the capital cities of Japan of Shiga Prefecture, Japan.As of February 2007 the city has an estimated population of 329,355 with an age average of 40.7 years and a population density of 880.49 persons per square kilometer....
 and is a valuable resource for nearby textile industries. It provides drinking water for about 15 million people in the region. Lake Biwa is a breeding ground for freshwater fish, including trout
Trout

Trout are a number of species of freshwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the Salmonidae family. Salmon belong to some of the same genera as trout but, unlike most trout, most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water....
, and for the pearl culture
Mariculture

Mariculture is a specialized branch of aquaculture involving the cultivation of marine organisms for food and other products in the open ocean, an enclosed section of the ocean, or in tanks, ponds or Raceway which are filled with seawater....
 industry.

The lake's surface rises as much as three metres in spring due to melting snow and spring rains, and in autumn after typhoon rains.

Its main outlet is the Seta River
Seta River

The , also called the Seta River and the Uji River at portions of its route, is the principal river in Osaka Prefecture on Honshu, Japan....
, which later becomes the Yodo River and flows into the Pacific Ocean at Osaka
Osaka

is a Cities of Japan in Japan, located at the mouth of the Yodo River on Osaka Bay, in the Kansai region of the main island of Honshu.Osaka is a City designated by government ordinance under the Local Autonomy Law and the capital city of Osaka Prefecture....
 Bay near the said city.

The Lake Biwa Canal
Lake Biwa Canal

is a waterway in Japan built during the Meiji Period in order to transport water, freight and passengers from Lake Biwa to the nearby Kyoto.This waterway was also used as Japan's first hydroelectricity, which served to provide electricity for Kyoto's trams....
, built in the late 1890's and later expanded during the Taisho period
Taisho period

The , or Taisho era, is a period in the history of Japan dating from July 30, 1912 to December 25, 1926, coinciding with the reign of the Taisho Emperor....
 played a role of great importance in the rekindling of Kyoto
Kyoto

Sorry, no overview for this topic
's industrial life, after a steep decline following the transfer of the capital to Tokyo
Tokyo

, officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan of Japan and located on the eastern side of the main island Honshu. The twenty-three special wards of Tokyo, each governed as a city, cover the area that was once the Tokyo City in the eastern part of the prefecture, and total over 8 million people....
.

Lake Biwa is home to many popular beaches along the southwestern shore, in particular, for example, Shiga Beach and Omi Maiko. The Mizunomori Water Botanical Garden
Mizunomori Water Botanical Garden

The Mizunomori Water Botanical Garden , also known as the Kusatsu Aquatic Botanical Garden, is a botanical garden specializing in aquatic plants and best known for its extensive Nymphaea display....
 is also of interest.

Natural history of the lake

Lake Biwa is of tectonic origin and is one of the world's oldest twenty lakes, dating to almost 4 million years ago. This long uninterrupted age has allowed for a notably diverse ecosystem
Ecosystem

An ecosystem is a natural unit consisting of all plants, animals and micro-organisms in an area functioning together with all of the non-living physical factors of the environment....
 to evolve in the lake. Naturalists have documented about 1100 kinds of living things in the lake, including 58 endemic
Endemic

Endemic, in a broad sense, can mean "belonging" or "native to", "characteristic of", or "prevalent in" a particular geography, race, field, area, or Natural environment; native to an area or scope....
 species, which means they are found nowhere else on earth. Lake Biwa is also an important place for water birds. About 5 thousand water birds visit Lake Biwa every year. Recently the biodiversity
Biodiversity

Biodiversity is the variation of life forms within a given ecosystem, biome, or for the entire Earth. Biodiversity is often used as a measure of the health of biological systems....
 of the lake has suffered greatly due to the invasion of foreign fish, the black bass
Black bass

Micropterus , is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. The type species is M. dolomieu, the smallmouth bass....
 and the bluegill
Bluegill

The Bluegill is a species of freshwaterfish sometimes referred to as bream, brim, or copper nose. It is a member of the sunfish family of order Perciformes....
. Bluegill were presented to the Emperor and later freed in the lake as a food source for other fish. Black bass were introduced as a sport fish.

