Which of the Kuril Islands is the largest? Flora and fauna of the Kuril Islands

Why do the Japanese claim the Kuril Islands? I'll try to retell it as briefly as possible.

The beginning of the conflict goes back to the distant past, when there were neither Russians nor Japanese on the islands. In the Kuril Islands then

lived the Ainu - an indigenous people, today represented in Russia by only a hundred people.

When the Cossacks first began to develop the Far Eastern territories, they, for the most part, were only concerned with trade with

Ainu, so no one dealt with the status of the lands for a long time. The Japanese, on the contrary, began to try to settle these lands -

fortunately they were within walking distance of the islands. In 1855, the Shimoda Treaty on Trade and Borders between Russia and

Japan. This document for the first time defined the border of the possessions of the two countries in the Kuril Islands - it passed between the islands of Iturup and

By that time, Japan had just emerged from two centuries of self-isolation and began to behave quite aggressively. This

resulted in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, which ended in a humiliating defeat for us. Russian empire

lost control not only over the Kuril Islands, but also over South Sakhalin. Then, during World War II, the USSR carried out

landing operation against Japanese troops with the aim of capturing the Kuril Islands. It was successful, and on February 2, 1946

In 2010, the Yuzhno-Sakhalin Region was formed in these territories as part of the Khabarovsk Territory of the RSFSR.

Thus, de facto South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands passed to the Union. But this was not legally established, that

subsequently resulted in a long conflict and confrontation - Japan sees the situation in its own way, the USSR and subsequently Russia

otherwise. However, in fact, the disputed islands are still ours. Russians live there, our laws apply, etc.

And now I propose to see what the city of Kurilsk on the disputed island of Iturup looks like...

2. Kurilsk (1500 people) is divided into two parts - the upper city and the lower one. Behind them is the village of Kitovoe. Kurilsk by

By and large, it has one street, to the right and left of which houses are chaotically stuck together:

3. The lower city is partly located on the shores of the Sea of Okhotsk, partly inside the island:

4. The first thing that catches your eye is the “tsunami danger zone” signs:

5. The sign shows where to run in the event of a cataclysm. Curiously, however, there has never been a tsunami on the island, even when it shook

Fukushima:

6. The second thing that catches your eye is the huge number of parks decorated with pebbles. They were collected on the beach under

called Rattle (due to the sound of pebbles during the waves). True, today all the stones from it have gone into architectural

sculptures, so they go to another part of the island for new material:

7. The entire city is owned by the company Gidrostroy, which, despite the name, deals with... fish. She owns almost everything

what is in the city, and its head is a fan of all kinds of sculptures and compositions:

9. The park was made in a very original and futuristic way; you wouldn’t expect to see something like this in the center of Kurilsk:

10. In Kitov, everything is also very nice: the observation deck is designed in the shape of a boat:

11. There is no embankment here, but there is an open-air gazebo with benches and a table screwed to the floor:

12. The coolest entertainment in Kurilsk is the baths. They are made in hot springs and cost mere pennies (200

rubles per hour). Each bath is separated from the others; in the center there is a rotating faucet from which you get hot water. Order

you need in advance:

13. Water is not only hot, but also contains all sorts of minerals and compounds. You won’t lie in it for particularly long:

14. There are also strange things in Kurilsk, for example, a paid toilet for 30 rubles. Moreover, a controller sits in it and sells tickets.

I wonder how much the city makes from this business?

A road is being built next to the toilet. It should be noted that asphalt came to the island about five years ago; before that there was not a single road here:

15. Panorama of the lower city:

16. There are three hotels in the city, I lived in this one:

17. But there is also an expensive hotel, intended, as the locals told me, “for generals and FSB officers.” In the understanding of the residents

In the Kuril Islands, only those with a rank can be wealthy people. Notice how original it is made

flowerbed in the form of lightning:

18. There is a fountain in front of the hotel, and fish are bred in the lake:

19. There are quite a lot of playgrounds in Kurilsk:

20. There are puddles in the courtyards, the rains here almost never stop:

21. Private sector:

22. And this barn is the tax office building. It’s very unusual to see this, considering the kind of offices they are building in the rest of Russia:

