Global Change Data Encyclopedia

Hokkaido Island, Japan

Chen, W. B.^1,2  Doko, T.^1,2  Shi, R. X.³  Liu, C.³

1. Keio Research Institute at SFC, Keio University, Fujisawa 2520882, Japan;

2. Nature & Science Consulting Co. Ltd., Yokohama 2310032, Japan;

3. Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China

Keywords: Hokkaido Island; Japan; data encyclopedia

Hokkaido Island is located at northern Japan, east of Asia continent. It is the island among Sea of Okhotsk, Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean. It is 42 km separated from Sakhalin Island by the Zonggu Strait (also known the Soya Strait) in the north, and 19 km from the Honshu Island by Tsugaru Strait in the south, and separated from Kuril Islands in the northeast. It is administrated by the Hokkaido county of Japan. The geolocation of Hokkaido Island is between 41°23′51″N and 45°31′23″N, 139°45′55″E and 145°49′02″E^[1] (Figure 1, 2).

Hokkaido Island is approximately diamond-shaped with a length of 413 km from north to south and 508 km from east to west. It is the second largest island in Japan with an area of 77,635.37 km² and a coastline of 3,753.26 km. Hokkaido has a temperate maritime climate. The average temperature in January is −4– −10 °C, the average temperature in August is 18–20 °C, and the annual precipitation is 800–1,200 mm^[2]. Snow covers from December to next March. Mount Asahi Volcano on the island, 2,290 m above sea level^[3]. Due to its special location at the seismic belt of Pacific Rim, earthquakes are frequent in the Hokkaido Island. Besides numerous earthquakes, the volcanoes are still considered active too.

Hokkaido Island is administratively under the jurisdiction of Hokkaido, Japan. Hokkaido has a low population density and beautiful natural scenery, and is a famous tourist destination in Japan. Major island cities include Sapporo, Hakodate, Asahikawa and Otaru. The main ports are Tomakomai Port, Muroran Port, and Kushiro Port. Major airports are New Chitose Airport, Hakodate Airport, Kushiro Airport, and Asahikawa Airport^[4].

Hokkaido island dataset is part of global multiple scale shorelines dataset^[5]. The dataset of Hokkaido Island was developed based on the Google Earth satellite images in 2015 and related maps. The dataset is archived in .kmz and .shp^[6] formats, consists of 17 data files with data size of 6.53 MB (compressed to two data files with 4.36 MB).

References

[1]       Chen, W. B., Doko, T., Shi, R. X., et al. Hokkaido Island [DB/OL]. Global Change Research Data Publishing & Repository, 2019. DOI: 10.3974/geodb.2019.06.19.V1.

[2]       Hokkaido [OL]. https://baike.so.com/doc/822099-869493.html.

[3]       Ma, J. X. World Atlas: Topographic Edition [M]. Beijing: China Map Publishing House, 2013.

[4]       Outline of Hokkaido Region (Japan Pass) [OL]. Https://www.517japan.com/viewnews-585.html.

[5]       Liu, C., Shi, R. X., Zhang, Y. H. et al. Global multiple scale shorelines dataset based on Google Earth images (2015) [DB/OL]. Global Change Research Data Publishing & Repository, 2019. DOI: 10.3974/geodb.2019.04.13.V1.

Data Computing Environment

[6]       ESRI. ArcGIS campus license of Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

URL for Data Downloading

http://www.geodoi.ac.cn/WebEn/doi.aspx?Id=1369.

Or search through: http://www.geodoi.ac.cn.