Kitakami River

River in Japan

Kitakami River
The Kitakami River in Morioka
Native name	北上川 (Japanese)
Location
Country	Japan
Physical characteristics

Source
• location	Mt. Nanashigure

Mouth
• location	Pacific Ocean
• elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Length	249 km (155 mi)
Basin size	10,150 km² (3,920 sq mi)

Discharge
• average	391 m³/s (13,800 cu ft/s)

The Kitakami River (北上川, Kitakami-gawa) is the fourth largest river in Japan and the largest in the Tōhoku region. It is 249 kilometres (155 mi) long and drains an area of 10,150 square kilometres (3,920 sq mi).^[1] It flows through mostly rural areas of Iwate and Miyagi Prefectures. The source of the river is the Mount Nanashigure in northern Iwate, from which it flows to the south between the Kitakami Mountains and the Ōu Mountains.^[1] The river is unusual in that it has two mouths, one flowing south into Ishinomaki Bay and the other flowing east into the Pacific Ocean, both in Ishinomaki City.

The Kitakami river was an important transportation route during the Edo period and before the building of railways in the early Meiji period. Numerous dams have been constructed on the river and its tributaries from the Taishō and Shōwa periods for hydroelectric power generation, flood control and irrigation.^[1] However, another unusual feature is that there are no dams from its mouth to the Shijūshida Dam north of Morioka. This allows for a spectacular salmon run every fall.

Tributaries

In Iwate Prefecture from north to south showing from which direction the water flows and the city where it empties into the Kitakami River.

Tanto-gawa - from the east (Iwate)
Matsu-gawa - from the west (Hachimantai)
Nakatsu River - from the east (Morioka)
Shizukuishi River - from the west (Morioka)
Iwasaki-gawa - from the west (Shiwa)
Takina-gawa - from the west (Shiwa)
Kuzumaru-gawa - from the west (Hanamaki)
Hienuki-gawa - from the east (Hanamaki)
Sarugaishi River - from the east (Hanamaki)
Se-gawa - from the west (Hanamaki)
Toyosawa-gawa - from the west (Hanamaki)
Waga River - from the west (Kitakami)
Isawa River - from the west (Ōshū)
Hirose-gawa - from the east (Ōshū)
Hitokabe-gawa - from the east (Ōshū)
Koromo-gawa - from the west (Hiraizumi)
Iwai-gawa - from the west (Ichinoseki)
Kitetsu-gawa - from the north (Ichinoseki)
Senmaya-gawa - from the east (Ichinoseki)
Kinomi-gawa - from the east (Fujisawa)
Kinryu-gawa - from the west (Ichinoseki)

References

^ ^a ^b ^c Campbell, Alan. editor (1993). Japan:An Illustrated Encyclopedia. Kodansha. ISBN 406205938X. {{cite book}}: |first= has generic name (help) page 793

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Kitakami River.

38°34′36″N 141°27′36″E / 38.576719°N 141.460111°E / 38.576719; 141.460111 (mouth) 38°24′27″N 141°18′49″E / 38.407483°N 141.313667°E / 38.407483; 141.313667 (former mouth)

River systems and rivers of Japan

Rivers of Hokkaido

Sea of Japan	Ishikari River Chitose River Toyohira River Makomanai River Anano River Yūbari River Koetoi River Rumoi River Shiribeshi-Toshibetsu River Shiribetsu River Teshio River Zenibako River
Sea of Okhotsk	Abashiri River Shibetsu River Shokotsu River Tokoro River Yūbetsu River
Pacific Ocean	Akan River Kushiro River Mitsuishi River Mu River Niikappu River Saru River Shizunai River Tokachi River
Rivers of Hokkaido on Commons

Rivers of Honshu

Tōhoku region	Abukuma River Arakawa River Iwaki River Kitakami River Komagome River Koyoshi River Mabechi River Mogami River Natori River Ōhata River Oirase River Omono River Takase River Yoneshiro River
Kantō region	Arakawa River Edo River Fuji River Kanda River Kuji River Naka River Sagami River Sumida River Tama River Tone River Tsurumi River
Chūbu region	Agano River Shinano River Seki River Hime River Kurobe River Jōganji River Jinzū River Shō River Oyabe River Tedori River Kuzuryū River Fuji River Abe River Ōi River Sakawa River Tenryū River Toyo River Yahagi River Shōnai River Kiso Three Rivers Kiso River Nagara River Ibi River Kushida River Miya River Kita River Minami River
Kansai region	Choshi River Ibo River Kako River Kinokawa River Kumano River Kuzuryu River Maruyama River Muko River Yamato River Yodo River Yasu River Katsura River Kamo River Kizu River Dōton River Yura River
Chūgoku region	Asahi River Ashida River Gōnokawa River Hino River Hii River Ōta River Oze River Saba River Sendai River Takahashi River Takatsu River Tenjin River Yoshii River

Rivers of Shikoku

Aibiki River
Shimanto River
Shinmachi River
- Suketō River
- Tamiya River
- Sako River
- Sumiyoshijima River
Yoshino River
- Dōzan River

Rivers of Kyushu

Kyushu	Arie River Chikugo River Kikuchi River Kuma River Mimi River Ōno River Ōyodo River
Yaeyama Islands	Kokuba River Nakama River Urauchi River