Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
(
小宝島
; Ko-takara-jima) is smaller. In fact, this island, whose name means “Little Treasure
Island,” is the smallest inhabited island in the Tokara Archipelago, measured both by popu-
lation and area. As for people, the most recent population count was 37 inhabitants. As for
size, the island is a little round circle just about exactly three-quarters of a mile (1 kilometer)
in diameter.
Since one is such a nice easy number, let's figure out just how big (or small) this island
really is. If you remember your high school geometry, the area of a circle is its radius squared
times
pi
. For our purposes,
pi
(π) can be approximately 3.1416. The mathematical formula is:
A = r2 x π. Therefore, since the diameter of Kotakara is three-quarters of a mile (1 kilometer),
its radius is ½ or .50 of three-quarters of a mile (1 kilometer). One-half times one-half equals
one-quarter (½ x ½ = ¼ or .50 x .50 = .25). One-quarter times π equals 0.7854 kilometers
(.25 x 3.1416 = 0.7854). Thus, Kotakarajima's area is a bit more than ¾ of a square kilometer.
Euclid move over!
The southern port side of Kotakarajima, the smallest inhabited island in the Tokara Archipelago.
Expressed another way, 0.7854 square kilometers equals 0.3033 square miles or less than
⅓ of a square mile. By any means of reckoning, that's pretty small.
Here's one more calculation. The circumference of a circle is its diameter times
pi
, or ex-
pressed mathematically, C = d x π. It can also be expressed as C = (2 x radius) x π. Therefore,
the circumference of Kotakara is three-quarters of a mile (1 kilometer) times π (1 x 3.1416
= 3.1416) or 3.1416 kilometers. In fact, the circumference of the island is a little bigger as it's
not a perfect circle. Walking its slightly irregular shoreline measures 3 miles (4.5 kilometers);
and similarly, its area is a bit closer to one full square kilometer. Like tiny uninhabited Kojima
next door, Kotakarajima loses about one-quarter to one-third of its surface area twice a day
during high tides. Therefore, the homes and other structures on the island are built on the
higher ground, which is otherwise covered in year-round vegetation.
Kotakarajima is not particularly flat or low. Its high point reaches 338 feet (103 meters)
above sea level, and most of the island is elevated. It's the island's 650-foot (200-meter)-wide
