Ishikari River

Japanese: 石狩川 - いしかりがわ

A river that flows through the center of Hokkaido and empties into the Sea of Japan. It is 268 km long. As the Ainu name Ishikaribetsu (meaning a very winding river) indicates, it is a very meandering river. It was once the second longest river in Japan at 365 km long, but was recently shortened by renovating the meandering course. Its source is Mount Ishikari, and it flows through the Sounkyo gorge into the Kamikawa Basin, joining tributaries such as the Chubetu River and Biei River in Asahikawa City. It flows westward through the horizontal valley of Kamuikotan, exits the Sorachi lowlands, joins the Uryu River from the north, flows southward to join the Sorachi River in Takikawa City, the Yubari River in Ebetsu City, and the Toyohira River north of Sapporo City, and flows northwestward to Ishikari Bay. During the snowmelt season, it often floods and creates a meandering belt with a maximum width of 16 km. Numerous oxbow lakes and wetlands are formed in the old meandering course. As a major transportation and agricultural artery for the Ishikari Plain, it was used for water transport from the beginning of its development, but its value decreased after the construction of the railway line. River improvement works and land improvement projects on both banks were carried out over a period of about half a century from the 1910s, and rice paddy areas were created in the Ishikari River basin, making it Hokkaido's number one rice-producing area. More than 40 hydroelectric power plants on the main tributaries are the backbone of the economy, and the abundant river water is used for agricultural, industrial and drinking water. Salmon fishing at the river's mouth is currently in decline due to overfishing and the inflow of pesticides and urban sewage.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

北海道の中央部を貫流し，日本海へ注ぐ川。全長 268km。アイヌ語のイシカリベツ (非常に屈曲する川の意) で示されるように蛇行の激しい川で，かつては全長 365km，日本第2の長流であったが，近年蛇行流を改修して短縮された。水源は石狩岳で，層雲峡の峡谷を経て上川盆地に入り，旭川市で忠別川と美瑛川などの支流を合せる。西流して神居古潭の横谷を通って空知低地帯へ出て，北方からの雨竜川を合せ，南流して滝川市で空知川を，江別市で夕張川，札幌市北方で豊平川を合せ，北西流して石狩湾に注ぐ。融雪期にはしばしば氾濫，洪水を繰返し，最大幅 16kmの蛇行帯をつくっている。蛇行帯には古い流路に多数の三日月湖や湿地を形成。石狩平野の交通，農業の大動脈として開拓当初から水運に利用されたが，鉄道敷設後は価値が減少した。 1910年代から約半世紀にわたる河川改修工事と両岸の土地改良事業の実施により，石狩川流域には水田地域が造成され，北海道第1の米作地帯となった。本支流四十余の水力発電所は経済の基幹であり，その豊富な河水は，農業用水，工業用水，上水道用水として使用される。河口のサケ漁は，乱獲や，農薬，都市下水などの流入のため現在は不振。

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