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Lake Biwa | |
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琵琶湖 (Japanese) | |
![]() Lake Biwa from space | |
Location | Shiga Prefecture, Japan |
Coordinates | 35°15′18″N 136°04′48″E / 35.25500°N 136.08000°E |
Type | Ancient lake, tectonic, freshwater |
Primary inflows | 118 rivers |
Primary outflows | Seta River |
Catchment area | 3,174 km2 (1,225 sq mi) |
Basin countries | Japan |
Max. length | 63.49 km (39.45 mi) |
Max. width | 22.8 km (14.2 mi) |
Surface area | 670.3 km2 (258.8 sq mi)[1] |
Average depth | 41 m (135 ft) |
Max. depth | 104 m (341 ft)[1] |
Water volume | 27.5 km3 (6.6 cu mi)[1] |
Residence time | 5.5 years |
Shore length1 | 235.2 km (146.1 mi) |
Surface elevation | 85.6 m (281 ft) |
Islands | Chikubu, Takeshima, Okishima (inhabited) |
Settlements | Higashiōmi, Hikone, Kusatsu, Maibara, Moriyama, Nagahama, Ōmihachiman, Ōtsu, Takashima, Yasu |
Official name | Biwa-ko |
Designated | June 10, 1993 |
Reference no. | 617[2] |
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. |
Lake Biwa (琵琶湖, Biwa-ko) is the largest freshwater lake in Japan. It is located entirely within Shiga Prefecture (west-central Honshu), northeast of the former capital city of Kyoto.[3] Lake Biwa is an ancient lake, over 4 million years old.[1] It is estimated to be the 13th oldest lake in the world.[4] Because of its proximity to country's historical capital Kyoto, references to Lake Biwa appear frequently in Japanese literature, particularly in poetry and in historical accounts of battles.
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