The Kuril Islands (pronounced /ˈkʊrɪl/ or /ˈkjuˈriˈl/; Russian: Кури́льские острова́ [kuˈrʲilskiɪe əstrʌˈva], Kuril'skie ostrova) or Kurile Islands in Russia's Sakhalin Oblast region, are a volcanic island archipelago that stretches approximately 1,300 km (700 miles) northeast from Hokkaidō, Japan, to Kamchatka, Russia, separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the North Pacific Ocean. Russian ( transliteration:,) is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending Sakhalin Oblast (Сахали́нская о́бласть Sakhalinskaya oblast) is a federal subject of Russia (an Oblast) comprising WikipediaWikiProject Japanese prefectures for guidelines --> formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan 's For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending The Sea of Okhotsk ( Russian: Охо́тское мо́ре English Transliteration: Okhotskoye More) is a part of the western Pacific Ocean, The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth 's Oceanic divisions There are 56 islands in total and many more minor rocks.

Contents 1 Nomenclature 2 Geography 3 Marine ecology 4 Terrestrial ecology 5 History 5.1 Japanese Administration in the Kuril Archipelago 5.2 Kuril during World War II 6 Current Situation and the Economy 7 Atlasov Island 8 Islands 9 See also 10 References 11 Further reading 12 External links

Nomenclature

The Kuril Islands are known in Japanese as the Chishima Islands (Kanji: 千島列島 / Hepburn Romaji: Chishima Rettō [tɕiɕima ɺetːoː], literally, Thousand Islands Archipelago), also known as the Kuriru Islands (Kanji: クリル列島 / Hepburn Romaji: Kuriru Rettō [kɯɺiɺɯ ɺetːoː], literally, Kuril Archipelago). is a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities are the Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese logographic writing system along with Hiragana (ひらがな 平仮名 Katakana The is named after James Curtis Hepburn, who used it to transcribe the sounds of the Japanese language into the Latin alphabet in the third edition of his Japanese–English are the Chinese characters that are used in the modern Japanese logographic writing system along with Hiragana (ひらがな 平仮名 Katakana The is named after James Curtis Hepburn, who used it to transcribe the sounds of the Japanese language into the Latin alphabet in the third edition of his Japanese–English The name Kuril originates from the autonym of the aboriginal Ainu, the islands' original inhabitants: "kur", meaning man. The Ainu language (Ainu ain アイヌ イタク aynu itak; Japanese: ja アイヌ語 ainu-go) is spoken by the Ainu ʔáinu (also called Ezo in historical texts are an ethnic group indigenous to Hokkaidō, the Kuril Islands, and much of Sakhalin. It may also be related to names for other islands that have traditionally been inhabited by the Ainu people, such as Kuyi or Kuye for Sakhalin and Kai for Hokkaidō. ʔáinu (also called Ezo in historical texts are an ethnic group indigenous to Hokkaidō, the Kuril Islands, and much of Sakhalin. Sakhalin (Сахали́н səxʌˈlʲin Japanese:nihongo|樺太|karafuto or; Chinese: 庫頁 Kùyè also Saghalien, is a large elongated WikipediaWikiProject Japanese prefectures for guidelines --> formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan 's

Geography

The Kuril Islands form part of the ring of tectonic instability encircling the Pacific ocean referred to as the Ring of Fire. This article discusses the geologic usage for the philosophical or architectural usage see Architectonics ' Or see Plate tectonics. The islands themselves are summits of stratovolcanoes that are a direct result of the subduction of the Pacific Plate under the Okhotsk Plate, which forms the Kuril Trench some 200 km east of the islands. A stratovolcano, also called a composite volcano is a tall conical Volcano composed of many layers of hardened Lava, Tephra, and Volcanic The Pacific Plate is an oceanic Tectonic plate beneath the Pacific Ocean. The Okhotsk Plate is a Tectonic plate covering the Sea of Okhotsk, the Kamchatka Peninsula, and Eastern Japan. The Kuril-Kamchatka Trench or Kuril Trench ( Russian Курило-Камчатский жёлоб) is an Oceanic trench with a maximum depth The chain has around 100 volcanoes, some 40 of which are active, and many hot springs and fumaroles. A hot spring is a spring that is produced by the emergence of geothermally heated Groundwater from the earth's crust. There is frequent seismic activity, including an earthquake of magnitude 8. An earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth 's crust that creates Seismic waves Earthquakes are recorded with a Seismometer 3 recorded on November 15, 2006, which resulted in tsunami waves up to 5 ft reaching the California coast. Events 655 - Battle of Winwaed: Penda of Mercia is defeated by Oswiu of Northumbria. Year 2006 ( MMVI) was a Common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. A tsunami ((tsuːˈnɑːmi is a series of waves created when California ( is a US state on the West Coast of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean.

