Miyajimanuma Pond

About Miyajimanuma Pond

A round, shallow pond of about 41 ha beside the Ishikari River in Bibai City, averaging only about 50 cm deep, with no inflowing river. It is one of the ponds left behind each time the Ishikari River flooded and shifted course. Most of the greater white-fronted geese that winter in Japan stop here, more than 70,000 at a time. It is named after Sajiro Miyajima, who settled here in 1891. It was designated a Ramsar Site in 2002. Both the 1976 aerial photo and recent photos show it surrounded by rice paddies.

Sources: Ministry of the Environment, Ramsar Site leaflet: Miyajima-numa, Environment Agency of Japan, Lake Survey Report (1993), This site: comparison of 1970s GSI aerial photos with recent GSI imagery (sources in Japanese)

Lake data

Area

0.36 km²#53 in Hokkaido

Maximum depth

2.4 m#66 in Hokkaido

Average depth

1.7 m

Surface elevation

13 m

Origin

Other

Lake type

Dystrophic

Fresh or brackish

Freshwater

Freezing

Freezes in winter

Unmodified lake

No

Natural park

None

Ramsar Convention

Ramsar Site

Lake number

0870number in the national lake survey

Sources: 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 Miyajimanuma Pond

• Dystrophic lakes
• Freshwater lakes