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Tone River, Japanese Tone-gawa, major river of the Kantō Plain, Honshu, Japan. It rises in the volcanic area of northwestern Kantō chihō (region), about 35 miles (56 km) north of Maebashi in Gumma ken (prefecture). The river flows for 200 miles (320 km) south and southeast through the centre of the Kantō Plain to enter the Pacific Ocean at Chōshi in Chiba ken, near Cape Inubō. It was once known as Bandō Tarō, the principal river of Japan in the Bandō (now Kantō) region.
No other river in Japan has been so modified by human activity. Its entire length has been embanked with dikes, and the course itself often has been altered. The most notable alteration was completed in 1654, when the lower course was diverted from draining into Tokyo Bay and channeled into its present outlet.
The Tone River and its tributaries and distributaries are navigable for small boats. The river system formed a major transportation network in the Kantō Plain, giving rise to many small port towns. In competition with road and rail transport, most of the towns—such as Sawara, Sekiyado, Noda, and Nagareyama—lost their function as ports.
The Tone River is an indispensable source of water for irrigation throughout its populous drainage basin. Since 1950, dams have been constructed on its headwaters to produce hydroelectricity and to form reservoirs to supply water to the Keihin Industrial Zone.
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