Ogasawara National Park

Ogasawara National Park (小笠原国立公園, Ogasawara Kokuritsu Kōen) is a national park in the Ogasawara Islands, located approximately one thousand kilometres to the south of Tokyo, Japan. The park was established in 1972 within the municipality of Ogasawara, itself part of Tokyo.[1][2][3] In 2011, the Ogasawara Islands were inscribed upon the UNESCO World Heritage List.[4]

Ogasawara National Park
小笠原国立公園
Map showing the location of Ogasawara National Park
Map showing the location of Ogasawara National Park
Ogasawara National Park
Location of Ogasawara National Park
LocationBonin Islands, Japan
Coordinates26°52′00″N 142°10′59″E / 26.8667°N 142.183°E / 26.8667; 142.183
Area66.29 km2 (25.59 sq mi)
Established16 October 1972
Governing bodyMinistry of the Environment (Japan)

Islands

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The archipelago is also known as the Bonin Islands, a corruption of munin (無人), meaning 'uninhabited'.[5] The islands were returned to Japanese administration in 1968 after US Occupation.[5] The Chichijima, Hahajima, and Mukojima clusters are included within the park, but of the three Volcano Islands, Iwo Jima and Minami Iwo Jima are not.[1]

Flora and fauna

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According to the IUCN evaluation for UNESCO, 441 taxa of native plants have been recorded, of which 161 of vascular plants and 88 of woody plants are endemic; the only native mammal is the critically endangered Bonin flying fox; of the 195 recorded species of birds, fourteen are on the IUCN Red List; of the two terrestrial reptiles, the Ogasawara snake-eyed skink (Cryptoblepharus nigropunctatus) is endemic; of 1,380 insect species, 379 are endemic; of 134 species of lands snails, 100 are endemic. 40 species of freshwater fish, 23 of cetaceans, 795 of saltwater fish, and 226 of hermatypic coral have been recorded.[6]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Ogasawara National Park". Natural Parks Foundation. Archived from the original on 27 April 2015. Retrieved 9 February 2012.
  2. ^ "Introducing places of interest: Ogasawara National Park". Ministry of the Environment. Archived from the original on 23 September 2009. Retrieved 9 February 2009.
  3. ^ "Ogasawara National Park – Basic Information" (in Japanese). Ministry of the Environment. Archived from the original on 28 January 2013. Retrieved 9 February 2009.
  4. ^ "Ogasawara Islands". UNESCO. Retrieved 9 February 2009.
  5. ^ a b Sutherland, Mary; Britton, Dorothy (1995). National Parks of Japan. Kodansha. pp. 92–4. ISBN 4-7700-1971-8.
  6. ^ "Ogasawara Islands – IUCN Technical Evaluation" (PDF). UNESCO. p. 62. Retrieved 9 February 2009.
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