Sea of Japan
Encyclopedia
The Sea of Japan is a marginal sea
of the western Pacific Ocean
, between the Asia
n mainland, the Japanese archipelago
and Sakhalin
. It is bordered by Japan
, North Korea
, Russia
and South Korea
. Like the Mediterranean Sea
, it has almost no tide
s due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific Ocean. This isolation also reflects in the fauna species and in the water salinity
, which is lower than in the ocean. The sea has no large islands, bays or capes. Its water balance is mostly determined by the inflow and outflow through the straits connecting it to the neighboring seas and Pacific Ocean. Few rivers discharge into the sea and their total contribution to the water exchange is within 1%.
The seawater is characterized by the elevated concentration of dissolved oxygen
that results in high biological productivity. Therefore, fishing is the dominant economic activity in the region. The intensity of shipments across the sea has been moderate owing to political issues, but it is steadily increasing as a result of the growth of East Asian economies. A controversy
exists about the sea name, with South Korea promoting the appellation East Sea.
defines the limits of the "Japan Sea" as follows:
sea when the land bridge
of East Asia
existed.
Onset of formation of Japan Arc was in Early Miocene
. Early Miocene period also corresponds to incipient opening of the Japan Sea, and the northern and southern parts of the Japanese archipelago
that were separated from each other. During the Miocene there was expansion of Sea of Japan. The northern part of the Japanese archipelago was further fragmented at later periods until the orogenesis of the northeastern Japanese archipelago began in the later Late Miocene
. The southern part of the Japanese archipelago remained as a relatively large landmass. The land area had expanded northward in the Late Miocene. The orogenesis of high mountain ranges in the northeastern Japan started in Late Miocene and it lasts in Pliocene
also.
Nowadays it is bound by the Russian mainland and Sakhalin
island to the north, the Korean Peninsula
to the west, and the Japan
ese islands of Hokkaidō
, Honshū
and Kyūshū
to the east and south. It is connected to other seas by five strait
s: the Strait of Tartary
between the Asia
n mainland and Sakhalin; La Pérouse Strait
between the islands of Sakhalin and Hokkaidō; the Tsugaru Strait
between the islands of Hokkaidō and Honshū; the Kanmon Straits
between the islands of Honshū and Kyūshū; and the Korea Strait
between the Korean Peninsula
and the island of Kyūshū. The Korea Strait is composed of the Western Channel and the Tsushima Strait
, on either side of Tsushima Island
. The straits were formed in recent geologic periods. The oldest of them are the Tsugaru and Tsushima straits. Their formation had interrupted the migration of elephants into the Japanese islands at the end of the Neogene
Period (about 2.6 million years ago). The most recent is La Perouse Strait. Its formation about 60,000 to 11,000 years ago had closed the path used by the mammoths which had earlier moved to the northern Hokkaidō. All the straits are rather shallow with a minimal depth of the order of 100 meters or less. This hinders water exchange thereby isolating the water and aquatic life of the Sea of Japan from the neighboring seas and oceans.
The sea has a surface area of about 978,000 km² (377,600 sq mi), a mean depth of 1,752 m (5,748 ft) and a maximum depth of 3,742 m (12,276 ft). It has a carrot-like shape, with the major axis extending from southwest to northeast and a wide southern part narrowing toward the north. The coastal length is about 7,600 km with the largest part (3,240 km) belonging to Russia. The sea extends from north to south for more than 2,255 km and has a maximum width of about 1,070 km. It has three major basins: the Yamato Basin in the southeast, the Japan Basin in the north and the Tsushima Basin
(Ulleung Basin) in the southwest. The Japan Basin is of oceanic origin and is the deepest part of the sea, whereas the Tsushima Basin is the shallowest with the depths below 2,300 meters. On the eastern shores, the continental shelves of the sea are wide, but on the western shores, particularly along the Korean coast, they are narrow, averaging about 30 kilometers.
There are three distinct continental shelves in the northern part (above 44°N). They form a staircase-like structure with the steps slightly inclined southwards and submerged to the depths of 900–1400, 1700–2000 and 2300–2600 meters. The last step sharply drops to the depths of about 3,500 meters toward the central (deepest) part of the sea. The bottom of this part is relatively flat, but has a few plateaus. In addition, an underwater ridge rising up to 2,300 meters runs from north to south through the middle of the central part.
The Japanese coastal area of the sea consists of Okujiri Ridge, Sado Ridge, Hakusan Banks, Wakasa Ridge and Oki Ridge. Yamato Ridge is of continental origin and is composed of granite
, rhyolite
, andesite
and basalt
. It has uneven bottom covered with boulders of volcanic rock. Most other areas of the sea are of oceanic origin. Seabed down to 300 meters (1,000 ft) is of continental nature and is covered with a mixture of mud, sand, gravel and fragments of rock. The depths between 300 and 800 meters (1,000–2,600 ft) are covered in hemipelagic sediments (i.e., of semi-oceanic origin); these sediments are composed of blue mud rich in organic matter. Pelagic sediments of red mud dominate the deeper regions.
There are no large islands in the sea. Most of the smaller ones are located near the eastern coast, except for Ulleungdo
(South Korea). The most significant islands are Moneron
, Rebun
, Rishiri
, Okushiri
, Ōshima, Sado
, Okinoshima
, Ulleungdo
, Askold, Russky
and Putyatin. The shorelines are relatively straight and are lacking large bays or capes; the coastal shapes are simplest for Sakhalin and are more winding in the Japanese islands. The largest bays are Peter the Great Gulf
, Sovetskaya Gavan
, Vladimira, Olga
, Posyet
in Russia, East Korea Bay
in North Korea and Ishikari
(Hokkaidō), Toyama and Wakasa (Honshū) in Japan. Prominent capes include Lazareva, Peschanyi (sandy), Povorotny
, Gromova, Pogibi, Tyk, Korsakova, Crillon
, Sōya
, Nosappu, Tappi, Nyuda, Rebun
, Rishiri
, Okushiri
, Daso
and Oki
.
The sea climate is characterized by warm waters and monsoons. This combination results in strong evaporation, which is especially noticeable between October and March when the strong (12–15 m/s or higher) northwestern monsoon wind brings cold and dry continental air. The evaporation is blown further south causing snowfall in the mountainous western coasts of Japan. This winter monsoon brings typhoons and storms with the waves reaching 8–10 meters which erode the western coasts of Japan. Tsunami
waves were also recorded in the sea. In addition, the monsoon enhances the surface water convection, down to the depths of 30 meters. The coldest months are January and February with the average air temperature of −20 °C in the north and 5 °C in the south. The northern one-quarter of the sea, particularly the Siberian coast and the Strait of Tartary, freezes for about 4–5 months. The timing and extent of freezing vary from year to year, so ice may start forming in the bays as early as in October and its remains may be seen even in June. Ice cover is continuous only in the bays and forms floating patches in the open sea. Ice melting in spring results in cold currents in the northern areas.
In summer the wind weakens to 2–7 m/s and reverses its direction, blowing warm and humid air from the North Pacific onto the Asian mainland. The warmest month is August with the average air temperature of 15 °C in the north and 25 °C in the south. Annual precipitation increases from 310–500 mm in the north-west to 1,500–2,000 mm in the south-east.
A peculiar turbulent cloud pattern, named Von Karman vortices, is sometimes observed over the Sea of Japan. It requires a stable field of low clouds driven by the wind over a small (isolated) and tall obstacle, and usually forms over small mountainous islands. The Sea of Japan meets these conditions as it has frequent winds and cloudy skies, as well as compact, tall islands such as Rishiri
(1,721 m), Ulleungdo
(984 m) and Ōshima (732 m).
