Hii River

Hii River
斐伊川
Hii River in 2010
Location
CountryJapan
PrefectureShimane, Tottori
Physical characteristics
SourceMount Sentsū
 • coordinates35°09′50″N 133°11′09″E / 35.1638°N 133.1858°E / 35.1638; 133.1858
MouthMiho Bay
 • coordinates
35°33′15″N 133°16′22″E / 35.5541°N 133.2728°E / 35.5541; 133.2728
Length153 km (95 mi)
Basin size2,070 km2 (800 sq mi)
Discharge 
 • locationOhtsu, Izumo
 • average1.4 bn m3/year

The Hii River (斐伊川, Hii-kawa) is a river on the island of Honshu in Shimane Prefecture and Tottori Prefecture, Japan.[1] With a length of 153 km and catchment of 2540 km2, it is the largest river in the east of Shimane Prefecture.[2][3] It flows through the cities of Izumo and Matsue and through the lakes Shinji and Nakaumi and discharges into the Sea of Japan.[3]

In the antiquity the river was known as "Izumo-no-okawa" (出雲大川, "The great Izumo river").[4][5]

The River Hii significantly changed its course and transformed the land several times during last 7 millennia.[6] Alluvial deposits carried by the river joined the Shimane peninsula to the mainland, which may have been represented in the "Kunibiki-shinwa" myth.[6][7] Since the 17th century it flows into lake Shinji, and since the early 20th century continues to the Sea of Japan.[6][7] Hii river frequently caused floods in its catchment. On the other hand, it was and currently is an important source of drinking and irrigation water.[6][7] During the Edo period the upper Hii catchment was the largest iron-producing region in Japan.[8] Nowadays the river is dammed for the production of hydropower. The largest dams are Obara and Hinobori.[7]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference kotobank was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Fawu Wang, Miguel Clüsener-Godt & Zili Dai (2019). "Report on the UNESCO Chair 2019 field school on Geoenvironmental Disaster Reduction in Shimane University, Japan". Geoenviron Disasters. 6 (13). doi:10.1186/s40677-019-0128-6.
  3. ^ a b 斐伊川. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (in Japanese). 2008. Retrieved 2021-08-15.
  4. ^ 斐伊川の歴史. Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-08-26.
  5. ^ コラム 国生み、国引き神話. 農業農村整備情報総合センター (in Japanese). Retrieved 2021-08-26.
  6. ^ a b c d Ikeuchi K. (1996). "The history of flood control and the floodway projects of the Hiikawa River" (PDF). International Workshop on Floodplain Risk Management I. 159: 11.
  7. ^ a b c d Hii River. The bounty of nature (PDF). Foundation of river and basin integrated communications, Japan. 2014-10-29. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
  8. ^ "The Legend of Kunibiki From Izumo-no-kuni Fudoki". Shimane Prefecture. Retrieved 2021-09-04.