23. Hair salon with bars on the windows:

24. Funeral services combined with a photo studio and copy center:

26. The city center consists of only stores - grocery, hardware, department stores and others:

27. Central street. There are storm drains on the roadsides, they are now being actively cleaned. In general, a lot of city residents are employed in the field

landscaping:

28. They plant trees and make walking paths:

29. Center of the upper city, residential courtyard:

30. Kindergarten building:

32. And this, so to speak, is a residential area (3 minutes from the center):

33. Paths between houses are either concreted or tiled:

34. There are three houses built with violations - you can clearly see how the building is shrinking:

35. How such a house was handed over and accepted is unclear:

36. Several new piers were built in the port. Now any ships can come here:

37. The tent in which the international forum “Iturup” was held. They say that Dmitry Medvedev was a special guest:

38. Finally, the Kuril airport is the only airport built from scratch after the USSR. It is called “Clear” and this reads

some irony - sometimes passengers wait for two weeks for the weather to fly away from the island.

The Kuril Islands are represented by a series of Far Eastern island territories; one side is the Kamchatka Peninsula, and the other is the island. Hokkaido in . The Kuril Islands of Russia are represented by the Sakhalin region, which stretches approximately 1,200 km in length with an area of 15,600 square kilometers.

The islands of the Kuril chain are represented by two groups located opposite each other - called Big and Small. A large group located in the south includes Kunashir, Iturup and others, in the center are Simushir, Keta and in the north are the remaining island territories.

Shikotan, Habomai and a number of others are considered the Lesser Kuril Islands. For the most part, all island territories are mountainous and reach a height of 2,339 meters. The Kuril Islands on their lands have approximately 40 volcanic hills that are still active. There are also springs with hot mineral water here. The south of the Kuril Islands is covered with forests, and the north attracts with unique tundra vegetation.

The problem of the Kuril Islands lies in the unresolved dispute between the Japanese and Russian sides over who owns them. And it has remained open since the Second World War.

After the war, the Kuril Islands became part of the USSR. But Japan considers the territories of the southern Kuril Islands, and these are Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan with the Habomai group of islands, its territory, without having a legal basis. Russia does not recognize the fact of a dispute with the Japanese side over these territories, since their ownership is legal.

The problem of the Kuril Islands is the main obstacle to a peaceful settlement of relations between Japan and Russia.

The essence of the dispute between Japan and Russia

The Japanese are demanding the Kuril Islands be returned to them. Almost the entire population there is convinced that these lands are originally Japanese. This dispute between the two states has been going on for a very long time, escalating after the Second World War.
Russia is not inclined to yield to Japanese state leaders on this issue. The peace agreement has not yet been signed, and this is connected precisely with the four disputed South Kuril Islands. About the legality of Japan's claims to the Kuril Islands in this video.

Meanings of the Southern Kuril Islands

The Southern Kuril Islands have several meanings for both countries:

Military. The Southern Kuril Islands are of military importance due to the only access to the Pacific Ocean for the country's fleet. And all because of the scarcity of geographical formations. At the moment, ships are entering ocean waters through the Sangar Strait, because it is impossible to pass through the La Perouse Strait due to icing. Therefore, submarines are located in Kamchatka - Avachinskaya Bay. The military bases operating during the Soviet era have now all been looted and abandoned.
Economic. Economic significance - the Sakhalin region has quite serious hydrocarbon potential. And the fact that the entire territory of the Kuril Islands belongs to Russia allows you to use the waters there at your discretion. Although its central part belongs to the Japanese side. In addition to water resources, there is such a rare metal as rhenium. By extracting it, the Russian Federation is in third place in the production of minerals and sulfur. For the Japanese, this area is important for fishing and agricultural needs. This caught fish is used by the Japanese to grow rice - they simply pour it onto the rice fields to fertilize it.
Social. By and large, there is no special social interest for ordinary people in the southern Kuril Islands. This is because there are no modern megacities, people mostly work there and their lives are spent in cabins. Supplies are delivered by air, and less frequently by water due to constant storms. Therefore, the Kuril Islands are more of a military-industrial facility than a social one.
Tourist. In this regard, things are better in the southern Kuril Islands. These places will be of interest to many people who are attracted by everything real, natural and extreme. It is unlikely that anyone will remain indifferent at the sight of a thermal spring gushing out of the ground, or from climbing the caldera of a volcano and crossing the fumarole field on foot. And there’s no need to talk about the views that open up to the eye.