The sea currents circulate in the counterclockwise direction. The Kuroshio (Japan Current), the Tsushima Current and the East Korea Warm Current bring warmer and more saline water to the north. There they merge into the Tsugaru Current and flow into the Pacific Ocean through the Tsugaru Strait. They also feed the Sōya Current and exit through the La Perouse Strait to the Sea of Okhotsk. The returning branch is composed of the Liman, North Korea and Central (or Mid-) Japan Sea currents which bring fresh and cold water along the Asian coast to the south.
Water temperature is mostly affected by exchange with the atmosphere in the northern part of the sea and by the currents in the southern part. Winter temperatures are 0 °C or below in the north and 10–14 °C in the south. In this season, there is a significant temperature difference between the western and eastern parts owing to the circular currents. So at the latitude of Peter the Great Gulf, the water temperature is about 0 °C in the west and 5–6 °C in the east. This east-west difference drops to 1–2 °C in summer, and the temperatures rise to 18–20 °C in the north and 25–27 °C in the south.
As a result of the enclosed nature of the sea, its waters form clearly separated layers which may show seasonal and spatial dependence. In winter, the temperature is almost constant with the depth in the northern part of the sea. However, in central-southern parts, it may be 8–10 °C down to 100–150 m, 2–4 °C at 200–250 m, 1.0–1.5 °C at 400–500 m and then remain at about 0 °C until the bottom. Heating by the sun and tropical monsoons increases the depth gradient in spring–summer. So in the north the surface layer (down to 15 m) may heat up to 18–20 °C. The temperature would sharply drop to 4 °C at 50 m, then slowly decrease to 1 °C at 250 m and remain so down to the seabed. On the contrary, the temperature in the south could gradually decrease to 6 °C at 200 m, then to 2 °C at 260 m and to 0.04–0.14 °C at 1000–1500 m, but then it would rise to about 0.3 °C near the bottom. This cold layer at about 1000 m is formed by sinking of cold water in the northern part of the sea in winter and is brought south by the sea currents; it is rather stable and is observed all through the year.
The hydrological isolation of the Sea of Japan also results in slightly lower average water salinity (34.09‰, where ‰ means parts per thousand) compared with the Pacific Ocean. In winter, the highest salinity at 34.5‰ is observed in the south where evaporation dominates over precipitation. It is the lowest at 33.8‰ in the south-east and south-west because of frequent rains and remains at about 34.09‰ in most other parts. Thawing of ice in spring reduces water salinity in the north, but it remains high at 34.60–34.70‰ in the south, partly because of the inflow of salty water through the Korea Strait. A typical variation of salinity across the sea in summer is 31.5‰ to 34.5‰ from north to south. The depth distribution of salinity is relatively constant. The surface layer tends to be more fresh in the sea parts which experience ice melting and rains. The average water density is 1.0270 g/cm3 in the north and 1.0255 g/cm3 in the south in winter. It lowers in summer to 1.0253 and 1.0215 g/cm3, respectively.
Few rivers flow into the Sea of Japan from mainland Asia, the largest being Tumen
, Rudnaya, Samarga, Partizanskaya
and Tumnin; all of them have mountainous character. In contrast, numerous large rivers flow from Honshū and Hokkaidō into the sea, including Japan’s four largest rivers in the Shinano
, Ishikari
, Agano
and Mogami
. The total annual river discharge into the sea is 210 km3 and is relatively constant through the year, except for a minor increase in July. Most water (97% or 52,200 km3) flows into the sea through the Korea Strait and discharges through the Tsugaru (64% or 34,610 km3), La Pérouse (10,380 km3) and Korea straits. Rainfall, evaporation and riverine inflow make only 1% of the water balance. Between October and April, the outflow exceeds the inflow due to the lower income through the Korea Strait; this balance reverses between May and September.
The sea has complex tide
s, which are induced by the tidal wave of the Pacific Ocean penetrating through the Korea Strait and Tsugaru strait. The tides are semi-diurnal (rise twice a day) in the Korea Strait and in the northern part of the Strait of Tartary. They are diurnal at the eastern shore of Korea, Russian Far East
and the Japanese islands of Honshū and Hokkaidō. Mixed tides occur in Peter the Great Gulf
and Korea strait. The tidal waves have a speed of 10–25 cm/s in the open sea. They accelerate in the Korea Strait (40–60 cm/s), La Pérouse Strait (50–100 cm/s) and especially in the Tsugaru Strait (100–200 cm/s). The amplitude of the tides is relatively low and strongly varies across the sea. It reaches 3 meters in the south near the Korea Strait, but quickly drops northwards to 1.5 meters at the southern tip of Korean Peninsula and to 0.5 meters at the North Korean shores. Similar low tides are observed in Hokkaidō, Honshū and south Sakhalin. The amplitude however increases to 2.3–2.8 meters toward the north of the Strait of Tartary due to its funnel-like shape. Apart from tides, the water level also experiences seasonal, monsoon-related variations across the entire sea with the highest levels observed in summer and lowest in winter. Wind may also locally change the water level by 20–25 cm; for example, it is higher in summer at the Korean and lower at the Japanese coasts.
The sea waters have blue to green-blue color and a transparency of about 10 meters. They are rich in dissolved oxygen, especially in the western and northern parts, which are colder and have more phytoplankton
than the eastern and southern areas. The oxygen concentration is 95% of the saturation point near the surface, it decreases with the depth to about 70% at 3,000 meters.
The high concentration of dissolved oxygen results in the rich aquatic life of the Sea of Japan - there are more than 800 species of aquatic plants and more than 3,500 animal species, including more than 900 species of crustaceans, about 1000 of fish and 26 of mammals. The coastal areas contain several kg/m2 of biomass. Pelagic
(oceanic) fishes include saury
, mackerel, Jack mackerels
, sardines, anchovies, herring, sea bream
, squid and various species of salmon and trout. The demersal (sea-bottom) fishes include cod
, pollock
and Atka mackerel
. Mammals are represented by seals and whales, and the crustaceans by shrimps and crabs. Because of the shallow straits connecting the sea with Pacific Ocean, the sea of Japan has no characteristic oceanic deep-water fauna. Flora and fauna unique to the region near the Sea of Japan are known as "Japan Sea elements".
s between Japan and South Korea over Liancourt Rocks
and between Japan and Russia over the Kuril Islands
. It is also reflected in various legends, such as the legend of the Heishi rock
, which says that once when herring vanished, an old fairy threw a bottle with a magic water into the sea, and the herring returned. The bottle got stuck to the seabed and turned into a rock, which became a representation of the God of the Sea of Japan.
Vladivostok
is a base for the Russian whaling fleet. Although it operates in the northern seas, its production is processed and partly distributed in the Vladivostok area. Vladivostok is also a terminal point of the Trans-Siberian Railway
which brings much goods to and from this major port. There is a regular ferry service across the Strait of Tartary between the Russian continental port of Vanino
and Kholmsk
in Sakhalin.
