Gukan Jima JA - Abandon Ship! Battleship Island, That Is.
Gukan Jima JA
Battleship Island - What an interesting name! Gukan Jima or Gunkan Jima is a very small island offshore of Nagasaki city located on the island of Kyushu, Japan. I have mapped other very small islands Sveti Anastasia, Bulgaria and Penon Alhucemas, Spain for example. This one is unique and currently without any population. It seems that Gukan JIma, real name Ha-shima, was originally a reef that happened to be located over rich coal deposits. In 1810 the mines were opened and the reef was gradually built up to support a permanent population. Eventually over 5,000 people lived on this very small piece of manufactured land. That is, up until the 1970s. Like all mining operations eventually do, the coal became unprofitable to mine, the mining operation was shut down and everybody moved back to the mainland. All that is left today is the abandoned buildings and household goods people left behind. Visitors to the island describe it as a ghost town. If you wish to visit this interesting place, you must first secure permission from local authorities. There are a number of sites that discuss the island and it's current sad state of affairs. Just Google Gukan Jima or Gunkan Jima and you will find a number of interesting links. But if you want a map of the island, well, you are at the right place.
view Gukan Jima on Google Maps
Enjoy!
Labels: Digital Earth Tech, EVS, island, Japan, map, Marplot, Pacific