For this reason, the dispute over the ownership of the Kuril Islands never gets off the ground.

Dispute over Kuril territory

Who owns these four island territories - Shikotan, Iturup, Kunashir and the Habomai Islands - is not an easy question.

Information from written sources points to the discoverers of the Kuril Islands - the Dutch. The Russians were the first to populate the territory of Chishimu. Shikotan Island and the other three were designated for the first time by the Japanese. But the fact of discovery does not yet provide grounds for ownership of this territory.

The island of Shikotan is considered the end of the world because of the cape of the same name located near the village of Malokurilsky. It impresses with its 40-meter drop into the ocean waters. This place is called the edge of the world due to the stunning view of the vastness of the Pacific Ocean.
Shikotan Island translates as Big City. It stretches for 27 kilometers, measures 13 kilometers in width, and occupies an area of 225 square meters. km. The highest point of the island is the mountain of the same name, rising 412 meters. Part of its territory belongs to the state nature reserve.

Shikotan Island has a very rugged coastline with numerous bays, capes and cliffs.

Previously, it was thought that the mountains on the island were volcanoes that had ceased to erupt, with which the Kuril Islands abound. But they turned out to be rocks displaced by shifts of lithospheric plates.

A little history

Long before the Russians and Japanese, the Kuril Islands were inhabited by the Ainu. The first information from Russians and Japanese about the Kuril Islands appeared only in the 17th century. A Russian expedition was sent in the 18th century, after which about 9,000 Ainu became Russian citizens.

A treaty was signed between Russia and Japan (1855), called Shimodsky, where boundaries were established allowing Japanese citizens to trade on 2/3 of this land. Sakhalin remained no man's territory. After 20 years, Russia became the undivided owner of this land, then lost the south in the Russo-Japanese War. But during the Second World War, Soviet troops were still able to regain the south of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands as a whole.
A peace agreement was nevertheless signed between the victorious states and Japan, and this happened in San Francisco in 1951. And according to it, Japan has absolutely no rights to the Kuril Islands.

But then the Soviet side did not sign, which was considered by many researchers to be a mistake. But there were serious reasons for this:

The document did not specifically indicate what was included in the Kuril Islands. The Americans said that it was necessary to apply to a special international court for this. Plus, a member of the Japanese delegation announced that the southern disputed islands are not the territory of the Kuril Islands.
The document also did not indicate exactly who would own the Kuril Islands. That is, the issue remained controversial.

In 1956, the USSR and the Japanese side signed a declaration preparing a platform for the main peace agreement. In it, the Country of the Soviets meets the Japanese halfway and agrees to transfer to them only the two disputed islands of Habomai and Shikotan. But with a condition - only after signing a peace agreement.

The declaration contains several subtleties:

The word “transfer” means that they belong to the USSR.
This transfer will actually take place after the signatures on the peace treaty have been signed.
This applies only to the two Kuril Islands.

This was a positive development between the Soviet Union and the Japanese side, but it also caused concern among the Americans. Thanks to Washington pressure, the Japanese government completely changed ministerial positions and new officials who took high positions began to prepare a military agreement between America and Japan, which began to operate in 1960.

After this, a call came from Japan to give up not two islands offered to the USSR, but four. America puts pressure on the fact that all agreements between the Country of Soviets and Japan are not necessary to be fulfilled; they are supposedly declarative. And the existing and current military agreement between the Japanese and the Americans implies the deployment of their troops on Japanese territory. Accordingly, they have now come even closer to Russian territory.

Based on all this, Russian diplomats stated that until all foreign troops are withdrawn from its territory, a peace agreement cannot even be discussed. But in any case, we are talking about only two islands in the Kuril Islands.

As a result, American security forces are still located on Japanese territory. The Japanese insist on the transfer of 4 Kuril Islands, as stated in the declaration.

The second half of the 80s of the 20th century was marked by the weakening of the Soviet Union and in these conditions the Japanese side again raises this topic. But the dispute over who will own the South Kuril Islands remains open. The Tokyo Declaration of 1993 states that the Russian Federation is the legal successor of the Soviet Union, and accordingly, previously signed papers must be recognized by both parties. It also indicated the direction to move towards resolving the territorial affiliation of the disputed four Kuril Islands.