The climate on the islands is generally severe, with long, cold, stormy winters and short and notoriously foggy summers. The average annual precipitation is 30–40 inches (760–1,000 mm), most of which falls as snow.

The chain ranges from temperate to sub-Arctic climate types, and the vegatative cover consequently ranges from tundra in the north to dense spruce and larch forests on the larger southern islands. Spruce refers to Trees of the genus Picea, a genus of about 35 species of Coniferous Evergreen trees in the Family Pinaceae Larches are Conifers in the genus Larix, in the family Pinaceae. The highest elevations on the island are Alaid volcano (highest point 2339 m) on Atlasov Island at the northern end of the chain and Tyatya volcano (1819 m) on Kunashir Island at the southern end. Atlasov Island, known in Japanese as Araido, is the northernmost island and volcano and also the highest volcano of the Kuril islands, part of the Kunashir Island (Кунаши́р 国後島 Kunashiri) meaning Black Island in Ainu) is the southernmost island of the Kuril Islands

Landscape types and habitats on the island include many kinds of beach and rocky shores, cliffs, wide rivers and fast gravelly streams, forests, grasslands, alpine tundra, crater lakes and peat bogs. In physical Geography, tundra is an area where the Tree growth is hindered by low temperatures and short growing seasons Crater Lake is a Caldera Lake located in the US state of Oregon. A bog or mire is a Wetland type that accumulates Acidic Peat, a deposit of dead plant material &ndash usually Mosses but also The soils are generally productive, due to the periodic influxes of volcanic ash and, in certain places, due to significant enrichment by seabird guano. Seabirds are Birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment Guano (from the Quechua 'wanu' via Spanish) is the Feces of Seabirds Bats and seals However, many of the steep, unconsolidated slopes are susceptible to landslides and newer volcanic activity can entirely denude a landscape. Denudation is the process by which the removal of material through means of Erosion and Weathering, leads to a reduction of elevation and relief in landforms and

Marine ecology

Due to their location along the Pacific shelf edge and the confluence of Okhotsk Sea gyre and the southward Oyashio current, the waters around the Kuril islands are among the most productive in the North Pacific, supporting a wide range and high abundance of marine life. The Oyashio Current (also named 'Oya Siwo' the Kurile current Japanese 親潮 is a cold subarctic Ocean current that flows south and circulates counterclockwise

Invertebrates: Extensive kelp beds surrounding almost every island provide crucial habitat for sea urchins, various mollusks and countless other invertebrates and their associated predators. An invertebrate is an Animal lacking a Vertebral column. The group includes 98% of all animal Species — all animals except those in the Chordate Kelp are large Seaweeds ( Algae) belonging to the Brown algae and classified in the order Laminariales Sea urchins are small globular spiny sea cat animals composing most of class Echinoidea. Molluscs are animals belonging to the phylum Mollusca. There are around 250000 extant Species within the phylum with an estimated 70000 Many species of squid provide a principle component of the diet of many of the smaller marine mammals and birds along the chain. Squid are marine Cephalopods of the order Teuthida, which comprises around 300 species

Fish: Further offshore, walleye pollock, Pacific cod, several species of flatfish are of the greatest commercial importance. Fish are aquatic Vertebrate animals that are typically ectothermic (previously Cold-blooded) covered with scales, and equipped with two Pollock (or pollack, pronounced the same and listed first in most UK and US dictionaries is the common name used for either of the two Species of marine The Pacific cod, Gadus macrocephalus, is an important commercial food species The flatfish are an order ( Pleuronectiformes) of Ray-finned fish, also called the Heterosomata sometimes classified as a suborder of Perciformes During the 1980s, migratory Japanese sardine was one of the most abundant fish in the summer and the main commercial species, but the fishery collapsed and by 1993 no sardines were reported caught leading to significant economic contraction in the few settlements on the islands. For the hide and seek-like game see Hide and seek. Sardines, or pilchards, are a group of several types of small Oily Several salmon species, notably pink and sockeye, spawn on some of the larger islands. Pink salmon or humpback salmon, Oncorhynchus gorbuscha, (from a Russian name for this species gorbuscha--горбуша is a Species of anadromous Sockeye salmon ( Oncorhynchus nerka) also called red salmon or blueback salmon, is an Anadromous Species of Salmon