The sea has magnetite
sands as well as natural gas
and petroleum
fields near the northern part of Japan and Sakhalin Island. The intensity of shipments across the sea is moderate, owing to the cold relations between many bordering countries. As a result, the largest Japanese ports are located on the Pacific coast, and the significant ports on the Sea of Japan are Niigata, Tsuruta
and Maizuru
. Major South Korean ports are Busan
, Ulsan
, and Pohang
situated on the southeastern coast of the Korean Peninsula, but they also mainly target countries not bordering the Sea of Japan. The major Russian port of Vladivostok mainly serves inland cargos, whereas Nakhodka
and Vostochny
are more international and have a busy exchange with Japan and South Korea. Other prominent Russian ports are Sovetskaya Gavan
, Alexandrovsk-Sakhalinsky
and Kholmsk
, and the major ports of North Korea are Wonsan
, Hamhung
and Chongjin
. The intensity of shipments across the Sea of Japan is steadily increasing as a result of the growth of East Asian economies.
and the Korean Peninsula. In 1803–1806, the Russian navigator Adam Johann von Krusenstern
while sailing across the globe in the ship Nadezhda also explored, in passing, the Sea of Japan and the eastern shores of Japanese islands. In 1849, another Russian explorer Gennady Nevelskoy
discovered the strait between the continent and Sakhalin and mapped the northern part of the Strait of Tartary. Russian expeditions were made in 1853–1854 and 1886–1889 to measure the surface temperatures and record the tides. They also documented the cyclonal character of the sea currents. Other notable expeditions of the 19th century include the American North Pacific Exploring and Surveying Expedition
(1853–1856) and British Challenger expedition
(1872–1876). The aquatic life was described by V. K. Brazhnikov in 1899–1902 and P. Yu. Schmidt in 1903–1904. The Japanese scientific studies of the sea began only in 1915 and became systematic since the 1920s.
The use of the term "Sea of Japan" as the dominant name is a point of contention. South Korea wants the name "East Sea" to be used, either instead of or in addition to "Sea of Japan;" while North Korea prefers the name "East Sea of Korea".
The primary issue in the dispute revolves around a disagreement about when the name "Sea of Japan" became the international standard. Japan claims the term has been the international standard since at least the early 19th century, while the Koreas claim that the historical name is "East Sea" and the term "Sea of Japan" arose later while Korea was under Japanese rule
.
Marginal sea
The term marginal sea has differing meanings. In one sense the term is equivalent to territorial waters. In another sense the term indicates a partially enclosed sea adjacent to or widely open to the open ocean, but bounded by submarine ridges...
of the western Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, between the Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n mainland, the Japanese archipelago
Japanese Archipelago
The , which forms the country of Japan, extends roughly from northeast to southwest along the northeastern coast of the Eurasia mainland, washing upon the northwestern shores of the Pacific Ocean...
and Sakhalin
Sakhalin
Sakhalin or Saghalien, is a large island in the North Pacific, lying between 45°50' and 54°24' N.It is part of Russia, and is Russia's largest island, and is administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast...
. It is bordered by Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
and South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
. Like the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
, it has almost no tide
Tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun and the rotation of the Earth....
s due to its nearly complete enclosure from the Pacific Ocean. This isolation also reflects in the fauna species and in the water salinity
Salinity
Salinity is the saltiness or dissolved salt content of a body of water. It is a general term used to describe the levels of different salts such as sodium chloride, magnesium and calcium sulfates, and bicarbonates...
, which is lower than in the ocean. The sea has no large islands, bays or capes. Its water balance is mostly determined by the inflow and outflow through the straits connecting it to the neighboring seas and Pacific Ocean. Few rivers discharge into the sea and their total contribution to the water exchange is within 1%.
The seawater is characterized by the elevated concentration of dissolved oxygen
Oxygen saturation
Oxygen saturation or dissolved oxygen is a relative measure of the amount of oxygen that is dissolved or carried in a given medium. It can be measured with a dissolved oxygen probe such as an oxygen sensor or an optode in liquid media, usually water.It has particular significance in medicine and...
that results in high biological productivity. Therefore, fishing is the dominant economic activity in the region. The intensity of shipments across the sea has been moderate owing to political issues, but it is steadily increasing as a result of the growth of East Asian economies. A controversy
Sea of Japan naming dispute
The international name for the body of water which is bordered by Japan, North Korea, Russia, and South Korea is disputed. The Japanese government supports the use of the name "Sea of Japan", while South Korea supports the name "East Sea", and North Korea supports the name "East Sea of Korea"...
exists about the sea name, with South Korea promoting the appellation East Sea.
Extent
The International Hydrographic OrganizationInternational Hydrographic Organization
The International Hydrographic Organization is the inter-governmental organisation representing the hydrographic community. It enjoys observer status at the UN and is the recognised competent authority on hydrographic surveying and nautical charting...
defines the limits of the "Japan Sea" as follows:
On the Southwest. The Northeastern limit of the Eastern China SeaEast China SeaThe East China Sea is a marginal sea east of China. It is a part of the Pacific Ocean and covers an area of 1,249,000 km² or 750,000 square miles.-Geography:...
[From Nomo Saki (32°35'N) in KyusyuKyushuis the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
to the South point of Hukae Sima (Goto RettoGoto IslandsThe are Japanese islands in the East China Sea, off the western coast of Kyūshū. The islands are a part of Nagasaki Prefecture.- Geography :There are 140 islands in total, including five main islands:,,,, and....
) and on through this island to Ose Saki (Cape Goto) and to Hunan Kan, the South point of Saisyu ToJeju-doJeju-do is the only special autonomous province of South Korea, situated on and coterminous with the country's largest island. Jeju-do lies in the Korea Strait, southwest of Jeollanam-do Province, of which it was a part before it became a separate province in 1946...
(Quelpart), through this island to its Western extreme and thence along the parallel of 33°17' North to the mainland] and the Western limit of the Inland Sea [defined circuitously as "The Southeastern limit of the Japan Sea"].
On the Southeast. In Simonoseki Kaikyo
Kanmon StraitsThe Kanmon Straits or the Straits of Shimonoseki is the stretch of water separating two of Japan's four main islands. On the Honshū side of the water is Shimonoseki and on the Kyūshū side is Kitakyūshū, whose former city and present ward, Moji , gave the strait its "mon"...
. A line running from Nagoya Saki (130°49'E) in KyûsûKyushuis the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
through the islands of Uma Sima and Muture Simia (33°58',5N) to Murasaki Hana (34°01'N) in HonsyûHonshuis the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
.
On the East. In the Tsugaru Kaikô
Tsugaru Straitis a channel between Honshu and Hokkaido in northern Japan connecting the Sea of Japan with the Pacific Ocean. It was named after the western part of Aomori Prefecture...
. From the extremity of Siriya Saki (141°28'E) to the extremity of Esan Saki (41°48'N).
On the Northeast. In La Perouse Strait
La Perouse StraitLa Pérouse Strait is a strait dividing the southern part of the Russian island of Sakhalin from the northern part of the Japanese island of Hokkaidō, and connecting the Sea of Japan on the west with the Sea of Okhotsk on the east....
(Sôya Kaikyô). A line joining Sôni MisakiCape Soyais the northernmost point of the island of Hokkaidō, Japan. It is situated in Wakkanai, Sōya Subprefecture. The is at the cape, although the true northernmost point under Japanese control is a small deserted island called Bentenjima, 1 km northwest...
and Nishi Notoro Misaki (45°55'N).
On the North. From Cape Tuik (51°45'N) to Cape Sushcheva.
Geography and geology
The Sea of Japan was once a landlockedLandlocked
A landlocked country is a country entirely enclosed by land, or whose only coastlines lie on closed seas. There are 48 landlocked countries in the world, including partially recognized states...
sea when the land bridge
Land bridge
A land bridge, in biogeography, is an isthmus or wider land connection between otherwise separate areas, over which animals and plants are able to cross and colonise new lands...
of East Asia
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
existed.
