Chyornye Bratya

Chyornye Bratya

Native name: Чёрные Братья 知理保以島
NASA picture of Chirpoy & Brat Chirpoyev
Geography
Location	Sea of Okhotsk
Coordinates	46°30′N 150°51′E / 46.500°N 150.850°E / 46.500; 150.850Coordinates: 46°30′N 150°51′E / 46.500°N 150.850°E / 46.500; 150.850
Archipelago	Kuril Islands
Area	36 km2 (14 sq mi)
Highest elevation	691 m (2,267 ft)
Administration
Russia
Demographics
Population	0

Chyornye Bratya (Russian: Чёрные Братья, lit. Black Brothers; Japanese: 知理保以島, translit. Chiripoi-to) is collectively the name for a pair of uninhabited volcanic islands located between Simushir and Urup in the Kuril Islands chain in the Sea of Okhotsk in the northwest Pacific Ocean. The larger of the two is named Chirpoy, and the smaller is named Brat Chirpoyev (Russian for Chirpoy's Brother). The origin of the names is uncertain: the original Ainu language name of the island was Repunmoshiri, a word meaning “place of many small birds”.

The Chirpoy islands are the remains of a partially submerged volcanic caldera which measures 8–9 km wide. The two islands are surrounded by a number of small islets and offshore rocks and together, the collective forms the Chyornye Brat'ya (Russian for Black Brothers) Islands. Both islands are separated by the Snou Strait.

Chirpoy, the northernmost of the two islands, has an area of approximately 21 km², and consists of three overlapping stratovolcanoes named Cherny and Snow. Vulkan Chernoga (Japanese: 大崩山, translit. Okuzureyama), with a height of 691 metres (2,267 ft) is the tallest point on the island. On November 27, 2012 the volcano named Snow erupted on this island, and is continuing as of January 2, 2013.

Brat Chirpoyev, the southern of the two islands, has an area of approximately 16 km². However, the tallest structure out of both islands is on Brat Chirpoy where 749 metres (2,457 ft) tall Brat Chirpoyev dominates the island. Brat Chirpoy is the site of the southernmost of five major Steller sea lion rookeries on the Kuril Islands.