Ocean/sea sources Pacific Ocean Max. length 40 km (24.85 mi) Surface area 1,668 km (644 sq mi) | Basin countries Japan Max. width 40 km (24.85 mi) Area 1,668 km² | |
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Location Aomori Prefecture, Japan | ||
Tsunami coverage 311 mutsu bay japan
Mutsu Bay (陸奥湾, Mutsu-wan) is a bay in Aomori Prefecture, in the northern Tohoku region of northern Japan. It is bordered by the Tsugaru Peninsula to the west, the Shimokita Peninsula to the east and north, with an east-west distance of approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) and a north-south distance of approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) at its eastern end, with a total area of approximately 1,667.89 square kilometres (643.98 sq mi). The outlet of the bay is the 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) wide Tairadate Strait which connects Mutsu Bay to the Tsugaru Strait separating the islands of Honshu and Hokkaido. The bay has an average depth of 40 metres (130 ft) to 45 metres (148 ft), with a maximum depth of 70 metres (230 ft) near its outlet to the Tsugaru Strait.
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Map of Mutsu Bay, Japan
Mutsu Bay includes Aomori Bay in the southwest, Noheji Bay in the southeast and Ōminato Bay to the northeast.
Economically, the shallow waters of the bay are an important fishery, with the cultivation of scallops predominating. Other products commercially harvested include Sea cucumber, Olive flounder and Ascidiacea. The fisheries were severely damaged by the 2010 Northern Hemisphere summer heat waves.
In the year 2002, the Ministry of the Enviroment classified some tidal flats of the eastern Mutsu Bay shoreline to be one of the 500 Important Wetlands in Japan.