Osumi Strait

This strait connects the Osumi Peninsula in Kagoshima Prefecture and the Osumi Islands, and at its narrowest point, is about 40 kilometers wide between Cape Sata, the southernmost point of Kyushu, and Tanegashima. It is 100 to 250 meters deep, and separates the East China Sea from the Pacific Ocean. It is an important shipping route connecting these two oceans, and many ships pass through it. The main stream of the Japan Current (Kuroshio Current) flows through the Tokara Strait into the Pacific Ocean, but a branch of it flows north through the strait, and the current speed in the strait is fast at 1.3 knots (about 2.4 kilometers per hour).

[Kimihiko Tsukada]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

鹿児島県の大隅半島と大隅諸島との間の海峡で、最狭部九州最南端の佐多岬(さたみさき)と種子島(たねがしま)との間の幅は約40キロメートル。水深100～250メートル、東シナ海と太平洋を隔てる。これら2海洋を結ぶ航路として重要で、通過船舶が多い。日本海流（黒潮）の主流部は吐噶喇(とから)海峡を流れて太平洋に入るが、その分流は本海峡を北流し、海峡部の流速は1.3ノット（毎時約2.4キロメートル）と速い。

［塚田公彦］

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