Information AboutMiyakejima |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT MIYAKEJIMA | |
| islands of tokyo | |
| volcanoes of japan | |
| izu-bonin volcanic arc | |
| stratovolcanoes | |
| active volcanoes | |
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Miyakejima (三宅島) is an Island in the Izu group, southeast of Honshu , Japan , administered by the Tokyo Metropolitan government. It is volcanic in origin, and the main Volcano , Mount Oyama, has erupted several times in recent history. A Lava flow in 1940 killed 11 people, and other eruptions occurred in 1962 and 1983 . {Link without Title} On July 14 , 2000 , Mount Oyama began another series of eruptions, and by September, the island was completely evacuated. After a four-year period of volcanic emissions, residents were allowed to return permanently on February 1 , 2005 . Miyakejima is famous for its traditional Taiko performances, known as ''kamitsuki kiyari taiko'', as well as being home to the rare endemic Izu Thrush (''akakokko''). {Link without Title} The island is home to an unusually rich flora and fauna with several rare species of birds and animals, although it's natural habitats are constantly under threat from human and volcanic activity. Underwater, the island is valued by divers for it's coral reefs and marine fauna (including the dolphin population outside nearby Mikurajima ). The island is accessible by ferry from Tokyo. There are also flights from Haneda airport. Jack Moyer In past years, foreign visitors were often greeted by local's with the query: "Jack friend?" During the Korean War , the U.S. airforce was using Onoharajima, a small rocky outcrop near Miyakejima, as a practice bombing range. U.S. serviceman Jack Moyer wrote a letter to an associate of President Truman to stop the bombing in order to save a rare seabird, the Japanese Murrelet, that breeds on Onoharajima (also known as Sanbodake). The bombing was stopped. Jack Moyer eventually moved to the island where he lived for over 50 years. Moyer eventually attained his doctorate in marine ecology from the University Of Tokyo . In 1996, he was awarded the Asahi Shimbun prize for his work on ocean ecology and the education of young children. Jack Moyer was a true naturalist, talking warmly about the nature on the Izu islands and promoting the need for preservation of the islands unique biology. Having spent so many years on the island he was painfully aware of the changes being brought by the modern day society. Construction of public roads and harbours claiming more and more of Miyakejimas forest areas and increasing car traffic and pollution of the sea was something he was deeply and wholeheartedly working against. With the other residents of the island, Moyer was forced to flee the island following the eruptions of Mount Oyama in 2000. Later, he was asked by the Tokyo Metropolitan government to survey the island. He concluded that the island's ecology was recovering. Dr. Moyer passed away in 2004. SEE ALSO |
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