Lake Akkeshi

About Lake Akkeshi

A brackish lake at the head of Akkeshi Bay, with strong tidal exchange and high salinity. Salt-marsh plants such as Salicornia, which was first found here and named after Akkeshi, grew on its shores. It does not freeze over completely in winter and is one of Japan's major wintering sites for whooper swans. Oyster-shell islets once dotted the western part of the lake but have disappeared through land subsidence, and the area is now used for clam farming. It was designated a Ramsar Site (Akkeshi-ko and Bekambeushi-shitsugen) in 1993.

Sources: Ministry of the Environment, Ramsar Site leaflet: Akkeshi-ko and Bekambeushi-shitsugen, Environment Agency of Japan, Lake Survey Report (1993) (sources in Japanese)

Lake data

Area

32.7 km²#7 in Hokkaido

Maximum depth

11 m#21 in Hokkaido

Surface elevation

0 m

Transparency

1.3 m#38 in Hokkaidoas of the 1991 survey

Origin

Lagoon-origin lake

Lake type

Mesotrophic

Fresh or brackish

Brackish

Freezing

Does not freeze

Unmodified lake

No

Natural park

Akkeshi-Kiritappu-Konbumori Quasi-National Park

Ramsar Convention

Ramsar Site

Lake number

0610number in the national lake survey

Sources: Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, Area Statistics of Prefectures and Municipalities 2026 (as of July 1), Geospatial Information Authority of Japan, Lake Survey (surveyed 1975), Environment Agency of Japan, 4th National Survey on the Natural Environment: Lake Survey Report (1993). Area and depth use newer figures from the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan where available. Origin, lake type, transparency, freezing and unmodified status are as of the 1991 survey.

Themes that include Lake Akkeshi

• Lagoon-origin lakes
• Mesotrophic lakes
• Brackish lakes