Pinnipeds: The Kuril islands are home to two species of eared seal, the Steller sea lion and northern fur seal, both of which aggregate on several smaller islands along the chain in the summer to form several of the largest reproductive rookeries in Russia. Pinnipeds ("fin-feet" lit "winged feet" or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semi-aquatic marine Mammals comprising The eared seals or otariids are Marine mammals in the family Otariidae - one of three groupings of Pinnipeds. The Steller sea lion, Eumetopias jubatus, also known as the northern sea lion, is a Sea lion of the northern Pacific. The Northern Fur Seal, Callorhinus ursinus, is an Eared seal found along the north Pacific Ocean, the Bering Sea and the Sea of Okhotsk A distinct Kuril island subspecies of the common seal (Phoca vitulina stejnegeri) and Largha are also abundant. The Spotted Seal ( Phoca largha) also known as the Larga Seal, inhabits the ice and waters of the north Pacific Ocean and adjacent seas

Pinnipeds were a significant object of harvest for the indigenous populations of the Kuril islands, both for food and materials such as skin and bone. The long term fluctuations in the range and distribution of human settlements along the Kuril island presumably tracked the pinniped ranges. In historical times, fur seals were heavily exploited for their fur in the 19th and early 20th centuries and several of the largest reproductive rookeries, as on Raykoke island, were extirpated. Raikoke (Райкоке 雷公計島 also spelled Raykoke, is a small volcanic island about 2 In contrast, commercial harvest of the true seals and Steller sea lions has been relatively insignificant on the Kuril islands proper. Since the 1960s there has been essentially no additional harvest and the pinniped populations in the Kuril islands appear to be fairly healthy and in some cases expanding. The notable exception is the now extinct Japanese sea lion which was known to occasionally haul out on the Kuril islands. Japanese Sea Lion ( Zalophus japonicus) is thought to have become Extinct in the 1950s

Sea otters were exploited very heavily for their pelts in the 19th century. The sea otter ( Enhydra lutris) is a Marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Indeed, the pursuit of the valuable otter pelts drove the expansion of the Russians onto the islands and much of the Japanese interest. Their numbers consequently dwindled rapidly. A near total ban on harvest since the mid 20th century has allowed the species to recover and they are now reasonably abundant throughout the chain.

Cetaceans: The most abundant cetaceans include orcas, harbor and Dall's porpoises. The Order Cetacea (sɪˈteɪʃiə L cetus, whale includes Whales Dolphins and Porpoises Cetus is The Orca or Killer Whale ( Orcinus orca) less commonly Blackfish or Seawolf, is the largest species of the Oceanic dolphin family The Harbor Porpoise ( Phocoena phocoena) is one of six Species of Porpoise. Dall's Porpoise ( Phocoenoides dalli) is a Species of Porpoise that came to worldwide attention in the 1970s Baird's and Cuvier's beaked whales, fin whales, and sperm whales are also observed. The genus Berardius contains two species of Beaked whale, Baird's Beaked Whale and Arnoux's Beaked Whale. Cuvier's Beaked Whale, Ziphius cavirostris is the most widely distributed of all the Beaked whales It is the only member of the Genus Ziphius The sperm whale family or simply the sperm whales is the collective name given to three species of Whale found worldwide the Sperm Whale, in the genus

Seabirds: The Kuril islands are home to many millions of seabirds, including northern fulmars, tufted puffins, murres, kittiwakes, guillemots, auklets, petrels, gulls, cormorants. Seabirds are Birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment The Northern Fulmar ( Fulmarus glacialis) or Arctic Fulmar lives in the north Atlantic and north Pacific. The Tufted Puffin ( Fratercula cirrhata) is a relatively abundant medium-sized Pelagic Seabird in the Auk (Alcidae family found throughout Uria is a genus of Seabirds in the Auk family known commonly as Guillemots or in North America as murres'. The kittiwakes ( Genus Rissa) are two closely related Seabird species in the Gull family Laridae the Black-legged Kittiwake Guillemot is the Common name for several species of Seabird in the Auk family comprising two genera Uria and Cepphus This article is about a family of birds For the American ornithological journal see The Auk. This article is about the petrel seabirds For other uses see Petrel (disambiguation. Gulls (often informally Seagulls) are birds in the family Laridae The Bird family Phalacrocoracidae is represented by some 40 Species of cormorants and shags. On many of the smaller islands in summer, where terrestrial predators are absent, virtually every possibly hummock, cliff niche or underneath of boulder is occupied by a nesting bird.