Onset of formation of Japan Arc was in Early Miocene
Early Miocene
The Early Miocene is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages: the Aquitanian and Burdigalian stages....
. Early Miocene period also corresponds to incipient opening of the Japan Sea, and the northern and southern parts of the Japanese archipelago
Japanese Archipelago
The , which forms the country of Japan, extends roughly from northeast to southwest along the northeastern coast of the Eurasia mainland, washing upon the northwestern shores of the Pacific Ocean...
that were separated from each other. During the Miocene there was expansion of Sea of Japan. The northern part of the Japanese archipelago was further fragmented at later periods until the orogenesis of the northeastern Japanese archipelago began in the later Late Miocene
Late Miocene
The Late Miocene is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages. The Tortonian and Messinian stages comprise the Late Miocene sub-epoch....
. The southern part of the Japanese archipelago remained as a relatively large landmass. The land area had expanded northward in the Late Miocene. The orogenesis of high mountain ranges in the northeastern Japan started in Late Miocene and it lasts in Pliocene
Pliocene
The Pliocene Epoch is the period in the geologic timescale that extends from 5.332 million to 2.588 million years before present. It is the second and youngest epoch of the Neogene Period in the Cenozoic Era. The Pliocene follows the Miocene Epoch and is followed by the Pleistocene Epoch...
also.
Nowadays it is bound by the Russian mainland and Sakhalin
Sakhalin
Sakhalin or Saghalien, is a large island in the North Pacific, lying between 45°50' and 54°24' N.It is part of Russia, and is Russia's largest island, and is administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast...
island to the north, the Korean Peninsula
Korean Peninsula
The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. It extends southwards for about 684 miles from continental Asia into the Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by the Sea of Japan to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west, the Korea Strait connecting the first two bodies of water.Until the end of...
to the west, and the Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese islands of Hokkaidō
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
, Honshū
Honshu
is the largest island of Japan. The nation's main island, it is south of Hokkaido across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyushu across the Kanmon Strait...
and Kyūshū
Kyushu
is the third largest island of Japan and most southwesterly of its four main islands. Its alternate ancient names include , , and . The historical regional name is referred to Kyushu and its surrounding islands....
to the east and south. It is connected to other seas by five strait
Strait
A strait or straits is a narrow, typically navigable channel of water that connects two larger, navigable bodies of water. It most commonly refers to a channel of water that lies between two land masses, but it may also refer to a navigable channel through a body of water that is otherwise not...
s: the Strait of Tartary
Strait of Tartary
Strait of Tartary is a strait in the Pacific Ocean dividing the Russian island of Sakhalin from mainland Asia , connecting the Sea of Okhotsk on the north with...
between the Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
n mainland and Sakhalin; La Pérouse Strait
La Perouse Strait
La Pérouse Strait is a strait dividing the southern part of the Russian island of Sakhalin from the northern part of the Japanese island of Hokkaidō, and connecting the Sea of Japan on the west with the Sea of Okhotsk on the east....
between the islands of Sakhalin and Hokkaidō; the Tsugaru Strait
Tsugaru Strait
is a channel between Honshu and Hokkaido in northern Japan connecting the Sea of Japan with the Pacific Ocean. It was named after the western part of Aomori Prefecture...
between the islands of Hokkaidō and Honshū; the Kanmon Straits
Kanmon Straits
The Kanmon Straits or the Straits of Shimonoseki is the stretch of water separating two of Japan's four main islands. On the Honshū side of the water is Shimonoseki and on the Kyūshū side is Kitakyūshū, whose former city and present ward, Moji , gave the strait its "mon"...
between the islands of Honshū and Kyūshū; and the Korea Strait
Korea Strait
The Korea Strait is a sea passage between South Korea and Japan, connecting the East China Sea and the Sea of Japan in the northwest Pacific Ocean...
between the Korean Peninsula
Korean Peninsula
The Korean Peninsula is a peninsula in East Asia. It extends southwards for about 684 miles from continental Asia into the Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by the Sea of Japan to the south, and the Yellow Sea to the west, the Korea Strait connecting the first two bodies of water.Until the end of...
and the island of Kyūshū. The Korea Strait is composed of the Western Channel and the Tsushima Strait
Tsushima Strait
is the eastern channel of the Korea Strait, which lies between Korea and Japan, connecting the Sea of Japan and the East China Sea.The Tsushima Strait is the broader eastern channel to the east and southeast of Tsushima Island, with the Japanese islands of Honshū to the east and northeast, and...
, on either side of Tsushima Island
Tsushima Island
Tsushima Island is an island of the Japanese Archipelago situated in the middle of the Tsushima Strait at 34°25'N and 129°20'E. The main island of Tsushima was once a single island, but the island was divided into two in 1671 by the Ōfunakosiseto canal and into three in 1900 by the Manzekiseto canal...
. The straits were formed in recent geologic periods. The oldest of them are the Tsugaru and Tsushima straits. Their formation had interrupted the migration of elephants into the Japanese islands at the end of the Neogene
Neogene
The Neogene is a geologic period and system in the International Commission on Stratigraphy Geologic Timescale starting 23.03 ± 0.05 million years ago and ending 2.588 million years ago...
Period (about 2.6 million years ago). The most recent is La Perouse Strait. Its formation about 60,000 to 11,000 years ago had closed the path used by the mammoths which had earlier moved to the northern Hokkaidō. All the straits are rather shallow with a minimal depth of the order of 100 meters or less. This hinders water exchange thereby isolating the water and aquatic life of the Sea of Japan from the neighboring seas and oceans.
The sea has a surface area of about 978,000 km² (377,600 sq mi), a mean depth of 1,752 m (5,748 ft) and a maximum depth of 3,742 m (12,276 ft). It has a carrot-like shape, with the major axis extending from southwest to northeast and a wide southern part narrowing toward the north. The coastal length is about 7,600 km with the largest part (3,240 km) belonging to Russia. The sea extends from north to south for more than 2,255 km and has a maximum width of about 1,070 km. It has three major basins: the Yamato Basin in the southeast, the Japan Basin in the north and the Tsushima Basin
Tsushima Basin
The or Ulleung Basin is an oceanic basin located where the Sea of Japan meets the Korea Strait. It lies immediately south of Ulleung-do and Liancourt Rocks, in the eastern end of the South Korean EEZ and the western end of the Japanese EEZ.In 1978, the Japanese government registered the name...
(Ulleung Basin) in the southwest. The Japan Basin is of oceanic origin and is the deepest part of the sea, whereas the Tsushima Basin is the shallowest with the depths below 2,300 meters. On the eastern shores, the continental shelves of the sea are wide, but on the western shores, particularly along the Korean coast, they are narrow, averaging about 30 kilometers.
There are three distinct continental shelves in the northern part (above 44°N). They form a staircase-like structure with the steps slightly inclined southwards and submerged to the depths of 900–1400, 1700–2000 and 2300–2600 meters. The last step sharply drops to the depths of about 3,500 meters toward the central (deepest) part of the sea. The bottom of this part is relatively flat, but has a few plateaus. In addition, an underwater ridge rising up to 2,300 meters runs from north to south through the middle of the central part.
The Japanese coastal area of the sea consists of Okujiri Ridge, Sado Ridge, Hakusan Banks, Wakasa Ridge and Oki Ridge. Yamato Ridge is of continental origin and is composed of granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
, rhyolite
Rhyolite
This page is about a volcanic rock. For the ghost town see Rhyolite, Nevada, and for the satellite system, see Rhyolite/Aquacade.Rhyolite is an igneous, volcanic rock, of felsic composition . It may have any texture from glassy to aphanitic to porphyritic...
