Ise-Shima: Land and Sea
Ise Shima’s landscape is made up of gentle mountains covered in dense evergreen forests and islands scattered along the coast. Its seascape is marked by the contrast of the calm waters of its bays and inlets with the rough waves of the Pacific Ocean. The geological history of the region and the sustainable habits practiced by its people in more recent times have helped to create the rich biodiversity which can be found throughout Ise-Shima National Park.
The topography of the Shima Peninsula is the result of plate tectonics. The continuous movement of plates against each other caused sedimentary rock on the seabed to push upward—a process that started three hundred million years ago. The shoreline is a ria coast of fragmented capes and inlets formed over 10,000 years ago, when river valleys were submerged by the sea after the last glacial period. The islands found in the bays emerged when the ocean surged inland. The rugged sea cliffs along the coast were created by the repeated surging and receding of water over time.