Science Fair Projects Ideas - Hokkaido Prefecture

All Science Fair Projects

 		      

Science Fair Project Encyclopedia for Schools!
  Search    Browse    Forum  Coach    Links    Editor    Help    Tell-a-Friend    Encyclopedia    Dictionary     

Science Fair Project Encyclopedia

For information on any area of science that interests you,
enter a keyword (eg. scientific method, molecule, cloud, carbohydrate etc.).
Or else, you can start by choosing any of the categories below.

Science Fair Project Encyclopedia Contents Page

Hokkaido Prefecture

(Redirected from Hokkaido region)

Hokkaido (北海道 Hokkaidō, literal meaning: "North Sea Route", Ainu: Mosir), formerly known as Ezo, is the second largest island of Japan. The Tsugaru Strait separates it from Honshu, although it is connected to Honshu by the underwater Seikan Tunnel. The largest city on Hokkaidō is the prefectural capital, Sapporo.

Contents
1 History
2 Geography
3 Subprefectures
4 Former Provinces
5 Climate
6 Major Cities
7 Economy
8 Transportation
9 External links

History

Hokkaido has been the homeland of the Ainu race since time immemorial. Many place names, such as Sapporo, are derived from the Ainu language.

Hokkaido was known as Ezo until the Meiji Restoration. Shortly after the Boshin War of 1868, a group of Tokugawa loyalists led by Enomoto Takeaki proclaimed the island's independence as the Republic of Ezo, but the rebellion was crushed in May 1869. For a few years following the Meiji Restoration, Hokkaido was separated into 4 prefectures.

Geography

Hokkaido Island is located at the north end of Japan, near Russia, and has coastlines on the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk, and the Pacific Ocean. The center of the island has a number of mountains and volcanic plateaus, and there are coastal plains in all directions. Major cities include Sapporo and Asahikawa in the central region and the port of Hakodate facing Honshu.

The prefecture of Hokkaidō incorporates several smaller islands, including Rishiri Island , Okushiri Island , and Rebun Island . (By Japanese reckoning, the prefecture also incorporates several of the Kuril Islands.) Because the prefectural status of Hokkaido is denoted by the dō in its name, it is rarely referred to as "Hokkaido Prefecture," except when necessary to distinguish the prefecture from the island.

An earthquake of magnitude 8.0 struck near the island on September 25, 2003 at 19:50:07 (UTC).

It is divided into four parts:

  • Eastern Route (道東):
    • Abashiri (網走)
    • Shiretoko (知床)
    • Akanko (阿寒湖)
    • Kussharoko (屈斜路湖)
    • Mashuko (摩周湖)
    • Kushiro (釧路)
    • Obihiro (帯広)
    • Tokachigawa (十勝川)
  • Southern Circuit (道南):
    • Hakodate (函館)
      • Yunokawa (湯の川)
    • Noboribetsu (登別)
    • Touyako (洞爺湖)
  • Central Circuit (道央):
    • Sapporo (札幌市)
    • Otaru (小樽)
    • Jozankei (定山溪)
    • Shikotsuko (支笏湖)
    • Furano (富良野)
    • Biei (美瑛)
    • Asahikawa (旭川)
    • Sounkyo (層雲峽)
  • Northern Circuit (道北):
    • Wakkanai (稚内)

There are still many undisturbed forests in Hokkaidō, including:

Subprefectures

Hokkaidō is the only prefecture in Japan that is divided into subprefectures. This is mostly due to its great size: many parts of the prefecture are simply too far away to be effectively administered by Sapporo. Subprefectural offices in Hokkaidō carry out many of the duties that prefectural offices would fulfill elsewhere in Japan.

See also: List of cities in Hokkaido

Former Provinces

In 1869, Hokkaido was divided into 11 provinces and 86 districts. The provinces were dissolved in 1882, and replaced with Hakodate Prefecture, Sapporo Prefecture and Nemuro Prefecture. In 1886, the three prefectures were replaced with Hokkaido-chō (北海道庁) The provinces with their districts were as follows

Climate

Hokkaido is known for its cool summers (which attract many tourists from other parts of Japan) and icy winters. The average August temperature is around 22°C (72°F), while the average January temperature ranges from -12°C to -4°C (10°F to 25°F) depending on elevation and latitude. The island tends to see isolated snowstorms that develop long-lasting snowbanks, in contrast to the constant flurries seen in the Hokuriku region.

During the winter, passage through the Sea of Okhotsk is often complicated by large ice floes broken loose from the Kamchatka Peninsula. Combined with high winds that occur during winter, this brings air travel and maritime activity almost to a halt on the northern coast of Hokkaido.

Major Cities

Hokkaido's largest city is the capital, Sapporo. Other major cities include Hakodate in the south and Asahikawa in the central region.

Economy

Hokkaidō is Japan's predominant agricultural area. It leads the country in the production of rice and fish, and shares the lead in vegetable farming.

Although there is some light industry (most notably paper milling, brewing (Sapporo beer ), and food production), most of the population is employed by the service sector. Tourism is an important industry, especially during the cool summertime that attracts campers and hot spring-goers from across Japan. During the winter, skiing and other winter sports continue to bring tourists to Hokkaido (the Winter Olympics was held in Sapporo in 1972).

Transportation

Hokkaido's only land link to the rest of Japan is the Seikan Tunnel. Most travelers to the island arrive by air: the main airport is New Chitose Airport in Chitose, just south of Sapporo. Tokyo-Chitose is the world's busiest air route, handling 45 widebody round trips on three airlines each day. One of the airlines, Air Do was named after Hokkaidō. Hokkaido can also be reached by ferry from Sendai, Niigata and some other cities.

Within Hokkaido, there is a fairly well-developed railway network (see Hokkaido Railway Company), but many cities can only be accessed by bus or car.

External links

Science Fair Project Encyclopedia Contents Page
10-26-2009 08:16:03
The contents of this article is licensed from www.wikipedia.org under the GNU Free Documentation License. Click here to see the transparent copy and copyright details
Science kits, science lessons, science toys, maths toys, hobby kits, science games and books - these are some of many products that can help give your kid an edge in their science fair projects, and develop a tremendous interest in the study of science. When shopping for a science kit or other supplies, make sure that you carefully review the features and quality of the products. Compare prices by going to several online stores. Read product reviews online or refer to magazines.

Start by looking for your science kit review or science toy review. Compare prices but remember, Price $ is not everything. Quality does matter.
Science Fair Coach
What do science fair judges look out for?
ScienceHound
Science Fair Projects for students of all ages
All Science Fair Projects.com Site
All Science Fair Projects Homepage
Search | Browse | Links | From-our-Editor | Books | Help | Contact | Privacy | Disclaimer | Copyright Notice