, andesite
Andesite
Andesite is an extrusive igneous, volcanic rock, of intermediate composition, with aphanitic to porphyritic texture. In a general sense, it is the intermediate type between basalt and dacite. The mineral assemblage is typically dominated by plagioclase plus pyroxene and/or hornblende. Magnetite,...
and basalt
Basalt
Basalt is a common extrusive volcanic rock. It is usually grey to black and fine-grained due to rapid cooling of lava at the surface of a planet. It may be porphyritic containing larger crystals in a fine matrix, or vesicular, or frothy scoria. Unweathered basalt is black or grey...
. It has uneven bottom covered with boulders of volcanic rock. Most other areas of the sea are of oceanic origin. Seabed down to 300 meters (1,000 ft) is of continental nature and is covered with a mixture of mud, sand, gravel and fragments of rock. The depths between 300 and 800 meters (1,000–2,600 ft) are covered in hemipelagic sediments (i.e., of semi-oceanic origin); these sediments are composed of blue mud rich in organic matter. Pelagic sediments of red mud dominate the deeper regions.
There are no large islands in the sea. Most of the smaller ones are located near the eastern coast, except for Ulleungdo
Ulleungdo
Ulleungdo is a South Korean island in the Sea of Japan . Formerly known as Dagelet to the Europeans, Ulleungdo is about 120 km east of the Korean Peninsula...
(South Korea). The most significant islands are Moneron
Moneron Island
Moneron Island, is a Russian possession located off Sakhalin Island.-Description:Moneron has an area of about and a highest point of . It is approximately long by wide, and is located from Sakhalin's port of Nevelsk and about directly southwest of Sakhalin Island itself at the northeastern...
, Rebun
Rebun Island
Rebun Island lies in the Sea of Japan off the northwestern tip of Hokkaidō, Japan. Rebun stretches 29 kilometers in the north-south direction and 8 kilometers east-west, covering about 80 square kilometers. The island is known for its alpine flowers and the 8-Hour Hiking Course which runs from one...
, Rishiri
Rishiri Island
rises out of the Sea of Japan off the coast of Hokkaidō, Japan. The island is formed by the cone-shaped extinct volcanic peak of Mount Rishiri. Along with Rebun and the coastal area of Sarobetsu, Rishiri forms the Rishiri-Rebun-Sarobetsu National Park. The main industries of Rishiri are tourism and...
, Okushiri
Okushiri Island
is an island in Hokkaidō, Japan. It has an area of . The town of Okushiri and Hiyama Prefectural Natural Park encompass the entire island.-History:It was the site of a powerful earthquake and tsunami in 1993....
, Ōshima, Sado
Sado, Niigata
is a city located on Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture, in the Chūbu region of Japan. Since 2004, the city has comprised the entire island, although not all of its total area of 855.26 km2 is urbanized...
, Okinoshima
Okinoshima, Munakata
is an island, part of the city of Munakata, Fukuoka, Japan. It is considered sacred land by the local Munakata Taisha. The island's population consists of a single employee of the shrine. The entire island is considered a shinto kami, and the island is off limits to women. A movement exists to get...
, Ulleungdo
Ulleungdo
Ulleungdo is a South Korean island in the Sea of Japan . Formerly known as Dagelet to the Europeans, Ulleungdo is about 120 km east of the Korean Peninsula...
, Askold, Russky
Russky Island
Russky Island is a Russian island off Vladivostok, in the Peter the Great Gulf, Sea of Japan. It is located about 9,334 kilometres east of Moscow. The Eastern Bosphorus separates the island from the Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula....
and Putyatin. The shorelines are relatively straight and are lacking large bays or capes; the coastal shapes are simplest for Sakhalin and are more winding in the Japanese islands. The largest bays are Peter the Great Gulf
Peter the Great Gulf
The Peter the Great Gulf is the largest gulf of the Sea of Japan adjoining the coast of Russia's Primorski Krai...
, Sovetskaya Gavan
Sovetskaya Gavan
Sovetskaya Gavan is a town in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, and a port on the Strait of Tartary which connects the Sea of Okhotsk on the north with the Sea of Japan on the south. Population: 29,100 ; The name of the town is often informally abbreviated to "Sovgavan".-History:The bay on which...
, Vladimira, Olga
Olga Bay
Olga Bay is a small bay in the Sea of Japan at the east coast of Primorsky Krai.Olga Bay was discovered in 1859 by the Russian corvette Amerika and named after Saint Olga....
, Posyet
Posyet Bay
The Possiet Gulf or Posyet Bay is a bay in the south-western part of the Peter the Great Gulf, between the promontories of Suslov and Gamov. It stretches for 31 kilometres from northeast to southwest and for 33 kilometers from northwest to southeast...
in Russia, East Korea Bay
East Korea Bay
East Korea Bay is a bay in North Korea and an extension of the Sea of Japan . It is located between the provinces of Hamnam and Kangwon.-See also:*Korean Peninsula*Korea Bay...
in North Korea and Ishikari
Ishikari, Hokkaido
is a city located in Ishikari Subprefecture, Hokkaidō, Japan.The city was born out of Ishikari Town on September 1, 1996.On October 1, 2005, the village of Atsuta, from Atsuta District, and the village of Hamamasu, from Hamamasu District, merged into Ishikari.As of March 1, 2008, the city has an...
(Hokkaidō), Toyama and Wakasa (Honshū) in Japan. Prominent capes include Lazareva, Peschanyi (sandy), Povorotny
Cape Povorotny
Cape Povorotny is a cape among East Coast of Primorye and South Primorye.There is a lighthouse on Cape Povorotny which is administrated from Nakhodka.Temperature of sea water westerly and easterly from a cape differs in 3-6°C....
, Gromova, Pogibi, Tyk, Korsakova, Crillon
Cape Crillon
Cape Crillon is the southernmost point of Sakhalin. The cape was named by Frenchman Jean-François de La Pérouse, who was the first European to discover it. Cape Sōya, in Japan, is located 43km to the south, across La Pérouse Strait....
, Sōya
Cape Soya
is the northernmost point of the island of Hokkaidō, Japan. It is situated in Wakkanai, Sōya Subprefecture. The is at the cape, although the true northernmost point under Japanese control is a small deserted island called Bentenjima, 1 km northwest...
, Nosappu, Tappi, Nyuda, Rebun
Rebun Island
Rebun Island lies in the Sea of Japan off the northwestern tip of Hokkaidō, Japan. Rebun stretches 29 kilometers in the north-south direction and 8 kilometers east-west, covering about 80 square kilometers. The island is known for its alpine flowers and the 8-Hour Hiking Course which runs from one...
, Rishiri
Rishiri Island
rises out of the Sea of Japan off the coast of Hokkaidō, Japan. The island is formed by the cone-shaped extinct volcanic peak of Mount Rishiri. Along with Rebun and the coastal area of Sarobetsu, Rishiri forms the Rishiri-Rebun-Sarobetsu National Park. The main industries of Rishiri are tourism and...
, Okushiri
Okushiri Island
is an island in Hokkaidō, Japan. It has an area of . The town of Okushiri and Hiyama Prefectural Natural Park encompass the entire island.-History:It was the site of a powerful earthquake and tsunami in 1993....
, Daso
Sado, Niigata
is a city located on Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture, in the Chūbu region of Japan. Since 2004, the city has comprised the entire island, although not all of its total area of 855.26 km2 is urbanized...
and Oki
Oki Islands
are a group of islands in the southwestern part of the Sea of Japan and belong to Japan.-Geography:The Oki Islands are situated between 40 to 80 kilometers north of the coast of Honshū.The islands are of volcanic origin and have a total area of 346,1 km2...
