Travelore News: Japanese Adventure Tourism Island Region Hit By Massive 8.5 Earthquake

A massive 8.5 magnitude earthquake corrected to 7.8 later was measured an hour ago at 11.23 UTC time in Chichi-shima, Bonin Islands on a remote Japanese Island.

The island is also located in an area known by outdoor and adventure tourists.

According to the USGS Pacific Warning center no tsunami is expected.

The earthquake location is 874km (543mi) South of Tokyo, Japan
At this time there is no information on damages or injuries.

The Ogasawara Islands is the general term for 30 islands of various size scattered over the Pacific Ocean. Located to the south of the Izu Islands, they are made up of three groups of islands. The first group is the Ogasawara Archipelago consisting of Muko-jima, Chichi-jima and Haha-jima islands. The second group is made up of the Io Islands and three other islands. Nishi-no-shima, Minani-tori-shima, and Oki-no-shima islands belong to the third group. The whole area forms a part of Ogasawara National Park.

The islands were formed by the protrusions of an ancient underwater volcano, so flatlands are rare and there are many sheer cliffs along the coast. Since the climate is oceanic and subtropical, there is little change in temperature, and the area hardly ever receives snow or frost.

Since the Ogasawara Islands have always been remote, never being adjacent to a continent since they were formed, animals and plants have evolved in their own way there. There are over 100 kinds of indigenous plants and more than 14 kinds of animals that are native to the islands, such as the Ogasawara damselfly, all designated as protected species.

Chichi-jima Island, the main island and the entrance to the area, is 1,000 kilometers south of downtown Tokyo in the Pacific Ocean, and it has a land area of about 24 square kilometers. Water-eroded high cliffs surround the island making the scenery even more magnificent, and the area is a popular spot for divers. The seawater around Hyotan-jima, Minami-jima and Hira-shima islands, all belonging to the Ogasawara Archipelago, has very high clarity and the sea is full of coral reefs and tropical fish. The area forms a part of Ogasawara-kaichu-koen Sea Park.