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Kuril Islands
Disputed islands
Native name:
Курильские острова(Russian) 千島列島(Japanese)
A coastline along one of the Kuril Islands
Location of the Kuril Islands in the Western Pacific between Japan and the Kamchatka Peninsula of Russia
Geography
Location
Pacific Ocean
Coordinates
47°00′N152°06′E / 47.0°N 152.1°E / 47.0; 152.1
Total islands
56
Area
10,503.2 km2 (4,055.3 sq mi)
Length
1,150 km (715 mi)
Highest elevation
2,339 m (7674 ft)
Highest point
Alaid
Administration
Russia
Federal subject
Sakhalin Oblast
Districts
Severo-Kurilsky, Kurilsky, Yuzhno-Kurilsky
Claimed by
Japan (partial claim, southernmost islands)
Prefecture
Hokkaido
Subprefecture
Nemuro
Demographics
Population
21,501 (2021)
Ethnic groups
majority Russians
Composite map of the islands between Kamchatka Peninsula and Nemuro Peninsula, combining twelve U.S. Army Map Service maps compiled in the early 1950s
The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands (/ˈk(j)ʊərɪl,kjʊˈriːl/; Russian: Кури́льские острова́, tr. Kuril'skiye ostrova, IPA:[kʊˈrʲilʲskʲɪjəɐstrɐˈva]; Japanese: Kuriru rettō (クリル列島, "Kuril Islands") or Chishima rettō (千島列島, "Thousand Islands")) are a volcanic archipelago administered as part of Sakhalin Oblast in the Russian Far East.[1] The islands stretch approximately 1,300 km (810 mi) northeast from Hokkaido in Japan to Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia, separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the north Pacific Ocean. There are 56 islands and many minor islets. The Kuril Islands consist of the Greater Kuril Chain and, at the southwest end, the parallel Lesser Kuril Chain.[2] They cover an area of around 10,503.2 square kilometres (4,055.3 sq mi),[3] with a population of roughly 20,000.[4]
The islands have been under Russian administration since their 1945 invasion by the Soviet Union near the end of World War II. Japan claims the four southernmost islands, including two of the three largest (Iturup and Kunashir), as part of its territory, as well as Shikotan and the unpopulated Habomai islets, which has led to the ongoing Kuril Islands dispute. The disputed islands are known in Japan as the country's "Northern Territories".[5]
^"Kuril Islands". Britannica.com. 14 April 2023. Archived from the original on 17 May 2020. Retrieved 3 August 2017.
^GSE Archived 2013-04-24 at the Wayback Machine
^"SAKHALIN.RU: Sakhalin and the Kuriles. Geography". Archived from the original on 2011-01-14. Retrieved 2011-02-01.
^"Kuril Islands: factfile". The Daily Telegraph. London. November 1, 2010. Archived from the original on November 28, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
^Koike, Yuriko (31 March 2014). "Japan's Russian Dilemma". Archived from the original on 31 August 2017. Retrieved 5 August 2014.
ownership of the four southernmost KurilIslands. The KurilIslands are a chain of islands that stretch between the Japanese island of Hokkaido at their southern...
The Invasion of the KurilIslands (Russian: Курильская десантная операция, lit. 'KurilIslands Landing Operation') was the World War II Soviet military...
depending on registry) originating from the Russian KurilIslands, as well as Sakhalin Island and the Kamchatka peninsula of Russia. Short- or long-haired...
islands. Aleksandry, Franz Josef Land Atlasov Island, KurilIslands Ayon Belkovsky, New Siberian Islands Bely Island, in the Kara Sea Bennett Island,...
The 2006 KurilIslands earthquake occurred on November 15 at 8:14:16 pm JST with a Mw magnitude of 8.3 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of IV (Light)...
KurilIslands are an archipelago stretching from the Japanese island of Hokkaido to the Russian Kamchatka Peninsula. The Kurils and the nearby island...
Shikotan, also known as Shpanberg or Spanberg, is an island in the Kurils administered by the Russian Federation as part of Yuzhno-Kurilsky District of...
possibly meaning Black Island or Grass Island in Ainu, is the southernmost island of the KurilIslands archipelago. The island has been under Russian...
The 1963 KurilIslands earthquake occurred at 05:17 UTC, on October 13. The earthquake had a magnitude of 8.5 and was followed by a Mw 7.8 event seven...
northwestern Pacific Ocean and the Russian Far East. Volcanoes of the KurilIslands, in the northwestern Pacific Ocean between the Kamchatka Peninsula and...
the KurilIslands, and the Nanpō Islands neighbor the archipelago. Japan is the largest island country in East Asia and the fourth-largest island country...
(artificial) Island City, Fukuoka (artificial) There are four disputed KurilIslands that are controlled by Russia and claimed by Japan. These islands are called...
well as the land surrounding the Sea of Okhotsk, such as Sakhalin, the KurilIslands, the Kamchatka Peninsula, and the Khabarovsk Krai; they have occupied...
any volcanic activity taking place on the Kamchatka Peninsula and the KurilIslands of Russia that could become a threat to local communities and aviation...
volcano of the Kurilislands, part of the Sakhalin Oblast in Russia. The Russian name is sometimes rendered in English as Atlasova Island. Other names for...
Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the KurilIslands on the southeast, Japan's island of Hokkaido on the south, the island of Sakhalin along the west, and a...
The 1958 KurilIslands earthquake or Etorofu earthquake was a Mw 8.3–8.4 earthquake that struck near the Kurilisland of Iturup on November 6, 1958, at...
islets (but for the Russian guards stationed there) in the southernmost KurilIslands. They are currently under Russian administration, but together with...
The Pacific islands are a group of islands in the Pacific Ocean. They are further categorized into three major island groups: Melanesia, Micronesia, and...
southern Kurils and forcibly removed its Japanese residents. Japan continues to claim the islands and considers the northern edge of the island to be its...
Kuril Ainu or Kuril is an extinct and poorly attested Ainu language of the KurilIslands. The main inhabited islands were Kunashir, Iturup and Urup in...
The 2007 KurilIslands earthquake occurred east of the KurilIslands on 13 January at 1:23 p.m. (JST). The shock had a moment magnitude of 8.1 and a maximum...
The 1994 KurilIslands earthquake – also known as the Hokkaido Toho-oki earthquake – occurred on October 5 at 00:23:00 local time. The magnitude of this...
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