.
Climate
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
waves were also recorded in the sea. In addition, the monsoon enhances the surface water convection, down to the depths of 30 meters. The coldest months are January and February with the average air temperature of −20 °C in the north and 5 °C in the south. The northern one-quarter of the sea, particularly the Siberian coast and the Strait of Tartary, freezes for about 4–5 months. The timing and extent of freezing vary from year to year, so ice may start forming in the bays as early as in October and its remains may be seen even in June. Ice cover is continuous only in the bays and forms floating patches in the open sea. Ice melting in spring results in cold currents in the northern areas.
In summer the wind weakens to 2–7 m/s and reverses its direction, blowing warm and humid air from the North Pacific onto the Asian mainland. The warmest month is August with the average air temperature of 15 °C in the north and 25 °C in the south. Annual precipitation increases from 310–500 mm in the north-west to 1,500–2,000 mm in the south-east.
A peculiar turbulent cloud pattern, named Von Karman vortices, is sometimes observed over the Sea of Japan. It requires a stable field of low clouds driven by the wind over a small (isolated) and tall obstacle, and usually forms over small mountainous islands. The Sea of Japan meets these conditions as it has frequent winds and cloudy skies, as well as compact, tall islands such as Rishiri
Rishiri Island
rises out of the Sea of Japan off the coast of Hokkaidō, Japan. The island is formed by the cone-shaped extinct volcanic peak of Mount Rishiri. Along with Rebun and the coastal area of Sarobetsu, Rishiri forms the Rishiri-Rebun-Sarobetsu National Park. The main industries of Rishiri are tourism and...
(1,721 m), Ulleungdo
Ulleungdo
Ulleungdo is a South Korean island in the Sea of Japan . Formerly known as Dagelet to the Europeans, Ulleungdo is about 120 km east of the Korean Peninsula...
(984 m) and Ōshima (732 m).
Hydrology
Water temperature is mostly affected by exchange with the atmosphere in the northern part of the sea and by the currents in the southern part. Winter temperatures are 0 °C or below in the north and 10–14 °C in the south. In this season, there is a significant temperature difference between the western and eastern parts owing to the circular currents. So at the latitude of Peter the Great Gulf, the water temperature is about 0 °C in the west and 5–6 °C in the east. This east-west difference drops to 1–2 °C in summer, and the temperatures rise to 18–20 °C in the north and 25–27 °C in the south.
As a result of the enclosed nature of the sea, its waters form clearly separated layers which may show seasonal and spatial dependence. In winter, the temperature is almost constant with the depth in the northern part of the sea. However, in central-southern parts, it may be 8–10 °C down to 100–150 m, 2–4 °C at 200–250 m, 1.0–1.5 °C at 400–500 m and then remain at about 0 °C until the bottom. Heating by the sun and tropical monsoons increases the depth gradient in spring–summer. So in the north the surface layer (down to 15 m) may heat up to 18–20 °C. The temperature would sharply drop to 4 °C at 50 m, then slowly decrease to 1 °C at 250 m and remain so down to the seabed. On the contrary, the temperature in the south could gradually decrease to 6 °C at 200 m, then to 2 °C at 260 m and to 0.04–0.14 °C at 1000–1500 m, but then it would rise to about 0.3 °C near the bottom. This cold layer at about 1000 m is formed by sinking of cold water in the northern part of the sea in winter and is brought south by the sea currents; it is rather stable and is observed all through the year.
The hydrological isolation of the Sea of Japan also results in slightly lower average water salinity (34.09‰, where ‰ means parts per thousand) compared with the Pacific Ocean. In winter, the highest salinity at 34.5‰ is observed in the south where evaporation dominates over precipitation. It is the lowest at 33.8‰ in the south-east and south-west because of frequent rains and remains at about 34.09‰ in most other parts. Thawing of ice in spring reduces water salinity in the north, but it remains high at 34.60–34.70‰ in the south, partly because of the inflow of salty water through the Korea Strait. A typical variation of salinity across the sea in summer is 31.5‰ to 34.5‰ from north to south. The depth distribution of salinity is relatively constant. The surface layer tends to be more fresh in the sea parts which experience ice melting and rains. The average water density is 1.0270 g/cm3 in the north and 1.0255 g/cm3 in the south in winter. It lowers in summer to 1.0253 and 1.0215 g/cm3, respectively.
Few rivers flow into the Sea of Japan from mainland Asia, the largest being Tumen
Tumen River
The Tumen River is a 521 km-long river that serves as part of the boundary between China, North Korea, and Russia, rising in Mount Baekdu and flowing into the Sea of Japan....
, Rudnaya, Samarga, Partizanskaya
Partizanskaya River
Partizanskaya River is a river in Primorsky Krai.Its length is 142 km, a square of basin is 4140 km2. Its sources are in South Sikhote-Alin in Partizansky District, the mouth is Nakhodka Bay near Nakhodka. The main tributary is Tigrovaya River . Other ones are Melniki River and Vodopadnaya...
and Tumnin; all of them have mountainous character. In contrast, numerous large rivers flow from Honshū and Hokkaidō into the sea, including Japan’s four largest rivers in the Shinano
Shinano River
The Shinano River is the longest and largest river in Japan. It flows from Nagano Prefecture to Niigata Prefecture. It is called the Chikuma River in Nagano Prefecture....
, Ishikari
Ishikari River
is a river in Hokkaidō, Japan. At in length, the river is the third longest in Japan and the longest in Hokkaidō. The river has a drainage area of , making it the second largest in Japan, as is its total discharge of around per year....
, Agano
Agano River
The Agano River is a river which flows from Fukushima Prefecture to Niigata Prefecture in Japan. It is called the Aga River or the Ōkawa River in Fukushima. It is 210km long with 7,710km² watershed....
and Mogami
Mogami River
The is a river in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. It is 224 km long and has a watershed of 7,040 km². It is regarded as one of the three most rapid rivers of Japan ....
. The total annual river discharge into the sea is 210 km3 and is relatively constant through the year, except for a minor increase in July. Most water (97% or 52,200 km3) flows into the sea through the Korea Strait and discharges through the Tsugaru (64% or 34,610 km3), La Pérouse (10,380 km3) and Korea straits. Rainfall, evaporation and riverine inflow make only 1% of the water balance. Between October and April, the outflow exceeds the inflow due to the lower income through the Korea Strait; this balance reverses between May and September.
The sea has complex tide
Tide
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun and the rotation of the Earth....
s, which are induced by the tidal wave of the Pacific Ocean penetrating through the Korea Strait and Tsugaru strait. The tides are semi-diurnal (rise twice a day) in the Korea Strait and in the northern part of the Strait of Tartary. They are diurnal at the eastern shore of Korea, Russian Far East
Russian Far East
Russian Far East is a term that refers to the Russian part of the Far East, i.e., extreme east parts of Russia, between Lake Baikal in Eastern Siberia and the Pacific Ocean...
and the Japanese islands of Honshū and Hokkaidō. Mixed tides occur in Peter the Great Gulf
Peter the Great Gulf
The Peter the Great Gulf is the largest gulf of the Sea of Japan adjoining the coast of Russia's Primorski Krai...
and Korea strait. The tidal waves have a speed of 10–25 cm/s in the open sea. They accelerate in the Korea Strait (40–60 cm/s), La Pérouse Strait (50–100 cm/s) and especially in the Tsugaru Strait (100–200 cm/s). The amplitude of the tides is relatively low and strongly varies across the sea. It reaches 3 meters in the south near the Korea Strait, but quickly drops northwards to 1.5 meters at the southern tip of Korean Peninsula and to 0.5 meters at the North Korean shores. Similar low tides are observed in Hokkaidō, Honshū and south Sakhalin. The amplitude however increases to 2.3–2.8 meters toward the north of the Strait of Tartary due to its funnel-like shape. Apart from tides, the water level also experiences seasonal, monsoon-related variations across the entire sea with the highest levels observed in summer and lowest in winter. Wind may also locally change the water level by 20–25 cm; for example, it is higher in summer at the Korean and lower at the Japanese coasts.
