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Kunashir

Kunashir Island
Disputed island
Native name: Kunashir Island (Ainu)
Other names: Russian: Кунаши́р; Japanese: 国後島
Kunashir Island 2010.jpeg
Kunashir Island coastline: photo taken by Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in November 2010.
Geography
Kunashir Island is located in Japan
Kunashir Island
Location Sea of Okhotsk
Coordinates 44°07′N 145°51′E / 44.117°N 145.850°E / 44.117; 145.850
Archipelago Kuril Islands
Area 1,490 square kilometres (370,000 acres)
Length 123 kilometres (76 mi)
Width from 4 kilometres (2.5 mi) to 30 kilometres (19 mi)
Highest point
  • Tyatya
  • 1,819 metres (5,968 ft)
Administered by
Russia
Oblast Sakhalin
Capital city Tokyo
Largest city Yuzhno-Kurilsk
Claimed by
Japan
Prefecture Hokkaido
Largest city Yuzhno-Kurilsk
Demographics
Population approx. 7800 (as of 2002)

Kunashir Island (Russian: Кунаши́р; Japanese: 国後島, Kunashiri-tō; Ainu: クナシㇼ‎ or クナシㇽ, Kunasir), possibly meaning Black Island or Grass Island in Ainu, is the southernmost island of the Kuril Islands, which is under the Russian jurisdiction.

It lies between the straits of Kunashir Island, Catherine, Izmena, and South Kuril. Kunashir Island is visible from the nearby Japanese island of Hokkaido, from which it is separated by the Nemuro Strait.

Kunashir Island is formed by four volcanoes which were separate islands but have since joined together by low-lying areas with lakes and hot springs. All these volcanoes are still active: Tyatya (1,819 m), Smirnov, Mendeleev (Rausu-yama), and Golovnin (Tomari-yama).

The island is made up of volcanic and crystalline rocks. The climate is humid continental with very heavy precipitation especially in the autumn and a strong seasonal lag with maximum temperatures in August and September. The vegetation mostly consists of spruce, pine, fir, and mixed deciduous forests with lianas and Kuril bamboo underbrush. The mountains are covered with birch and Siberian Dwarf Pine scrub, herbaceous flowers or bare rocks.


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