Yaeyama Islands
Island group within the Ryukyu Islands, Japan / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Yaeyama Islands (八重山列島 Yaeyama-rettō, also 八重山諸島 Yaeyama-shotō, Yaeyama: Yaima, Yonaguni: Daama, Okinawan: Yeema, Northern Ryukyuan: やへま Yapema) are an archipelago in the southwest of Okinawa Prefecture, Japan, and cover 591.46 square kilometres (228.36 sq mi).[1] The islands are located southwest of the Miyako Islands, part of the Ryukyu Islands archipelago.[2] The Yaeyama Islands are the remotest part of Japan from the main islands and contain Japan's most southern (Hateruma) and most western (Yonaguni) inhabited islands.[3] The city of Ishigaki serves as the political, cultural, and economic center of the Yaeyama Islands.[4] On maps dating to the 1700s, the Yaeyama Group of Islands appears as the "Majico Sima Group",[5][6] "Nambu-soto Islands",[7] "Nambu Soto",[8] and the "Taipin Islands".[9]
Native name: Yaeyama-rettō (八重山列島) | |
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Geography | |
Location | Pacific Ocean |
Coordinates | 24°21′47″N 123°44′47″E |
Archipelago | Sakishima Islands |
Adjacent to | East China Sea |
Total islands | 23 |
Major islands | Ishigaki Island, Iriomote Island, Yonaguni Island |
Area | 587.16 km2 (226.70 sq mi) |
Highest elevation | 525.5 m (1724.1 ft) |
Highest point | Mount Omoto |
Administration | |
Prefecture | Okinawa Prefecture |
Demographics | |
Population | 53,627 (March 31, 2011[1]) |
Pop. density | 91/km2 (236/sq mi) |
Ethnic groups | Ryukyuans, Japanese |