The sea waters have blue to green-blue color and a transparency of about 10 meters. They are rich in dissolved oxygen, especially in the western and northern parts, which are colder and have more phytoplankton
Phytoplankton
Phytoplankton are the autotrophic component of the plankton community. The name comes from the Greek words φυτόν , meaning "plant", and πλαγκτός , meaning "wanderer" or "drifter". Most phytoplankton are too small to be individually seen with the unaided eye...
than the eastern and southern areas. The oxygen concentration is 95% of the saturation point near the surface, it decreases with the depth to about 70% at 3,000 meters.
Flora and fauna
Pelagic fish
Pelagic fish live near the surface or in the water column of coastal, ocean and lake waters, but not on the bottom of the sea or the lake. They can be contrasted with demersal fish, which do live on or near the bottom, and reef fish which are associated with coral reefs.The marine pelagic...
(oceanic) fishes include saury
Saury
Sauries are fish of the family Scomberesocidae. There are two genera, each containing two species. The name Scomberesocidae is derived from the Greek, skombros = tuna/mackerel, and esox = nursery of salmon....
, mackerel, Jack mackerels
Trachurus
Jack mackerels are marine fishes in the Trachurus genus of the Carangidae family. The type species of the genus is the Atlantic horse mackerel, Trachurus trachurus. The name of the genus is derived from the Greek word trachys, meaning "rough", and the Greek word oura, meaning "tail"...
, sardines, anchovies, herring, sea bream
Sparidae
The Sparidae is a family of fish, included in the order Perciformes. The fish of the family are commonly called sea breams and porgies . The sheepshead, scup, and red sea bream are species in this family. They are found in shallow temperate and tropical waters and are bottom-dwelling carnivores....
, squid and various species of salmon and trout. The demersal (sea-bottom) fishes include cod
Cod
Cod is the common name for genus Gadus, belonging to the family Gadidae, and is also used in the common name for various other fishes. Cod is a popular food with a mild flavor, low fat content and a dense, flaky white flesh. Cod livers are processed to make cod liver oil, an important source of...
, pollock
Pollock
Pollock is the common name used for either of the two species of marine fish in the Pollachius genus. Both P. pollachius and P. virens are commonly referred to as pollock. Other names for P...
and Atka mackerel
Atka mackerel
The Atka mackerel, Pleurogrammus monopterygius, is a mackerel in the family Hexagrammidae. Atka mackerel are common to the northern Pacific ocean, and are one of only two members of the genus Pleurogrammus - the other being the Arabesque greenling...
. Mammals are represented by seals and whales, and the crustaceans by shrimps and crabs. Because of the shallow straits connecting the sea with Pacific Ocean, the sea of Japan has no characteristic oceanic deep-water fauna. Flora and fauna unique to the region near the Sea of Japan are known as "Japan Sea elements".
Economy
Fishery had long been the main economic activity on the Sea of Japan. It is mainly carried out on and near the continental shelves and focuses on herring, sardines and bluefin tuna. These species are however depleted from after World War II. Squid is mostly caught near the sea center and salmon near the northern and southwestern shores. There is also a well-developed seaweed production. The importance of the fishery in the sea is illustrated by the territorial disputeTerritorial dispute
A territorial dispute is a disagreement over the possession/control of land between two or more states or over the possession or control of land by a new state and occupying power after it has conquered the land from a former state no longer currently recognized by the new state.-Context and...
s between Japan and South Korea over Liancourt Rocks
Liancourt Rocks dispute
The Liancourt Rocks dispute is a territorial dispute between the Republic of Korea and Japan.Currently both the Republic of Korea and Japan claim sovereignty over Liancourt Rocks, a group of small islets in the Sea of Japan...
and between Japan and Russia over the Kuril Islands
Kuril Islands dispute
The Kuril Islands dispute , also known as the , is a dispute between Japan and Russia over sovereignty over the South Kuril Islands. The disputed islands, which were occupied by Soviet forces during the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation at the end of World War II, are under Russian...
. It is also reflected in various legends, such as the legend of the Heishi rock
Kamome Island
is an island in the Sea of Japan just off the coast of the town of Esashi, Hokkaidō, Japan. The island serves as a breakwater for the Esashi port. It has several historical sites and is protected as a part of the Hiyama Prefectural Natural Park. Every July, there is a two-day festival that attracts...
, which says that once when herring vanished, an old fairy threw a bottle with a magic water into the sea, and the herring returned. The bottle got stuck to the seabed and turned into a rock, which became a representation of the God of the Sea of Japan.
Vladivostok
Vladivostok
The city is located in the southern extremity of Muravyov-Amursky Peninsula, which is about 30 km long and approximately 12 km wide.The highest point is Mount Kholodilnik, the height of which is 257 m...
is a base for the Russian whaling fleet. Although it operates in the northern seas, its production is processed and partly distributed in the Vladivostok area. Vladivostok is also a terminal point of the Trans-Siberian Railway
Trans-Siberian Railway
The Trans-Siberian Railway is a network of railways connecting Moscow with the Russian Far East and the Sea of Japan. It is the longest railway in the world...
which brings much goods to and from this major port. There is a regular ferry service across the Strait of Tartary between the Russian continental port of Vanino
Vanino, Khabarovsk Krai
Vanino is an urban-type settlement and the administrative center of Vaninsky District of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia. It is an important port on the Strait of Tartary , served by the BAM railway line...
and Kholmsk
Kholmsk
Kholmsk is a town in Sakhalin Oblast, Russia, the administrative center of Kholmsky District. Population: 35,141 .-History:The town was founded in 1870 as a military post. After the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05, the town was transferred to Japanese control, along with the rest of southern...
in Sakhalin.
The sea has magnetite
Magnetite
Magnetite is a ferrimagnetic mineral with chemical formula Fe3O4, one of several iron oxides and a member of the spinel group. The chemical IUPAC name is iron oxide and the common chemical name is ferrous-ferric oxide. The formula for magnetite may also be written as FeO·Fe2O3, which is one part...
sands as well as natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
and petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
fields near the northern part of Japan and Sakhalin Island. The intensity of shipments across the sea is moderate, owing to the cold relations between many bordering countries. As a result, the largest Japanese ports are located on the Pacific coast, and the significant ports on the Sea of Japan are Niigata, Tsuruta
Tsuruta, Aomori
is a town located in the Kitatsugaru District of northeastern Aomori Prefecture in the Tōhoku region of Japan. As of 2009, the town had an estimated population of 14,395 and a density of 310 persons per km²...
and Maizuru
Maizuru, Kyoto
is a city located in Kyōto, Japan, on an inlet of the Sea of Japan.As of 2008, the city has an estimated population of 89,626 and the density of 264 persons per km². The total area is .The city was founded on May 27, 1943....
