 Tottori Prefecture (鳥取県, Tottori-ken) - A
prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region on Honshū
island. The capital is the city of Tottori. It is the least
populous prefecture in Japan.
Tottori is home to the Tottori Sand Dunes (鳥取砂丘;
tottori-sakyū), Japan's only large dune system.
The Tottori Sand Dunes (鳥取砂丘, Tottori sakyū?) are unique
sand dunes located near Tottori City in Tottori Prefecture,
Honshū, Japan. They are located at approximately 35°32′21″N
134°13′43″E / 35.539106, 134.228522 and consist the only
large dune system (over 30 km²) in Japan.
 The dunes were created by sediment deposits carried from the
Chūgoku Mountains by the Sendai River into the Sea of Japan.
Sea currents and wind help bring the sand from the bottom up
onto the shore, where the wind constantly rearranges their
shape. The dunes have existed for over 100,000 years, but
the area of the dunes has been steadily decreasing due to a
government reforestation program following World War II.
Additionally, concrete barriers erected to protect the coast
(the part of Sanin Kaigan National Park) from tsunamis have
disrupted the flow of currents responsible for bringing the
sand to shore. In recent years authorities have adopted
measures to stop the shrinkage of the dunes, partly because
they attract a significant amount of tourism to the area.
The Tottori prefectural government has attempted to dump
sand off the shore near the dunes in the hopes that it will
wash ashore, as well as employing the manual removal of
encroaching grassy areas. The lasting ability for these
efforts to protect the dunes is as of yet unknown. Each
year, around 2 million visitors—mostly from within Japan and
East Asia—visit the dunes.
Tottori Prefecture is heavily agricultural and its products
are shipped to major cities. Some of the famous products are
nashi pear, nagaimo, rakkyo, negi (shiro-negi, Welsh onion),
and watermelon.
Four cities are located in Tottori Prefecture:
Kurayoshi
Sakaiminato
Tottori (capital)
Yonago
Information source: “Tottori Prefecture.” wikipedia.org. Article
date: 22 Dec. 2007. Retrieved: Wikipedia. 4 Mar. 2008 <Tottori Prefecture>. |
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