The advent of the 21st century, and specifically 2004, was marked by the raising of this topic again at a meeting between Russian President Putin and the Prime Minister of Japan. And again everything happened again - the Russian side offers its conditions for signing a peace agreement, and Japanese officials insist that all four South Kuril Islands be transferred to their disposal.

2005 was marked by the Russian president's readiness to end the dispute, guided by the 1956 agreement, and transfer two island territories to Japan, but Japanese leaders did not agree with this proposal.

In order to somehow reduce tensions between the two states, the Japanese side was asked to help develop nuclear energy, develop infrastructure and tourism, and also improve the environmental situation, as well as security. The Russian side accepted this proposal.

At the moment, for Russia there is no question of who owns the Kuril Islands. Without any doubt, this is the territory of the Russian Federation, based on real facts - based on the results of the Second World War and the generally recognized UN Charter.

On February 2, 1946, the Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Mikhail Kalinin, signed a decree according to which South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands became part of the Soviet Union. The country received a territory that is rightfully considered one of the most picturesque places on Earth. Stunning landscapes, active volcanoes, plants and animals found only here make the Kuril Islands attractive to tourists and researchers.

We've collected facts about ten distinctive features of the islands.

Mysterious aborigines

The Kuril Islands are a chain of 56 islands, from Kamchatka to the island of Hokkaido, which includes two parallel ridges - the Greater and Lesser Kuril Islands. They separate the Sea of Okhotsk from the Pacific Ocean. The local aborigines - the Ainu - are still a mystery to scientists who disagree on where these people came from. It is known that the Ainu lived in the Kuril Islands for at least seven thousand years. They had very thick hair; men wore long beards and mustaches (unlike representatives of the Mongoloid race, who were deprived of facial hair). Their body was also hairy, which is why some scientists assumed that the ancestors of the Ainu were immigrants from the Caucasus. However, DNA tests did not confirm this hypothesis: rather, relatives of the Kuril aborigines lived in Tibet and the Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean.

The facial features of the aborigines resembled those of Europe. In their appearance, languages and customs they did not resemble either the Kamchadals or the Japanese. Despite the by no means hot climate, in the summer the Ainu wore only loincloths, like residents of hot latitudes. They were engaged in agriculture, hunting, fishing, and gathering.

The Ainu gave names to the islands: Paramushir meant “wide island”, Ushishir - “island with bays”, Shikotan - “best place”, Kunashir - “black island”. "Man" in their language sounded like "kuru". That is why the Cossacks from the first Russian expeditions that arrived on the islands called the aborigines Kurils and Kurilians.

The largest island

The largest island in the Kuril Islands is Iturup, with an area of 3,200 square kilometers. It is slightly larger than the Pacific island nation of Samoa. In the Ainu language, "etorop" means "jellyfish"; There is also a version that the name of the island is associated with the neighboring island of Urup ("salmon"). On Iturup there is the city of Kurilsk, where more than 2,600 people live.

The nature here is contrasting: spruce and fir forests, bamboo thickets, dwarf trees. The picturesque landscape is decorated with 20 volcanoes, nine of which are active. The highest, extinct volcano, Stokap, has a height of 1634 meters and consists of ten fused cones with several craters at the top. The island is rich in lakes (more than 30), hot and mineral springs.

Another feature of Iturup is the Lion's Mouth Bay, which has a depth of more than 500 meters (this is an underwater crater of the volcano). The capes jutting out into the sea were named Jaw and Fang. At the entrance of the bay there is a large single rock, the Lion Stone.

Tallest waterfall

The waterfall, which has long been considered the highest in Russia - Ilya Muromets - is located on the island of Iturup. The height of the “hero” is 141 meters - approximately the same as a 40-story building. The name of the epic hero was given to the waterfall in 1946 by members of the Sakhalin research expedition.

The waterfall forms a stream flowing from the northeastern slope of Mount Kamuy and almost immediately falling from the rocks into the Pacific Ocean. Ilya Muromets is three times higher in height than the free fall of water (not interrupted by ledges) of Niagara Falls and is considered the most inaccessible waterfall in the Far East. It can be seen, without risk to life, only from the water side - from aboard a sea vessel or a low-flying aircraft. Although they say that trained climbers, with special equipment, reached it on the ground, through high crumbling cliffs.

