| Ganghwa Island | |
|---|---|
Ganghwa in winter. |
|
Map showing location of Ganghwa Island. |
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| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 강화도 |
| Hanja | 江華島 |
| Revised Romanization | Ganghwado |
| McCune–Reischauer | Kanghwado |
| Statistics | |
| Area | 302.4 km2 (116.8 sq mi) |
| Population | 65,500 (est.) |
| Population density | 216.6/km2 (561/sq mi) |
Ganghwa Island is an island in the estuary of the Han River, on the west coast of South Korea. Ganghwa Island is separated from Gimpo, on the mainland, by a narrow channel, which is spanned by two bridges. The main channel of the Han River separates the island from Gaeseong in North Korea.
About 65,500 people live on the island. With an area of 302.4 km², it constitutes most of Ganghwa County, a division of Incheon Municipality. About half of the island's population reside in Ganghwa-eup, Ganghwa Town, in the northeastern part of the island. The island's highest point is Mani-san, 469 meters above sea level. It is the 5th largest island in South Korea.
Historically, it is significant as being the location of separate punitive incursions by the French, Americans, and Japanese when Korea was emerging from isolation.
Contents |
| Climate data for Ganghwa (1981−2010) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 1.2 (34.2) |
4.1 (39.4) |
9.4 (48.9) |
16.3 (61.3) |
21.3 (70.3) |
25.4 (77.7) |
27.5 (81.5) |
29.0 (84.2) |
25.3 (77.5) |
19.3 (66.7) |
11.2 (52.2) |
4.1 (39.4) |
16.2 (61.2) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | −3.8 (25.2) |
−1 (30) |
4.3 (39.7) |
10.7 (51.3) |
15.9 (60.6) |
20.3 (68.5) |
23.5 (74.3) |
24.5 (76.1) |
19.8 (67.6) |
13.4 (56.1) |
6.0 (42.8) |
−0.8 (30.6) |
11.1 (52.0) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −8.7 (16.3) |
−6.1 (21.0) |
−0.9 (30.4) |
5.1 (41.2) |
10.8 (51.4) |
15.8 (60.4) |
20.4 (68.7) |
20.8 (69.4) |
15.1 (59.2) |
7.8 (46.0) |
0.8 (33.4) |
−5.6 (21.9) |
6.3 (43.3) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 17.7 (0.697) |
19.2 (0.756) |
39.6 (1.559) |
66.9 (2.634) |
108.8 (4.283) |
123.4 (4.858) |
358.2 (14.102) |
326.6 (12.858) |
165.4 (6.512) |
51.2 (2.016) |
50.7 (1.996) |
18.8 (0.74) |
1,346.7 (53.02) |
| % humidity | 66.1 | 63.0 | 62.9 | 62.8 | 69.5 | 75.3 | 82.7 | 80.3 | 74.8 | 69.9 | 68.2 | 67.3 | 70.2 |
| Avg. precipitation days (≥ 0.1 mm) | 5.7 | 4.7 | 6.2 | 6.7 | 8.4 | 8.7 | 13.9 | 12.0 | 7.3 | 5.7 | 7.0 | 6.6 | 92.9 |
| Sunshine hours | 179.8 | 188.3 | 218.3 | 233.3 | 241.4 | 221.0 | 173.2 | 201.3 | 214.4 | 220.4 | 170.0 | 165.9 | 2,431.5 |
| Source: Korea Meteorological Administration [1] | |||||||||||||