. Major South Korean ports are Busan
Busan
Busan , formerly spelled Pusan is South Korea's second largest metropolis after Seoul, with a population of around 3.6 million. The Metropolitan area population is 4,399,515 as of 2010. It is the largest port city in South Korea and the fifth largest port in the world...
, Ulsan
Ulsan
Ulsan , officially the Ulsan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's seventh largest metropolis with a population of over 1.1 million. It is located in the south-east of the country, neighboring Busan to the south and facing Gyeongju to the north and the Sea of Japan to the east.Ulsan is the...
, and Pohang
Pohang
Pohang is a city in North Gyeongsang Province, South Korea, and a main seaport in the Daegu-Gyeongbuk region. The built-up area of Pohang is located on the alluvium of the mouth of the Hyeongsan River...
situated on the southeastern coast of the Korean Peninsula, but they also mainly target countries not bordering the Sea of Japan. The major Russian port of Vladivostok mainly serves inland cargos, whereas Nakhodka
Nakhodka
Nakhodka is a port city in Primorsky Krai, Russia, situated on the Trudny Peninsula jutting into the Nakhodka Bay of the Sea of Japan, about east of Vladivostok...
and Vostochny
Vostochny Port
Vostochny Port is intermodal container port at the Eastern end of the Trans-Siberian Railway, the largest port in the Russian Far East. It is located in Vrangel , Primorsky Krai. A deep-water port on the Nakhodka Bay , it operates year round and is suitable for handling large tonnage ships...
are more international and have a busy exchange with Japan and South Korea. Other prominent Russian ports are Sovetskaya Gavan
Sovetskaya Gavan
Sovetskaya Gavan is a town in Khabarovsk Krai, Russia, and a port on the Strait of Tartary which connects the Sea of Okhotsk on the north with the Sea of Japan on the south. Population: 29,100 ; The name of the town is often informally abbreviated to "Sovgavan".-History:The bay on which...
, Alexandrovsk-Sakhalinsky
Alexandrovsk-Sakhalinsky
Alexandrovsk-Sakhalinsky is a town in Sakhalin Oblast, Russia, located near the Tatar Strait on the western shores of Northern Sakhalin at the foot of the Western Sakhalin Mountains. Population: 21,000 . It was known as during Japanese occupation between 1918-1925.-History:A settlement called...
and Kholmsk
Kholmsk
Kholmsk is a town in Sakhalin Oblast, Russia, the administrative center of Kholmsky District. Population: 35,141 .-History:The town was founded in 1870 as a military post. After the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-05, the town was transferred to Japanese control, along with the rest of southern...
, and the major ports of North Korea are Wonsan
Wonsan
Wŏnsan is a port city and naval base in southeastern North Korea. It is the capital of Kangwŏn Province. The population of the city is estimated to have been 331,000 in 2000. Notable people from Wŏnsan include Kim Ki Nam, diplomat and Secretary of the Workers' Party.- History :The original name of...
, Hamhung
Hamhung
Hamhŭng is North Korea's second largest city, and the capital of South Hamgyŏng Province. In late 2005, nearby Hŭngnam was made a ward within Hamhŭng-si. It has a population of 768,551 as of 2008.-Geography:...
and Chongjin
Chongjin
Ch'ŏngjin is the capital of North Korea's North Hamgyŏng Province and the country's third largest city. From 1960 to 1967 and again from 1977 to 1985, Ch'ŏngjin was administered separately from North Hamgyŏng as a Directly Governed City...
. The intensity of shipments across the Sea of Japan is steadily increasing as a result of the growth of East Asian economies.
History and exploration
For centuries, the sea had protected Japan from land invasions, particularly by the Mongols. It had long been navigated by Asian and, from the 18th century, by European ships. Russian expeditions of 1733–1743 mapped Sakhalin and the Japanese islands. In the 1780s, the Frenchman Jean-François de Galaup, comte de Lapérouse, traveled northward across the sea through the strait that was named after him. In 1796, another Frenchman Robert Broughton explored the Strait of Tartary, the eastern coast of the Russian Far EastRussian Far East
Russian Far East is a term that refers to the Russian part of the Far East, i.e., extreme east parts of Russia, between Lake Baikal in Eastern Siberia and the Pacific Ocean...
and the Korean Peninsula. In 1803–1806, the Russian navigator Adam Johann von Krusenstern
Adam Johann von Krusenstern
Adam Johann Ritter von Krusenstern , was an admiral and explorer, who led the first Russian circumnavigation of the globe.- Life :...
while sailing across the globe in the ship Nadezhda also explored, in passing, the Sea of Japan and the eastern shores of Japanese islands. In 1849, another Russian explorer Gennady Nevelskoy
Gennady Nevelskoy
Gennady Ivanovich Nevelskoy was a Russian navigator.In 1848 Nevelskoy led the expedition in the Russian Far East, exploring the area of the Sakhalin and the outlet of the Amur River. He proved that the Strait of Tartary was not a gulf, but indeed a strait, connected to Amur's estuary by a narrow...
discovered the strait between the continent and Sakhalin and mapped the northern part of the Strait of Tartary. Russian expeditions were made in 1853–1854 and 1886–1889 to measure the surface temperatures and record the tides. They also documented the cyclonal character of the sea currents. Other notable expeditions of the 19th century include the American North Pacific Exploring and Surveying Expedition
North Pacific Exploring and Surveying Expedition
The North Pacific Exploring and Surveying Expedition, also known as the Rodgers-Ringgold Expedition was a United States scientific and exploring project from 1853 to 1856....
(1853–1856) and British Challenger expedition
Challenger expedition
The Challenger expedition of 1872–76 was a scientific exercise that made many discoveries to lay the foundation of oceanography. The expedition was named after the mother vessel, HMS Challenger....
(1872–1876). The aquatic life was described by V. K. Brazhnikov in 1899–1902 and P. Yu. Schmidt in 1903–1904. The Japanese scientific studies of the sea began only in 1915 and became systematic since the 1920s.
Naming dispute
The primary issue in the dispute revolves around a disagreement about when the name "Sea of Japan" became the international standard. Japan claims the term has been the international standard since at least the early 19th century, while the Koreas claim that the historical name is "East Sea" and the term "Sea of Japan" arose later while Korea was under Japanese rule
Korea under Japanese rule
Korea was under Japanese rule as part of Japan's 35-year imperialist expansion . Japanese rule ended in 1945 shortly after the Japanese defeat in World War II....
.
See also
- Geography of JapanGeography of JapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia comprising a stratovolcanic archipelago extending along the Pacific coast of Asia. Measured from the geographic coordinate system, Japan stretches from 24° to 46° north latitude and from 123° to 146° east longitude...
- Geography of North KoreaGeography of North KoreaNorth Korea is located in east Asia on the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. North Korea shares a border with three states, including China along the Amnok River, Russia along the Duman River, and South Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone...
- Geography of RussiaGeography of RussiaThe geography of Russia entails the physical and human geography of Russia, a country extending over much of northern Eurasia. Comprising much of eastern Europe and northern Asia, it is the world's largest country in total area. Due to its size, Russia displays both monotony and diversity. As with...
- Geography of South KoreaGeography of South KoreaSouth Korea is located in East Asia, on the southern half of the Korean Peninsula jutting out from the far east of the Asian land mass. The only country with a land border to South Korea is North Korea, lying to the north with of border running along the DMZ. South Korea is mostly surrounded by...
- :Category:Islands of the Sea of Japan
Further reading
- Fukuoka N. (1966). "On the distribution patterns of the so-called Japan Sea elements confined to the Sea of Japan region". Journal of Geobotany 15: 63-80.