Terrestrial ecology

The composition of terrestrial species on the Kuril islands is dominated by Asian mainland taxa via migration from Hokkaido and Sakhalin Islands and by Kamchatkan taxa from the North. Sakhalin (Сахали́н səxʌˈlʲin Japanese:nihongo|樺太|karafuto or; Chinese: 庫頁 Kùyè also Saghalien, is a large elongated While highly diverse, there is a relatively low level of endemism. Endemism is the Ecological state of being unique to a place Endemic species are not naturally found elsewhere

Because of the generally smaller size and isolation of the central islands, few major terrestrial mammals have colonized these, though red and arctic foxes were introduced for the sake of the fur trade in the 1880s. The Red Fox ( Vulpes vulpes) is a Mammal of the order Carnivora. The Arctic Fox ( Vulpes lagopus) also known as the White Fox or Snow Fox, is a small Fox native to cold Arctic regions of the A fox is an Animal belonging to any one of about 27 Species (of which only 12 actually belong to the Vulpes genus or 'true foxes' of small The bulk of the terrestrial mammal biomass is taken up by rodents, many introduced in historical times. Rodentia is an order of Mammals also known as rodents, characterised by two continuously-growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws which must The largest southernmost and northernmost islands are inhabited by brown bear, foxes, martens. The Brown Bear ( Ursus arctos) is an Omnivorous Mammal of the family Ursidae, distributed across much of northern Eurasia and The Red Fox ( Vulpes vulpes) is a Mammal of the order Carnivora. For the Wiltshire village see Marten Wiltshire. For the town in Bulgaria see Marten Bulgaria. Some species of deer are found on the more southerly islands. A deer is a Ruminant Mammal belonging to the family Cervidae. It is claimed that a wild cat, the Kurilian Bobtail originates from the Kuril Islands. The bobtail is due to the mutation of a dominant gene. The cat has been domesticated and exported to nearby Russia and bred there, becoming a popular domestic cat.

Among terrestrial birds, ravens, peregrine falcons, some wrens and wagtails are common. Raven is the common name given to the largest species of Passerine Birds in the Genus Corvus. The Peregrine Falcon ( Falco peregrinus) also known simply as the Peregrine, and historically as the "Duck Hawk" in North America is a The wrens are Passerine birds in the mainly New World family Troglodytidae. The wagtails form the Passerine Bird genus Motacilla. They are small birds with long tails which they wag frequently

History

The Kuril Islands first came under nominal Japanese administration in the Edo period of Japan, in the form of claims by the Matsumae clan. The, also referred to as the Tokugawa period (徳川時代 Tokugawa-jidai) is a division of Japanese history running from 1603 to 1868 The was a Japanese clan which was granted the area around Matsumae Hokkaidō as a march fief in 1590 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and charged with defending it and by It is claimed that the Japanese knew of the northern islands 370 years ago. ^[1] Trade between these islands and Ezo (Hokkaidō) existed long before then. WikipediaWikiProject Japanese prefectures for guidelines --> formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan 's On "Shōhō Onkuko Ezu", a map of Japan made by the Tokugawa shogunate, in 1644, there are 39 large and small islands shown northeast of the Shiretoko peninsula and Cape Nosappu. The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the, and the, was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the Shoguns of The, is located on the easternmost portion of the Japanese Island of Hokkaidō, protruding into the Sea of Okhotsk.

Russia began to advance into the Kurils in the early 18th century. Although the Russians often sent expedition parties for research and hunted sea otters, they never went south of Urup island. Urup (Уру́п Japanese 得撫島 Uruppu) is one of the Kuril Islands to the north of Japan. This was because the Tokugawa shogunate controlled islands south of Iturup and had guards stationed on those islands to prevent incursions by foreigners. Iturup (Итуру́п Ainu エト・オロ・プ 択捉島 Etorofu) is the largest Island of the South Kuril Islands.

In 1811, Captain Golovnin and his crew, who stopped at Kunashir during their hydrographic survey, were captured by retainers of the Nambu clan, and sent to the Matsumae authorities. For the article about the Russian sea explorer see Vasily Golovnin. Kunashir Island (Кунаши́р 国後島 Kunashiri) meaning Black Island in Ainu) is the southernmost island of the Kuril Islands The was a Japanese samurai clan originating in northern Japan specifically Mutsu Province (the northeast coast of Honshū) Because a Japanese trader, Takadaya Kahei, was also captured by a Russian vessel near Kunashir, Japan and Russia entered into negotiations to establish the border between the two countries. Born in 1769 on Awaji Island, was a Japanese merchant credited with transforming the trading outpost of Hakodate in Japan's northern island of Hokkaidō into a thriving

