Ishikari River, Japanese Ishikari-gawa, river in northern and western Hokkaido, northern Japan, the third longest in the country. It rises near the centre of the Kitami Mountains and flows for about 167 miles (268 km) southwest in a broad arc, draining the Kamikawa Basin, the Sorachi River lowland, and the Ishikari Plain. The river empties into Ishikari Bay of the Sea of Japan (East Sea) on the western side of Hokkaido.
The river’s name is derived from an Ainu term, ishikaribetsu, meaning “greatly meandering river,” which describes the flow of its lower course. Inundations usually occur twice a year, after the thaw of spring and the rains of summer. An extensive flood-control project, which provided a dependable water supply, allowed heavy industries to develop. Industrial growth, in turn, produced serious water pollution in the river valley, which was sacred to the Ainu.
Learn More in these related Britannica articles:
Hokkaido, northernmost of the four main islands of Japan. It is bordered by the Sea of Japan (East Sea) to the west, the Sea of Okhotsk to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the east and south. Together with a few small adjacent islands, it constitutes a dō(province)…
Japan, island country lying off the east coast of Asia. It consists of a great string of islands in a northeast-southwest arc that stretches for approximately 1,500 miles (2,400 km) through the western North Pacific Ocean. Nearly the entire land area is taken up by the country’s four main islands;…
Kitami Mountains, mountain range in northeastern Hokkaido, northern Japan. It extends generally northwest-southeast along the coast of the Sea of Okhotsk before broadening southward into the rugged Daisetsu volcanic group in the interior of the island. The total length of the range is about 180 miles (290 km). The…
Sea of Japan
Sea of Japan, marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded by Japan and Sakhalin Island to the east and by Russia and Korea on the Asian mainland to the west. Its area is 377,600…
RiverRiver, (ultimately from Latin ripa, “bank”), any natural stream of water that flows in a channel with defined banks . Modern usage includes rivers that are multichanneled, intermittent, or ephemeral in flow and channels that are practically bankless. The concept of channeled surface flow, however,…