The most unusual lake

Boiling Lake Ponto is located in the south of Lake Kunashir, at an altitude of 130 meters above sea level. It is located in the caldera of Golovnin volcano. This is a dangerous place: the lake seethes, boils, and jets of gas and steam periodically burst out near the shores. The ponto has a depth of up to 23 meters, its diameter is about 230 meters. The surface temperature in places where thermal waters emerge reaches 100 degrees, and in other parts - up to 60 degrees.

The color of the water in Ponto is lead-gray - due to lake sediments, which are saturated with sulfur (there is evidence that the Japanese mined it here at the beginning of the last century). The lake water contains large amounts of antimony, arsenic, and heavy metal salts. Next to the boiling lake there is Lake Goryacheye, where you can swim. The water there is turquoise. The two lakes are separated by a rock, but they communicate with each other through an artificial canal dug by the Japanese.

Tallest active volcano

The northernmost and highest volcano of the Kuril Islands - Alaid - is located 30 kilometers northwest of Paramushir Island and 70 kilometers southwest of Kamchatka. Its height is 2339 meters. There is a legend that Alaid used to be located in the south of Kamchatka, but other mountains drove it out: due to the fact that it was the largest, the volcano blocked the light. Since then, Alaid has stood alone - on Atlasov Island in the Sea of Okhotsk. And on the Kuril Lake in Kamchatka there remains the island of the Heart of Alaid.

The volcano has 33 subsidiary cinder cones on the slopes and at the base. Since the end of the 18th century, it has erupted more than a dozen times. The last time this happened was on August 23, 1997. In addition, minor seismic activity was recorded from October 31 to December 19, 2003. And on October 5, 2012, Alaid emitted steam and gas plumes to a height of 200 meters.

There is a sad page in the history of the volcano: in April 2002, two Japanese tourists died while climbing Alaid.

Most active volcano

The most active volcano of the Kuril group is located on the island of Matua of the Great Kuril ridge. It received its name in honor of the Russian navigator and hydrographer Gabriel Sarychev. The height of the volcano is 1446 meters above sea level.

In the last century alone, the Sarychev volcano erupted seven times. One of the most powerful eruptions was recorded in 1946: then a flow of a mixture of volcanic gases, ash and stones reached the sea. The last time the volcano erupted was in 2009: this led to an increase in the area of the island by 1.5 square kilometers.

The most unusual volcano

Tyatya Volcano, located on the Kunashir Island of the Great Kuril Ridge, is considered one of the most beautiful on the planet. This is a “volcano within a volcano”, having an absolutely regular shape. A younger central cone protrudes above the ridge-shaped part of the ancient volcano. The height of Tyati, by the way, recognized as one of the seven wonders of Sakhalin, is 1819 meters. It is similar to the Eiffel Tower in Paris: in clear weather the volcano can be seen from anywhere in Kunashir.

The Ainu called the volcano "Chacha-nupuri" - "father mountain". But the Russian name comes from the Japanese: in their language there is no syllable “cha” - there is “tya”. Therefore, “Chacha” turned into “Tyatya”.

In 1973, a powerful volcanic eruption occurred, as a result of which ash settled within a radius of 80 kilometers. Because of this, the nearby large village of Tyatino was abandoned by people. The volcano is considered dangerous for aircraft: it is known that several helicopters have crashed near its summit over the years. It is possible that the cause of the disasters was poisonous gases that unexpectedly periodically emit from the side crater.

Historical eruptions of Tyati occurred in 1812 and 1973. The volcano is still restless: there is little activity in the central crater.

The oldest tree

The oldest tree in the Far East - the yew "Sage" - is located on the island of Kunashir. The age of the yew is more than a thousand years. The diameter of the “Sage” is 130 centimeters.

Yew is a common plant in this area. Long-livers resemble baobabs - they are stocky and thick. The oldest trees are hollow inside: living wood in yew trees that are one meter in diameter is usually very thin; dead wood dies off, forming a huge hollow.

All parts of the yew tree except the aryllus (the fleshy structure surrounding the seed) are poisonous. Interestingly, the word “toxin” comes precisely from the Latin name of this tree. Local residents use edible yew berries for food.