The Treaty of Commerce, Navigation and Delimitation was concluded in 1855, and the border was established between Iturup and Urup. This border confirmed that Japanese territory stretched south from Iturup and Russian territory stretched north of Urup. Sakhalin remained a place where people from both countries could live. Sakhalin (Сахали́н səxʌˈlʲin Japanese:nihongo|樺太|karafuto or; Chinese: 庫頁 Kùyè also Saghalien, is a large elongated The Treaty of Saint Petersburg in 1875 resulted in Japan relinquishing all rights over Sakhalin in exchange for Russia ceding all of the Kuril Islands to Japan. The was signed on 7 May 1875 between the Empire of Japan and Empire of Russia. Year 1875 ( MDCCCLXXV) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending

During the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905, Gunji, a retired Japanese military man and local settler in Shumshu, led an invading party to the Kamchatka coast. The Russo-Japanese War (日露戦争 Romaji: Nichi-Ro Sensō Русско-японская война Russko-Yaponskaya Voyna;, 10 February 1904 – 5 September Shumshu (Шумшу is the northernmost Island of the Kuril Islands group Russia sent reinforcements to the area to capture and intern this group. After the war was over, Japan received fishing rights in Russian waters as part of the Russo-Japanese fisheries agreement until 1945.

During their armed intervention in Siberia 1918–1925, Japanese forces from the northern Kurils, along with United States and European forces, occupied southern Kamchatka. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Japanese vessels made naval strikes against Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (Петропа́вловск-Камча́тский is the main city and the administrative industrial scientific and cultural center of

The Soviet Union reclaimed southern Sakhalin and the Kuril islands by force at the end of World War II (see Treaty of San Francisco), but Japan maintains a claim to the four southernmost islands of Kunashir, Iturup, Shikotan, and the Habomai rocks, together called the Northern Territories (see Kuril Islands dispute). World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Attending countries Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Canada, Chile Kunashir Island (Кунаши́р 国後島 Kunashiri) meaning Black Island in Ainu) is the southernmost island of the Kuril Islands Iturup (Итуру́п Ainu エト・オロ・プ 択捉島 Etorofu) is the largest Island of the South Kuril Islands. Shikotan, both in Russian (Шикотан and Japanese (色丹島 and one of the bigger islands of the Kuril Islands, is located in the Sakhalin The Khabomai Rocks (Russian Хабомаи ( Khabomai) Japanese 歯舞群島 ( Habomai guntō) are a group of Islets in the southernmost Kuril The Kuril Island dispute ( Russian: Проблема принадлежности Курильских островов Japanese: 北方領土問題 Hoppō

Japanese Administration in the Kuril Archipelago

In 1869, the Meiji government established the Colonization Commission in Sapporo to aid in the development of the northern area. The, or Meiji era, denotes the 45-year reign of the Meiji Emperor, running in the Gregorian calendar, from 23 October 1868 to 30 July is the fifth-largest city in Japan by population It is the capital of Hokkaidō Prefecture, located in Ishikari Subprefecture, and an Ezo was renamed Hokkaidō and Kita Ezo later received the name of Karafuto. Eleven provinces and 86 districts were founded by Meiji government and were put under the control of feudal clans. Because the Meiji government could not sufficiently cope with Russians moving to south Sakhalin, Japan negotiated with Russia over control of the Kuril Islands, resulting in the Treaty of Saint Petersburg which ceded the eighteen islands north of Uruppu to Japan and all of Sakhalin to Russia.

Road networks and post offices were established on Kunashiri and Etorofu. Life on the islands became more stable when a regular sea route connecting islands with Hokkaidō was opened and a telegraphic system began. At the end of the Taisho era, towns and villages were organized in the northern territories and village offices were established on each island. The, or Taishō era, is a period in the History of Japan dating from July 30, 1912 to December 25, 1926, coinciding with the reign The Habomai island were all part of Habomai Village for example. The Khabomai Rocks (Russian Хабомаи ( Khabomai) Japanese 歯舞群島 ( Habomai guntō) are a group of Islets in the southernmost Kuril In other cases the town and village system was not adopted on islands north of Uruppu, which were under direct control of the Nemuro Subprefectural office of the Hokkaidō government. Urup (Уру́п Japanese 得撫島 Uruppu) is one of the Kuril Islands to the north of Japan. is a subprefecture of Hokkaidō, Japan. The Japanese claim the disputed Southern Kurile Islands (known as the Northern

Each village had a district forestry system, a marine product examination center, salmon hatchery, post office, police station, elementary school, Shinto temple, and other public facilities. In 1930, 8,300 people lived on Kunashiri island and 6,000 on Etorofu island, and most of them were engaged in coastal and high sea fishing. Year 1930 ( MCMXXX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Kunashir Island (Кунаши́р 国後島 Kunashiri) meaning Black Island in Ainu) is the southernmost island of the Kuril Islands

There were 17,291 Japanese islanders on the Kurils.

