Daitō-rettō
The Daitō-rettō (大東諸島, Daito Islands) are
a remote trio of low carbonate islands located in the Phillipine Sea region of the western Pacific Ocean. They are located
360 km east from Okinawa in the Ryukyu Islands group (see panoramic image). The islands are usually
described as being geographically part of the Ryukyu Islands. However, they are a geologically distinct grouping in
their own right and their affiliation with the Ryukyu Islands is really an administrative one only (they are the easternmost
islands of the Okinawa prefecture).
There are three islands, with a combined land area of 44.46 km², that comprise the group: Kita Daitō-jima (12.71 km²), Minami Daitō-jima (30.6 km²) and Oki Daitō-jima (1.15 km²). Both Minami Daitō-jima and Kita Daitō-jima form a twin pairing of islands located in the northern regions of the group. They are separated from one another by around 7 km, with Kita Daitō-jima being the northernmost. The smallest, and only uninhabited member of the Daitō-rettō, is the isolated island of Oki Daitō-jima located 150 km south from Minami Daitō-jima.
The islands of the Daitō-rettō are raised atoll formations. Each is surrounded by fringing reefs and low limestone cliffs of between 10 m and 20 m in height that surround flat interiors containing areas of marsh, swamp and a few small lakes. The interior of Minami Daitō-jima reaches a height of 75 m above sea level.
The main islands are heavily-cultivated and highly modified. The agricultural practice of the main islands inhabitants — spectacularly evident in the accompanying images — is primarily that of sugar cane.