Environmental legislation protecting the lake

Various environmental laws cover Lake Biwa:

Legislation to prevent eutrophication
Eutrophication

Eutrophication is an increase in chemical nutrients — compounds containing nitrogen or phosphorus — in an ecosystem, and may occur on land or in water....
 This was enacted in 1981 and first enforced on July 1, 1982; therefore, this day is called "Lake Biwa Day" . The legislation established standards for the nitrogen
Nitrogen

Nitrogen is a chemical element that has the symbol N and atomic number 7 and atomic mass 14.00674?. Elemental nitrogen is a colorless, odorless, tasteless and mostly inert diatomic gas at standard conditions, constituting 78% by volume of Earth's atmosphere....
 and phosphorus
Phosphorus

Phosphorus is the chemical element that has the symbol P and atomic number 15. The name comes from the and . A Valency nonmetal of the nitrogen group, phosphorus is commonly found in inorganic phosphate minerals....
 levels for agricultural, industrial, and household water sources emptying into the lake. They also banned people from using and selling synthetic detergent
Detergent

A detergent is a material intended to assist cleaning. The term is sometimes used to differentiate between soap and other surfactants used for cleaning....
s which contain phosphorus.

The Ramsar treaty
Biwa Lake
The lake was designated as a UNESCO
UNESCO

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on 16 November 1945....
 Ramsar Wetland (1993) in accordance with the Ramsar Convention
Ramsar Convention

File:RAMSAR-logo.gifThe Ramsar Convention is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable utilization of wetlands, i.e., to stem the progressive encroachment on and loss of wetlands now and in the future, recognizing the fundamental Ecology functions of wetlands and their economic, cultural, scientific, and recreational val...
. The object of this treaty is to protect and sensibly use internationally valuable wetlands
Marsh

In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland which is subject to frequent or continuous flood . Typically the water is shallow and features Poaceaees, Juncaceaees, Phragmites, typhas, Cyperaless, and other herbaceous plants....
. The Kushiro marsh (????, Kushiro Shitsugen) in Japan is under this treaty now.

Shiga Ordinance for the Conservation of Reed Vegetation Zones Reed
Phragmites

Phragmites australis, the common reed, is a large perennial plant Poaceae found in wetlands throughout temperate and tropical regions of the world....
 colonies on the shore form give Lake Biwa its characteristic scenery. The reeds play an important role in purifying water as well as providing habitat for birds and fish. At one time there were large areas of reeds along the shores of Lake Biwa, which local government surveys recently found to have halved in size due to encroaching development. This ordinance was established to protect, grow, and utilize the reed beds. It has been in force since 1992.

See also

  • Biwa
    Biwa

    The biwa is a Japanese short-necked fretted lute, and a close variant of the Chinese pipa. The biwa is the chosen instrument of Benzaiten, goddess of music, eloquence, poetry, and education in Japanese Buddhism....
    , a stringed instrument, which has a similar shape to the lake.
  • Birdman Rally
    Birdman Rally

    Birdman Rally is a competition for home-made glider aircrafts, hang gliders and human-powered transport. Depending on the venue, entries can range from very serious aircraft to mere costumes....
     (1977-), the yearly televised homemade glider
    Glider aircraft

    Glider aircraft are heavier-than-air craft that are supported in flight by the dynamic reaction of the air against their lifting surfaces, and whose free flight does not depend on an engine....
     and human-powered flight
    Human-powered transport

    Human-powered transport is the transport of person and/or goods using human muscle power. Like animal-powered transport, human-powered transport has existed since time immemorial in the form of walking, running and swimming....
     competition.
  • F.C. Mi-O Biwako Kusatsu, football club based in Kusatsu, Shiga
    Kusatsu, Shiga

    is a cities of Japan located in Shiga Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on October 15, 1954, and as of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 123,690 and the population density of 1,820 persons per km?....
    , facing the lake.


External links