Kuril during World War II

• Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku ordered the meeting of the Imperial Japanese Navy Strike force for the Hawaii Operation (Pearl Harbor Attack), during November 22, 1941 in Tankan or Hittokappu Bay, in Etorofu Island, South Kurils. Fleet Admiral ( 4 April 1884 – 18 April 1943) was the Commander-in-chief of the Combined Fleet during World War II a For Combined Fleet, please see that article For Carrier Striking Task Force, please see that article The attack on Pearl Harbor (or Hawaii Operation, as it was called by the Imperial General Headquarters) was a surprise Military strike conducted by Tankan (短観 a shorthand for kigyō tan ki keizai kan soku chōsa (企業短期経済観測調査 lit Iturup (Итуру́п Ainu エト・オロ・プ 択捉島 Etorofu) is the largest Island of the South Kuril Islands. The territory was chosen for its sparse population, lack of foreigners, and constant fog coverage. The Admiral ordered the move to Hawaii on the morning of November 26.

• During July 10, 1943, occurred the first bombardment against Shumushu and Paramushiro Japanese bases. Shumshu (Шумшу is the northernmost Island of the Kuril Islands group Paramushir (Парамушир or Paramushiro, from the Ainu for "broad island" is a Russian island in the Kuril Island chain From Alexai airfield 8 B-25 Mitchell from 77th Bomber Squadron took off led by Capt. James L. Hudelson. This mission struck Paramushiro bases principally.

• Another mission, was flown during September 11, 1943, when Eleventh Air Force dispatched eight B-24 Liberators and 12 B-25s. But now the Japanese were alert and reinforced their defenses. 74 crew members in three B-24s and seven B-25 failed to return. Twenty two men were killed in action, one taken prisoner and 51 interned in Kamchatka, Russia.

• 11th Air Force implement other bombing mission against northern Kurils in February 5, 1944, when envoyed six B-24 from 404th Bomber Squadron and 16 P-38 from 54th Fighter Squadron.

• Japanese report Matsuwa military installations were subject of American air strikes between 1943–44. Matua (Матуа or Matsuwa is an island in the central Kuril Islands Archipelago.

• The Americans' "Operation Wedlock", diverted Japanese attention north and misled them about U. S. strategy in the Pacific. The plan included air strikes by USAAF and US Navy Bombers and U. S. Navy shore bombardment and submarine operations. Japanese increased their garrison in north Kurils from 8,000 in 1943 to 41,000 in 1944 and maintained more than 400 aircraft in Kurils and Hokkaidō area in anticipation that the Americans might invade from Alaska. The Kuril Islands (ˈkʊrɪl or /ˈkjuˈriˈl/ Кури́льские острова́ əstrʌˈva ru-Latn ''Kuril'skie ostrova'' or Kurile Islands in Russia WikipediaWikiProject Japanese prefectures for guidelines --> formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan 's Alaska ( Аляска Alyaska) is a state in the United States of America, in the northwest of the North American continent

• Americans planners had briefly contemplated an invasion of northern Japan from Aleutians during fall of 1943, but rejected that idea as too risky and impractical. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. The Aleutian Islands (possibly from Chukchi aliat, " Island " are a chain of more than 300 small volcanic islands forming a Volcanic They considered the use of Boeing B-29 Superfortresses, on Amchitka and Shemya Bases, but rejected that idea too. Amchitka (æmˈtʃɪtkə ( Amchixtax̂ in Aleut) is a volcanic tectonically unstable island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands Shemya or Simiya ( Samiyax̂ in Aleut) is a small island in the Semichi Islands southwest of Alaska, at. U. S. military maintained interest in these plans when they ordered the expansion of bases in the western Aleutians, and major construction began on Shemya. Plans were put on the shelf for a possible invasion of Japan via the Northern route in 1945.

