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Iwaki, Fukushima

Core city in Tōhoku, Japan

  • 13 min read
  • 13 chapters
いわき市の景観
Composition by User:Eaglefire · CC BY-SA 3.0

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Geography and climate

The city is located at the southeastern end of Tōhoku region and borders on Ibaraki Prefecture. The city occupies around 8.9 percent of the total area of Fukushima Prefecture. The eastern part of the city is made up of 60 kilometres (37 mi) of coastline which faces the Pacific Ocean and the western part goes through the Abukuma highlands and joins up with the central part of Fukushima Prefecture. The western part is a range of mountains and forests, which occupies about 70 percent of the city. The rivers which flow to the east from the mountains have riverbeds with steep inclines that form the deep valleys of the Natsuigawa Gorge and the Shidokigawa Gorge. The flatter eastern part of the city is where most of the population is located. There are seven beaches on the coastline. Off the coast of Iwaki, the warm Kuroshio Current and the cold Oyashio Current meet and make for an abundant fishing ground. The city's flag and seal depict the meeting of these two currents. The prevailing winds from the ocean are warm and wet.

Neighboring municipalities

  • North: Kawauchi, Naraha, Hirono
  • West: Tamura, Ono, Hirata, Furudono
  • South: Kitaibaraki (Ibaraki)

Climate

Iwaki is situated in a temperate climate zone (Köppen climate classification Cfa or humid subtropical climate) and has a moderate climate. The city's average temperature is 13.1 °C (55.6 °F) and its average annual precipitation is 1,383.0 millimetres (54.45 in). The highest recorded temperature in the city is 37.7 °C (99.9 °F), and the lowest recorded temperature is −10.7 °C (12.7 °F). The average year has 14.4 days with a high temperature over 25 °C (77 °F) and only 3.1 days with a low temperature below 0 °C (32 °F), which is smaller compared to other Japanese cities. The city is rarely hit by typhoons, and experiences only 0.7 days with more than 10 centimetres (3.9 in) of snowfall in the average year. The duration of bright sunshine is 2,058.1 hours in average year.

Natural environment

  • Rivers: Natsuigawa River, Samegawa River, Yoshimagawa River, Fujiwara River
  • Gorges: Natsuigawa Gorge, Shidokigawa Gorge
  • Mountains: Mizuishiyama, Yunodake, Futatsuyasan, Ishimoriyama
  • Hot springs: Iwaki Yumoto Onsen

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