Mikata Five Lakes (Japanese: 三方五湖, Hepburn: Mikata-goko), also called the Five Lakes of Mikata, are a series of brackish and freshwater lakes located in Mihama and Wakasa, Fukui, Japan, which are close to the coast of Wakasa Bay. They consist of Lakes Mikata (三方湖), Suigetsu (水月湖), Suga (菅湖), Kugushi (久々子湖) and Hiruga (日向湖). These five lakes are all located in Wakasa Wan Quasi-National Park. In 2005 the lakes were designated as a Ramsar site. The Lake Suigetsu is famous for its varves, which were adopted as a global standard for dating geological and historical relics in 2012.[2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
![]() | This article may be expanded with text translated from the corresponding article in Japanese. (May 2018) Click [show] for important translation instructions.
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Mikata Five Lakes | |
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三方五湖 | |
IUCN category IV (habitat/species management area) | |
![]() Aerial Photo of Mikata Five Lakes Made based on National Land Image Information (Color Aerial Photographs), Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism | |
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Location | Japan |
Nearest city | Mihama, Fukui |
Coordinates | |
Ramsar Wetland | |
Official name | Mikata-goko |
Designated | 8 November 2005 |
Reference no. | 1549[1] |
Mikata Five Lakes refers to Lakes Maikata, Suigetsu, Suga, Kugushi and Hiruga. Lakes Mikata, Suigetsu and Suga, which are located in the southern part, are connected with each other via natural straits. In addition, Urami Canal built in 1664 connects Lake Kugushi with Suigetsu, and Saga Tunnel built in 1934 connects Lake Hiruga with Suigetsu.[5]
Name | Salinity | Surface area[6] | Elevation[6] | Max depth | Shore length |
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Lake Mikata | Fresh water[9] | 3.56 km2 (1.37 sq mi) | 0 m | 5.8 m [10] | 9.6 km (6.0 mi)[11] |
Lake Suigetsu | Brackish water[12] | 4.16 km2 (1.61 sq mi) | 0 m | 34 m [13] | 11 km (6.8 mi) [13] |
Lake Suga | Brackish water[6] | 0.91 km2 (0.35 sq mi) | 0 m | 13.0 m [14] | 4.2 km (2.6 mi)[11] |
Lake Kugushi | Brackish water[11] | 1.40 km2 (0.54 sq mi) | 0 m | 2.5 m [15] | 7.0 km (4.3 mi)[11] |
Lake Hiruga | Saline water[16] | 0.92 km2 (0.36 sq mi) | 0 m | 38.5 m [16] | 4.0 km (2.5 mi) [16] |
Lakes in Japan | |
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Hokkaido region | |
Tōhoku region | |
Kantō region |
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Chūbu region |
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Kansai region | |
San'in region | |
Kyūshū region | |
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