is an area of

wetlands A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

that is located between the cities of

Naha is the Cities of Japan, capital city of Okinawa Prefecture, the southernmost prefecture of Japan. As of 1 June 2019, the city has an estimated population of 317,405 and a population density of 7,939 people per km2 (20,562 persons per sq. mi.). ...

and Tomigusuku, and within Manko Park. Despite being called "Lake Man", it is in fact a wetland and not a lake. Lake Man covers . Lake Man is close to Naha Port, located at the confluence of the lower reaches of the

Kokuba River The is a river in Naha, Okinawa, and is the hydrographic resource for domestic urban fresh water. A number of geographical places on Okinawa bear its name, such as and . The river flows into the East China Sea. Poisoning The river and people ...

and the Noha River, to the south of Naha. Travelers from outside Okinawa Prefecture, en route from

Naha Airport is an international airport located west of the city hallAIS Japan
in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. It is Japan's ...

to the city Naha, cross this estuary, with the left side commanding a view of Lake Man. The Manko Waterbird and Wetland Center is located next to the wetland area and provides information and activities related to the area, as well as a boardwalk into the wetlands. The name ''Manko'' is pronounced the same as a crude Japanese word for female genitals, resulting in some controversy.Jisho search on Manko
/ref>

Nature

Lake Man is an area of

brackish water Brackish water, sometimes termed brack water, is water occurring in a natural environment that has more salinity than freshwater, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing seawater (salt water) and fresh water together, as in estuary ...

at almost the same elevation as

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

. Since the 1960s, with the planting of

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

s, it has been transforming into tidelands. It has also become a relay point for

migrating birds Migration, migratory, or migrate may refer to: Human migration * Human migration, physical movement by humans from one region to another ** International migration, when peoples cross state boundaries and stay in the host state for some minimum le ...

such as

shorebird 245px, A flock of Red_knot.html" ;"title="Dunlins and Red knot">Dunlins and Red knots Waders or shorebirds are birds of the order Charadriiformes commonly found wikt:wade#Etymology 1, wading along shorelines and mudflats in order to foraging, ...

s and

plover Plovers ( , ) are members of a widely distributed group of wader, wading birds of subfamily Charadriinae. The term "plover" applies to all the members of the subfamily, though only about half of them include it in their name. Species lis ...

s, and in 1999 was designated a wetland of international importance under the

Ramsar Convention The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance Especially as Waterfowl Habitat is an international treaty for the conservation and sustainable use of Ramsar site, Ramsar sites (wetlands). It is also known as the Convention on We ...

. A number of threatened species inhabit Lake Man, such as the shellfish ''

Macoma ''Macoma'' is a large genus of saltwater clams, marine bivalve molluscs in the family Tellinidae, the tellins.Gofas, S.; Bouchet, P. (2014 ''Macoma'' Leach, 1819.Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2014-11-01 Species Accord ...

nobilis'', which is found only on

Okinawa Island , officially , is the largest of the Okinawa Islands and the Ryukyu Islands, Ryukyu (''Nansei'') Islands of Japan in the Kyushu region. It is the smallest and least populated of the five Japanese archipelago, main islands of Japan. The island is ...

. The lake is also a noted home to

sandpiper Scolopacidae is a large family of shorebirds, or waders, which mainly includes many species known as sandpipers, but also others such as woodcocks, curlews and snipes. Most of these species eat small invertebrates picked out of the mud or so ...

s and plovers. Manko boardwalk

Deposition of sediments and the worsening of water quality due to the influx of wastewater are among the problems facing these wetlands.

References

External links

wildlife of Lake Man
in English
Manko Waterbird and Wetland Center
in English {{Okinawa

Man A man is an adult male human. Before adulthood, a male child or adolescent is referred to as a boy. Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromosome from the f ...

Naha Landforms of Okinawa Prefecture