Udone-shima

Udone-shima

Native name: <span class="nickname" ">鹈渡根岛
Geography
Location	Izu Islands
Coordinates	34°28′21″N 139°17′38″E / 34.47250°N 139.29389°E
Archipelago	Izu Islands
Area	0.4 km^2 (0.15 sq mi)
Length	1,500 m (4,900 ft)
Width	550 m (1,800 ft)
Highest elevation	210 m (690 ft)
Country
Japan
Demographics
Population	0

Udone-shima (鹈渡根岛) is a volcanic, deserted island located in the Philippine Sea approximately 150 kilometres (93 mi) south of Tokyo in between Toshima and Nii-jima, in the northern portion of the Izu archipelago, Japan.

Geography

The island is the remnant of an andesite lava dome with sheer sides, the only visible portion of a submarine volcanic caldera. The above sea-level portion has a surface area of approximately 0.4 square kilometers, with a summit height of 210 metres (690 ft). The main island is surrounded by a number of rocks.

Despite its small size, the island was formerly inhabited during the Meiji period by a small community of fishermen who also engaged in sericulture. A small Shinto shrine still exists on the island.

Natural History

This island shares many similarities in its biodiversity in common with neighboring islands such as Nii-jima. Being surrounded by rough sea, vicinity to the island is rather difficult to visit in fact, and this made the natural environments of the islands and nearby atolls protected. Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins that newly inhabited around Udone-shima as their residential range has been expanded wider even onto Honshu coasts. Larger sharks inhabit the area. Historically, a breeding colony of now-extinct Japanese sea lions once existed on the island as well.

See also

• Izu Islands

External links

• Quaternary Volcanoes in Japan
• Entry at Oceandots.com at the Wayback Machine (archived December 23, 2010)