Shpanberg Island (Kuril Islands)
| Disputed island Other names: Russian: Шикотан; Japanese: 色丹島 |
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NASA picture of Shikotan Island
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| Geography | |
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| Location | Pacific Ocean |
| Coordinates | 43°48′N 146°45′E / 43.800°N 146.750°E |
| Archipelago | Kuril Islands |
| Total islands | 1 |
| Area | 225 square kilometres (56,000 acres) |
| Highest point |
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| Administered by | |
| Russia | |
| District | Sakhalin |
| Claimed by | |
| Japan | |
| Prefecture | Hokkaido |
| Capital city | Tokyo |
| Russia | |
| District | Sakhalin |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 2100 |
Shikotan (Russian: Шикотан; Japanese: 色丹島 (Shikotan) ; Ainu: シコタン or シコタヌ, Sikotan), also known as Shpanberg (after Martin Spangberg), is an island which is administered by the Russian Federation as part of Yuzhno-Kurilsky District of Sakhalin Oblast, and that is claimed by Japan as part of Nemuro Subprefecture of Hokkaido Prefecture. It is one of the islands (along with the Habomai Islands) which the Soviet Union agreed in 1956 to transfer to Japan in the event of a peace treaty between the two countries (such a peace treaty has never been concluded). The name of Shikotan derives from the Ainu language and means "the village proper" or "real town".
The total land area of Shikotan is 225 km². The island is hilly, averaging 300 metres in elevation. The shores of the island are very indented and covered with oceanic meadows. The highest altitude is 412 m. The island is formed by the volcanic rock and sandstone of the Upper Cretaceous and Cenozoic periods. There are two extinct volcanoes on Shikotan: Mount Tomari and Mount Notoro.
Shikotan's vegetation consists mostly of Sakhalin fir, larch, deciduous trees, bamboo underbrush, and juniper brushwood.
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