Kita River


The Kita River is a river in Shiga and Fukui Prefectures, Japan. It is designated a Classification of [rivers in Japan|Class A] river by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism. It empties into Obama Bay, a sub-bay of Wakasa Bay on the Sea of Japan about northeast of the mouth of the Minami River. It has been ranked among the best rivers in Japan for water quality since 1981.

Geography

The source of the Kita River is found at an elevation of about on the slopes of Mount Sanjūsangen in Takashima, Shiga Prefecture, Japan. Its length is from its source to its mouth.
It flows in a generally northwesterly direction, with the Toba River joining it in Wakasa and the Onyū River in Obama. Its left-hand tributaries include the Samukaze, Kōchi, Onyū, and Matsunaga Rivers, and its right-hand tributaries include the Amasu, Toba, Nogi, and Eko Rivers.
Its drainage basin covers an area of, with approximately 80 percent of that in mountainous terrain. The drainage basin is about 83 percent forest, 13 percent agricultural, and 4 percent other use such as residential and commercial. Since 1981, it has been ranked as the top Class A river for water quality among those overseen by the Kinki Regional Development Bureau.
Uriwari Falls is located southwest of the confluence of the Toba River with the Kita River. These falls are ranked 36th in the top 100 famous water features of Japan as named by the Ministry of the Environment. Unose, a series of rapids on the Onyū, is located downstream from where Route 27 crosses the Onyū River.

Drainage basin and tributaries

The Kita River drainage basin is contained with the city of Takashima in Shiga Prefecture, and the city of Obama and the town of Wakasa in Fukui Prefecture. The river has several main tributaries, listed here in order from the source in Takashima to the mouth at Obama Bay in Obama.

Flora and fauna

The Kita River is home to many types of fish and other animals.

Development

The JR West Obama Line follows the river from near the junction of Japan National Routes 303 and 27 and where Route 27 crosses the Matsunaga River. The Maizuru-Wakasa Expressway crosses the Kita about north of the intersection of Routes 27 and 162, at which it crosses the Tada River.

Flooding

In September 1953, heavy rainfall from Typhoon Tess caused major flooding along the Kita River and its tributaries, destroying many fields and injuring or killing almost nearly 500 people. This was the largest flooding of the river and its tributaries since 1896.