GEOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OP JAPAN 25 



betsu, etc., are located there. Seaward from these elevations stretches 

 a gently undulating hilly region through which many large rivers flow, 

 such as the Ishikari-gawa, Teshio-gawa, Tokachi-gawa, etc. Fertile 

 plains are fonnd along these rivers. The largest plain in the island 

 is that of Ishikari, which separates the main Lody of the island from 

 its peninsular part and penetrates further northward into the mountain 

 district along the river Ishikari. Kamikawa is a basin aL the upper 

 course of that river. 



Agriculture is largely pursued in this island. Various kinds of 

 cereals and beans, and even rice, are raised everywhere. The island 

 j)roduces also good horses and cattle. Lumbering is one of the 

 principal industries. Pulp is prepared in great quantity for paper 

 mills, and sleepers are exported for the railways at home and abroad. 

 Fishery is the most important industry of this island. Herring is 

 obtained abundantly for foodstuffs and fertilisers. Salmon, codfish 

 and a seaweed, Laminaria, are also collected in quantity and exported 

 to China. Sapporo, the political centre, of this island, and the seat 

 of a university, is situated in the plain of Ishikari, and Otaru, its 

 flourishing harbour, lies at a short distance from it. 



ChisMma, or the Kuriles : — This group of islands stretches from 

 the Bay of Nemuro to the southern extremity of Kamchatka Penin- 

 sula, describing a large arc forming the eastern boundary of the Sea 

 of Okhotsk. These islands are entirely of volcanic origin, accompany- 

 ing Tertiary strata in some islands. The three great islands of 

 Kunashiri, Etorofu, and Uruppu, lie to the northeast of the main 

 island of Hokkaido in the order named. These islands have been 

 explored but little and are very sparsely populated. 



vii. Karafuto : — The island of Sakhalin is the northernmost 

 element of the northern arc of the Japanese Islands. It is a large 

 island, with an area of about 78,000 sq. km. It stretches north and 

 south on the meridian of 149° 30' E., and is about 950 km. long, 

 while the mean width measures scarcely one-tenth of its length. It has 

 a simple form and regular structure. Nearly in the centre of the 

 island, a peninsula called Nishi-Shiretoko shoots out to the southeast, 

 while the principal part of the island extends due south along the 

 axis of the island and bifurcates once more at the south end into 

 two arms, Notoro Peninsula on the southwest, and Shiretoko Peninsula 

 on the southeast. 



With respect to its structure, the island is divided into three 



