later date, left the area and never returned to that site. Their ROV was lost in 1997 off Yonaguni Island, the last island belonging to Okinawa off the east coast of Taiwan. They were fairly certain that the object was a submarine, and quite possibly the USS Snook. No further dives in the area have yet been attempted. One of the largest volcanic eruption took place at a submarine volcano north of the island in 1924. It had an estimated Volcanic explosivity index of 5. The island's coast was covered in large quantities of pumice and it was also found as far as Hokkaido. Economy Apart from tourism, the island economy is sustained by agricultural production, primarily of pineapple, sugarcane, mango, culture pearl growing and fishing. Geography and climate 90% of the island is covered by dense jungle and mangrove swamps. 80% of the island is protected state land, and 34.3% of the island forms the Iriomote National Park. The highest point on the island is Mt. Komi (古見岳 Komidake) at . Around northwest () of Iriomote is an active undersea volcano which last erupted in 1924; the summit is below sea level. Yubu Island lies about 0.5 km east of Iriomote Island. The island's Urauchi River is the largest river in Okinawa Prefecture, and the smaller Nakama and Nakara rivers also flow within the island. Iriomote is also home to Pinaisara Falls, the largest waterfall in Okinawa Prefecture. Iriomote has a tropical rainforest climate (Köppen climate classification Af). The average yearly temperature is , and the average monthly temperature ranges from in January to in July. Iriomote has a typhoon season that, on average, runs from June to September. Education Schools on Iriomote Island are operated by Taketomi Town. Combined elementary and junior high schools include: Funauki Elementary and Junior High School (竹富町立船浮小中学校) Iriomote Elementary and Junior High School(竹富町立西表小中学校) Junior high schools include: Funaura Junior High School (竹富町立船浦中学校) - Ōhara Junior High School (竹富町立大原中学校) - Elementary schools include: Komi Elementary School (竹富町立古見小学校) - Ohara Elementary School (竹富町立大原小学校) - Haemi Shirama Elementary School (竹富町立白浜小学校) - Shirahama (白浜) Uehara Elementary School (竹富町立上原小学校) - Uehara For public senior high school students may attend schools of the Okinawa Prefectural Board of Education. Gallery References External links Islands of Okinawa Prefecture Yaeyama Islands