Lake Hamana

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Lake Hamana
Lake Hamana - Landsat image
Landsat image
Location Shizuoka Prefecture
Coordinates 34°44′28″N, 137°34′11″ECoordinates: 34°44′28″N, 137°34′11″E
Basin countries Japan
Surface area 65.0 km²
Max. depth 16.6 m
Water volume 0.35 km³
Surface elevation 0 m

Lake Hamana (浜名湖 Hamanako?) in Shizuoka Prefecture is Japan's tenth largest lake (by area). It spans the boundaries of the cities of Hamamatsu and Kosai and the town of Arai.

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[edit] Data

The lake has an area of 65.0 km² and holds 0.35 km³ of water. Its circumference is 114 km. At its deepest point, the water is 16.6 m deep. The surface is at sea level.

[edit] Economic activity

Lake Hamana is a commercial source of cultivated Japanese eel, nori, oysters and Chinese soft-shelled turtles. Fishers take sea bass whiting, and flounder, among others. The lake has been developed as a resort area, with boating as a feature.

[edit] History

In ancient times, Lake Hamana was a fresh-water lake. However, a great earthquake in 1498 altered the topography of the area. As a result, the water in the lake is now brackish.

The old name for this lake is Tohotu-afumi (遠つ淡海?), which means "distant fresh-water lake." The name was changed to Tōtōmi (遠江?). From the perspective of the capital in the Kinki region, Tōtōmi is more distant than Lake biwa, the "nearby lake." The name, Tōtōmi, was also used for a former province in which the lake is located,.

[edit] Source

This article incorporates material from the article 浜名湖 (Hamanako) in the Japanese Wikipedia, retrieved on December 11, 2007.

[edit] External links