e.) Natural Resources and Land Usage
The island of Japan (145,826 sq. mi.) is located in the North Pacific Ocean. It is bounded by on the north by the Sea of Okhotsk, on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the Pacific Ocean and the East China Sea, and on the west by the Korea Strait and the Sea of Japan.
Japan is made up of four islands: Hokkaido, Kyushu, Honshu, and Shikoku. The Entire country is smaller than the state of Montana. Honshu is the largest island of the four. It is a very mountainous island and features the Japanese Alps, which is home to Mount Fuji, Japan's highest peak. These Alps also harbor many active and inactive volcanoes. The Kanto Plain, the largest lowland in the country spreads from the Alps. Hokkaido, the northernmost and second largest island is full of forested mountains and hills. Although large in size, Hokkaido only has about 5% of the nation living there. The steep, walled heavily forested mountains that run down the center of the island characterize Kyushu. Kyushu has rolling hills, wide plains and doesn't have much fertile farmland. Many mountains and hills cross up Shikoku, Japan's smallest island.
The climate in Japan is generally mild. However, the temperature for each island varies. For instance, in Hokkaido and northern Honshu, the winters are usually bitterly cold and the summers are very short. In Kyushu, Shikoku, and southern Honshu, the summers are long and humid and winters are mild. All areas in Japan are subject to at least 40 inches of rain a year. Typhoons are common in late summer-early fall.
Japan is home to more than 17,000 specie
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