Shiretoko National Park

is a World Heritage Site in Hokkaidō, Japan.UNESCO,  "Shiretoko"; retrieved 2012-12-13. The park covers the Shiretoko Peninsula which faces the Sea of Okhotsk.Haggett, Peter. (2001). Encyclopedia of World Geography, p. 3076.  

The word "Shiretoko" is comes from an Ainu word "". It means "end of the Earth".

History
Shiretoko National Park was established in 1964.Japan Integrated Biodiversity Information System (JIBIS),  Shiretoko National Park 38,633 ha.:(June 1, 1964) ; retrieved 2012-12-13.

In 2005, UNESCO named the area a World Heritage Site. UNESCO also suggested that Japan should work with Russia to make an international "World Heritage Peace Park" including the Kuril Islands. Both Japan and Russia claim these islands as part of their countries.

Geography
Shiretoko is hard to get to. Visitors must go to most places on foot or by boat.   There is a hot springs waterfall called .  means "water of the gods" in Ainu.

Plants
The park forests are temperate and subalpine. There are several different types of trees. The most common trees here are Sakhalin fir, Erman's birch, and Mongolian oak.

Animals
The park has Japan's largest mammal species of Ezo brown bears.

References

Other websites


Category:World Heritage Sites in Japan
Category:1964 establishments in Japan
Category:National parks in Japan
Category:Hokkaido Prefecture