Iōtō
Iōtō (硫黄島? literally, 'island of sulfur') or < b>Iōjima or Iwo Tō (until 2007 it was commonly called Iwo Jima) is a Japanese island of volcanic origin that is part of the Vulcano Islands (in the southern tip of the Ogasawara Archipelago), located approximately 1,200 km (650 nautical miles) south of Tokyo. Administratively it is part of the Ogasawara subprefecture of Tokyo.
The island was the scene of the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II, remaining occupied by the United States until 1968. It was on February 23, 1945, on Mount Suribachi, that one of the most famous photographs was taken of World War II, by Joe Rosenthal.
It has an area of approximately 21 km² (8 mi²). The island's most prominent feature is Mount Suribachi (Suribachi-yama), a vent believed to be inactive and 166 m span> height. Iōtō is unusually flat and featureless unlike most volcanic islands. Suribachi is its only obvious volcanic feature, although Iōtō is almost entirely volcanic in origin, it only represents the uplifted center of a much larger submerged volcanic caldera.
Toponymy
The character 島 (island) is read shima / jima in the native Japanese reading (kun'yomi), or < i>tō in Chinese origin reading (on'yomi) depending on what other character it accompanies. The island was traditionally called Iwōtō, although due to phonetic changes in Japanese the name was pronounced Iōtō (as would be reflected in the Japanese script after the spelling reform of 1946). The alternate name of "Iwo Jima" It appeared in naval atlases along with the traditional one, which is why it was later used by the Japanese army before the American invasion, becoming the majority pronunciation.
Following protests from the island's former inhabitants, the Japanese government through the Japan Institute of Geographical Studies of the Ministry of Land, Transport and Tourism debated the matter and decreed on June 18, 2007 that the island's name it would be the one from before the war, Iōtō.
History
The island was discovered in 1543 by the Spaniard Bernardo de la Torre. Around 1887 Japan made a research trip and it was not until 1889 when the first inhabitants arrived to occupy it. It was formally added to Tokyo Prefecture in 1891. By 1943 there were about 1,100 Japanese civilians established on the island. Most of them were also employees of the sugar cane located in the northeastern part of the island, or of the sulfur mine and refinery in the same area. The inhabitants of Iwo Jima lived in one of five establishments, distributed in the northern half of the island. The northernmost settlement was Kita (literally "North"), in the north-central part of Iwo. The village of Nishi ('West') was located in the northwestern part of the island, while Motoyama, the largest built-up area on Iwo, was near the sulfide mine and refinery. The two remaining villages, Higashi ("East") and Minami ("South"), were located in the northeastern part of the island.
World War II
The Battle of Iwo Jima, called Operation Key DetachmentIt is the name that receives one of the most bloody combats of World War II, waged on the island of Iwo Jima among the United States Marines and the forces of the Army of the Empire of Japan from February to March 1945, during the Pacific War.
At the end of the fighting, the Americans managed to conquer the island and control its important aviation fields. However, during the bloody battle they encountered the extreme resistance of the Japanese, being the first and only battle in the whole war where the U.S. casualties overcame the Japanese.
On the top of the mountain Suribachi of the island, a few days after the start of the fighting, journalist Joe Rosenthal took one of the most popular images of World War II, titled Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima, awarded with the Pulitzer Prize, in which several marines are observed pushing the mast with which they erected the American flag in that place. The subsequent publicity use by the US government. UU. provoked a controversy over the protagonists of the episode.Since 1945
Primary industries included sulfur mining and sugar refining, although the island is currently uninhabited, and access requires special permits. The island is administered by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.
The smell of sulfur is intense and its vegetation is sparse. The only human occupation on the island is that of a sea base of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Once a year, the United States government organizes visits for civilians.
Geography and geology
Only in the northern part of the island is there soil that allows the cultivation of certain plants. In the past, vegetables, sugar cane and dry grains have been planted for local consumption. One of the biggest impediments to the establishment of a considerable number of inhabitants on the island is the absence of fresh water sources, such as rivers or lakes. Since the island also lacks wells, the water must be collected from the rains by means of cisterns.
While the northern half of the island is barren but habitable, the southern half of Iwo Jima is virtually uninhabitable. At the southern tip of the island is Mount Suribachi, an inactive volcanic cone, which reaches a height of 168 meters above sea level. A plateau occupies most of the central area of the island. The area between the north face of Suribachi and the northernmost part of the plateau is covered by a deep layer of black volcanic ash, so fine and loosely packed that even walking on it is difficult. Vehicles with wheels are unable to travel through it, and those equipped with tracks do so with difficulty.
Ecology
The desolation of the island is further accentuated by the sparse vegetation and the absence of native animals. In 1944, the only residents of Iōtō were Japanese soldiers and rats that were accidentally brought in with the supplies; the only endemic bird, a subspecies of the white-browed redfish, became extinct in the 1920s after the expansion of mining operations.