Kagoshima Bay (鹿児島湾,Kagoshima-wan) also known asKinkō Bay,Kinko Bay (錦江湾,Kinko-wan) is a deepinlet of theEast China Sea on the coast ofJapan.[1]
Kagoshima Bay is on the south coast of the island ofKyūshū. The port city ofKagoshima and its well-protected harbor lie on the bay's western coast, just opposite the former island (now peninsula) ofSakurajima.[1]
The bay itself is partiallyvolcanic in origin, with two massivesubmarinecalderas shaping part of the bay's shoreline: The youngerAira Caldera in the northernmost part of the bay, and the olderAta Caldera at the mouth of the bay where it meets the East China Sea. Both calderas formed during thePleistocene from highly explosiveUltra-Plinian volcanic eruptions, Aira approximately 22,000 years ago and Ata approximately 105,000 years ago. Though such enormous eruptions are extremely infrequent, both volcanoes have remained active with much smaller eruptions in historic times, with Sakurajima in the bay and theKirishima Mountains north of the bay forming active vents associated with the Aira volcano magma sources, and the smaller 4000-year-oldIkeda Caldera withMount Kaimon at the southern end of theSatsuma Peninsula forming dormant vents of the Ata volcano.[2][3] In the inner north of the bay the area of the Wakamiko Caldera within theAira Caldera erupts volcanic gas which when it reaches the surface of the sea is called Tagiri (which means 'to boil' in Japanese).Hydrothermal vents including volcanic chimneys with rare mineral deposition exist on the bay's sea bottom.[4]
The massiveAkahoya eruption to the south around7,300 cal. BP depopulated the bay by pyroclastic flow,tsunami and ash during the earliest stage of theJōmon period.[5]
Before written records the area was likely repopulated by theJōmon and then it is likely they were replaced by theKumaso whose culture was completely suppressed by the 7th century.
Tribes of theHayato people were long established by the 7th century on either peninsula and had submitted and supported imperial rule as servants to the emperor, although the 720 to 721 CEHayato Rebellion of the Ōsumi Hayato is an exception. Yamato immigrants only became dominant when the Hayato were made to emigrate to theKinai region after the end of the 7th century.
Francis Xavier's party ofJesuits, having been first refused the right to land in Japan first went ashore in Kagoshima on 15 August 1549.[6]
From 1602 to 1871 it was part of theSatsuma Domain.
TheBombardment of Kagoshima byBritishwarships in the bay took place in 1863.
The 1914 eruption of the Sakurajima volcano severely damaged Kagoshima.[1]
On June 17, 1945, Kagoshima was attacked byB-29 bombers with 2316 persons killed.
The recurrent and continuing volcanic activity contributes to the diversity of wildlife on its shores and within its waters. On its shores are rare flora and fauna, includingJapanese bay tree andJapanese black pine such as at Arimura beach.[4] Themangrove is found at the far northern limit of its northern hemisphere distribution.[7] In the Sakurajima Channel,eel grass grows atypically to 2 m (6 ft 7 in) high.[8]Octocorallia coral is found in the deeper southern portions of the bay.[9] A very rareLamellibrachia tube wormLamellibrachia satsuma is found in the bay at a very shallow depth for the genus of only 82 m (269 ft).[10] There are many fish and shellfish species and a large pod ofdolphins is a tourist attraction within the bay.[4]
31°28′11″N130°38′08″E / 31.46972°N 130.63556°E /31.46972; 130.63556
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