• In August 18–31, Soviet forces invaded the North and South Kurils. The Kuril Islands (ˈkʊrɪl or /ˈkjuˈriˈl/ Кури́льские острова́ əstrʌˈva ru-Latn ''Kuril'skie ostrova'' or Kurile Islands in Russia The entire Japanese civilian population of roughly 17,000 was expelled until 1946.
• Between August 24 and September 4 1945, the Eleventh Air Force of the United States Air Force sent two B-24's on reconnaissance missions over North Kuril Islands with intention to take photos of the Soviet occupation in the area. The Kuril Islands (ˈkʊrɪl or /ˈkjuˈriˈl/ Кури́льские острова́ əstrʌˈva ru-Latn ''Kuril'skie ostrova'' or Kurile Islands in Russia A soviet (сове́т, "council" originally was a workers' local council in late Imperial Russia. Soviet fighters intercepted and forced them away, a foretaste of the Cold war that lay ahead. Cold War is the state of conflict tension and competition that existed between the United States and the Soviet Union (USSR and their respective allies from the

Current Situation and the Economy

Today, roughly 16,800 people (ethnic Russians, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Tatars, Koreans, Nivkhs, Oroch, and Ainu) inhabit the Kuril Islands. The Russian people (Русские— Russkie) are an East Slavic Ethnic group, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries Ukrainians (Українці Ukrayintsi,) are an East Slavic Ethnic group primarily living in Ukraine, or more broadly— Citizens Belarusians or Belorussians (Беларусы Biełarusy previously also spelled Belarussians, Byelorussians and Belorusians, also Tatars ( Tatar: Tatarlar/Татарлар sometimes spelled Tartars, are a Turkic -speaking ethnic group or multiple ethnic groups The Korean people are an East Asian Ethnic group. Most Koreans speak the Korean language. The Nivkhs (also Nivkh, Nivkhi, or Gilyak; ethnonym Nivxi language нивхгу - Nivxgu are an indigenous ethnic group inhabiting the Not to be confused with the Oroqen of China or the Oroks of Sakhalin Island. ʔáinu (also called Ezo in historical texts are an ethnic group indigenous to Hokkaidō, the Kuril Islands, and much of Sakhalin. About half of the population lives below the poverty line, according to the regional administration. The poverty threshold, or poverty line, is the minimum level of Income deemed necessary to achieve an adequate Standard of living in a given country Fishing is the primary occupation. For the computer security term see Phishing. Fishing is the activity of catching Fish. The islands have strategic and economic value, in terms of fisheries and also mineral deposits of pyrite, sulfur, and various polymetallic ores. Sulfur or sulphur (ˈsʌlfɚ see spelling below) is the Chemical element that has the Atomic number 16 Primarily used in Chemistry or Mining, polymetal or polymetallic refers to a substance comprised of a combination of different Metals. An ore is a volume of rock containing components or Minerals in a mode of occurrence that renders it valuable for mining

In recent times the economic rise of Russia has been seen on the Kurils too.

The most visible sign of improvement is the new construction in infrastructure. Construction workers are now working vigorously to build a pier and a breakwater in Kitovy Bay, central Iturup, where barges are still a major means of transport sailing between the cove and ships anchored offshore. A new road has been carved through the woods near Kurilisk, the island's biggest village, going to the site of an airport scheduled to open in 2010 at a cost of 1. 26 billion rubles (US$44 million).

Gidrostroy, the Kurils' biggest business group with interests in fishing as well as construction and real estate, built its second fish processing factory on Iturup island in 2006, introducing a state-of-the-art conveyor system.

To deal with a rise in the demand of electricity, the local government is also upgrading a state-run geothermal power plant at Mount Baransky, an active volcano, where steam and hot water were erupting right and left. ^[2]

Atlasov Island

The second northernmost, Atlasov Island (Araido to the Japanese), is an almost perfect volcanic cone rising sheer out of the sea, and has led to many Japanese eulogies in haiku, wood-block prints, etc. Atlasov Island, known in Japanese as Araido, is the northernmost island and volcano and also the highest volcano of the Kuril islands, part of the Plate tectonics and hotspots Divergent plate boundaries At the is a form of Japanese poetry. Previously called For the origins of the technique and non-artistic use see Woodblock printing; for the related technique invented in the 18th century see Wood engraving , extolling its beauty, much as they do the more well-known Mt. Fuji. is the highest Mountain in Japan at.An Active volcano that last erupted in 1707–08 it straddles the boundary of Shizuoka and

On January 13, 2007, an earthquake of magnitude 8.3 generated an alert of tsunami. Events 532 - Nika riots in Constantinople. 888 - Odo Count of Paris becomes King of the Franks Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. The Richter magnitude scale, or more correctly local magnitude M L scale assigns a single number to quantify the amount of seismic energy released A tsunami ((tsuːˈnɑːmi is a series of waves created when

