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Ishikari River 石狩川
The Ishikari River at Kamui Kotan near Asahikawa

Etymology	"Winding (River)" in Ainu
Native name	Ishikari-gawa (Japanese)
Location
Country	Japan
State	Hokkaidō
Physical characteristics

Source	Mount Ishikari

Mouth	Sea of Japan
• elevation	0 m (0 ft)
Length	268 km (167 mi)
Basin size	14,330 km² (5,530 sq mi)

Discharge
• average	468 m³/s (16,500 cu ft/s)

The Ishikari River at the north of Sapporo

The Ishikari River (石狩川, Ishikari-gawa), at 268 kilometres (167 mi)^[1] long, is the third longest in Japan and the longest in Hokkaidō. The river drains an area of 14,330 square kilometres (5,530 sq mi),^[1] making it the second largest in Japan, with a total discharge of around 14.8 cubic kilometres (3.6 cu mi) per year.

It originates from Mount Ishikari in the Daisetsuzan Volcanic Group and flows through Asahikawa and Sapporo. Major tributaries of the river include the Chūbetsu, Uryū, Sorachi and Toyohira rivers. Until 40,000 years ago, it flowed into the Pacific Ocean near Tomakomai. Lava from the volcanic Shikotsu mountains dammed the river and moved its mouth to the Ishikari Bay.

The name of the river is derived from the Ainu for "make(s) itself go round about something" (i-si-kari < kari meaning "(to be a) circle, round, loop; spin, turn, go around, go back and forth," si- "reflexive prefix, itself, oneself," and i- "it, something, an impersonal third person object marking prefix, middle voice inflection prefix), i.e. "winding (river)." As it suggests, the river once meandered in the Ishikari Plain and was as long as the Shinano River, the longest river in Japan. Extensive construction and cultivation projects over the centuries have shortened the Ishikari by approximately 100 kilometres, and have also led to the formation of numerous oxbow lakes (三日月湖, mikatsuki ko, lit. crescent moon lake) in the plain as a result of the river changing its course.

The landscape and human activities along the Ishikari River, especially the hard life of tenant farmers, are described in the novel 'The Absentee Landlord' published in 1929 by the Japanese writer Takiji Kobayashi.

References

^ ^a ^b 石狩川 (in Japanese). Ministry of Land,Infrastructure and Transport and Tourism Hokkaido Regional Development Bureau. Archived from the original on 2009-04-01. Retrieved 2009-05-04.

External links

Ishikari-gawa - Britannica

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ishikari River.

43°28′49″N 141°52′10″E / 43.48028°N 141.86944°E / 43.48028; 141.86944

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

Rivers of Japan Category
Rivers of Japan on Commons

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Ishikari River

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References

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