Islands

While in Russian sources the islands are mentioned for the first time in 1646, the earliest detailed information about them was provided by the explorer Vladimir Atlasov in 1697. Vladimir Vasilyevich Atlasov or Otlasov (Владимир Васильевич Атласов Отласов born between 1661 and 1664&mdashdied in 1711 was a Siberian In the 18th and early 19th centuries, the Kuril Islands were explored by Danila Antsiferov, I. Danila Yakovlevich Antsiferov ( Данила Яковлевич Анциферов in Russian) (? - 1712) was a Russian explorer Kozyrevsky, Ivan Yevreinov, Fyodor Luzhin, Martin Shpanberg, Adam Johann von Krusenstern, Vasily Golovnin, and Henry James Snow. Ivan Mikhaylovich Yevreinov (Ива́н Миха́йлович Евре́инов (1694&ndash February 3 O Fyodor Fyodorovich Luzhin ( Федор Федорович Лужин in Russian) (? &ndash 1727 was a Russian Geodesist and Cartographer Martin Petrovich Shpanberg (d 1761 was a Danish born naval lieutenant who took part in Berings two Kamchatka expeditions as second in command Adam Johann Ritter von Krusenstern ( November 19, 1770 &ndash August 24, 1846) was a Baltic German Admiral and explorer Vasily Mikhailovich Golovnin (Василий Михайлович Головнин in Russian) (4

From north to south, the main islands are (alternative names given in parentheses are mainly Japanese):

North Kurils (Kita-chishima / 北千島)

• Shumshu (Shumushu / 占守島)
• Atlasov (Araido / 阿頼度島)
• Paramushir (Paramushiru, Horomushiro / 幌筵島)
• Antsiferov (Shirinki / 志林規島)
• Makanrushi (Makanru / 磨勘留島)
• Onekotan (Onnekotan / 温禰古丹島)
• Kharimkotan (Harimukotan, Harumukotan / 春牟古丹島)
• Ekarma (Ekaruma / 越渇磨島)
• Chirinkotan (知林古丹島)
• Shiashkotan (Shasukotan / 捨子古丹島)
• Raikoke (雷公計島)
• Matua (Matsuwa, Matsua / 松輪島)
• Rasshua or Rasshya (Rasutsuwa, Rashowa, Rasuwa / 羅処和島)
• Ushishir (Ushishiru / 宇志知島)
• Ketoy (Ketoi / 計吐夷島)
• Simushir (Shimushiru, Shinshiru / 新知島)
• Broutona (Buroton, Makanruru / 武魯頓島)
• Chirpoy (Chirihoi, Chieruboi / 知理保以島)
• Brat Chirpoyev (Chirihoinan / 知理保以南島)
• Urup (Uruppu / 得撫島)

South Kurils (Minami-chishima / 南千島)

• Iturup (Etorofu / 択捉島)
• Kunashir (Kunashiri / 国後島)
• Shikotan (色丹島)
• Khabomai Rocks (Habomai Shotō / 歯舞諸島)
  • Moneron (Kaiba / 海馬島)
  • Polonskogo (Taraku / 多楽島)
  • Zelyoni (Shibotsu / 志発島)
  • Yuri (勇留島)
  • Anuchina (Akiyuri / 秋勇留島)
  • Kharkar (Harukaru / 春苅島)
  • Tanfilyeva (Suishō / 水晶島)
  • Signalny (Kaigara / 貝殻島)

See also

• 2006 Kuril Islands earthquake
• 2006 Kuril Islands tsunami
• 2007 Kuril Islands earthquake
• Chishima Province
• Evacuation of Karafuto and Kuriles
• Battle of the Kuril Islands
• Governor-General of Karafuto
• Karafuto
• Organization of Hokkai(North) Army
• Organization of Karafuto Fortress
• Organization of Kita and Minami Fortresses
• Political Division of Karafuto Province(1905-1945)

References

Further reading

External links

• http://depts.washington.edu/ikip/index.shtml (Kuril Island Biocomplexity Project)
• Kuril Islands at Ocean Dots.com (includes space imagery)
• Kuril Islands at Natural Heritage Protection Fund
• http://artedi.fish.washington.edu/okhotskia/ikip/index.htm
• http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/europe/russia/territory/index.html
• Chishima: Frontiers of San Francisco Treaty in Hokkaido Short film on the disputed islands from a Japanese perspective
• Talking Borders Queen's University Belfast online audio archive
• USGS Map showing location of Magnitude 8.3 Earthquake 46.616°N, 153.224°E Kuril Islands region, 2006 November 15 11:14:16 UTC
• Pictures of Cats - Kurilian Bobtail

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