The rarest bird

The large piebald kingfisher, which is not found anywhere else in Russia, nests in Kunashir. The bird appeared on the island in the 60s-70s of the last century: outside our country, this species of kingfisher lives on the Japanese islands, in the Himalayas, in the north of the Indochina Peninsula, in eastern and southeastern China.

The large piebald kingfisher settles near fast mountain rivers with rocky bottoms and rifts, feeds on small fish, and nests in burrows dug in steep banks. According to scientists, about 20 pairs of these birds nest in Kunashir.

The wildest tree

Kunashir Island is the only place in Russia where magnolia obovate grows in the wild. This beautiful subtropical plant has taken root here thanks to a natural feature: the Sea of Okhotsk coast of Kunashir is warmed by a warm branch of the Kuroshio Current. It creates a greenhouse effect, and therefore summers and winters in Kunashir are warmer than on the Pacific coast.

Magnolia flowers reach the size of a large plate, but they are quite difficult to notice: they are usually located at the height of a four-story building.

Text:

Here, courageous men work at sea, and beautiful women wait for them on the islands, driving off-road in huge Japanese jeeps that look more like Stalinist one-room apartments than cars.

Here, the harsh life of sailors is full of romance, and romance becomes commonplace. Here, anyone who has lived on land for more than a year considers himself a local resident. These are the Kuril Islands, which in Russia are called the Southern Islands, and in Japan - the Northern Islands. And this is far from the only subject of discussion between the two states...

Residents of the Kuril Islands can travel to Japan without a visa and for free. This is what the Japanese theoretically proposed, but the Russian authorities of the islands decided practically: travel can be without a visa, but you need to pay a “tourist tax” to the local administration. Therefore, rarely anyone travels to Japan, despite the fact that it is always in direct sight.

Everything necessary, including food, is delivered to the islands from Vladivostok, and not from the nearest Sakhalin, because Sakhalin is also an island, and everything is also expensive.

There is nothing on the Kuril Islands except “dilapidated housing,” fish factories and FSB border troops. Here, the “continental man” is always haunted by only two smells - fish and the sea, and only two obsessive sounds - the cry of seagulls and the breath of the ocean.

And also, the Kuril Islands are perhaps one of the most picturesque islands in Russia? Just look at this beauty:

Why are the Kuril Islands called that?

The Kuril Islands got their name from the people who inhabited them before the arrival of the Russians and Japanese. They called themselves Ainu. "Kuru" in the language of these people it meant “man” and in meaning differed little from "Ainu". Cossacks from the first Russian expeditions began to call them “Kurils” or “Kurilians”, and from here the name of the entire archipelago came from.

The Ainu culture has been traced by archaeologists for at least 7,000 years. In their appearance, language and customs, they differed both from the Japanese in the south and from the Kamchadals (residents of Kamchatka) in the north: they were characterized by a non-Mongoloid type of face, thick hair, a thick beard, and pronounced hair all over the body. Russian explorers therefore called the Ainu “shaggy”. The origins of the Ainu are unclear to this day.

The word “kuru” turned out to be consonant with the Russian “to smoke” - after all, there is always smoke above the volcanoes, of which there are many in the Kuril Islands. However, we must remember that the word that gave the Kuril Islands their current name is not of Russian, but of Ainu origin.

Tallest waterfall

The waterfall, which has long been considered the highest in Russia, is located on the island of Iturup. The height of the “hero” is 141 meters - approximately the same as a 40-story building. The name of the epic hero was given to the waterfall in 1946 by members of the Sakhalin research expedition.

Ilya Muromets is three times higher in height than the free fall of water (not interrupted by ledges) of Niagara Falls and is considered the most inaccessible waterfall in the Far East. It can be seen, without risk to life, only from the water side - from aboard a sea vessel or a low-flying aircraft. Although they say that trained climbers, with special equipment, reached it on the ground, through high crumbling cliffs.

The most unusual lake

Tallest active volcano

Alaid is the highest and northernmost volcano of the Kuril Islands. Its height is 2339 m. There is a legend that Alaid was previously located in the south of Kamchatka, but other mountains drove it out: due to the fact that it was the largest, the volcano obscured the light. Since then, Alaid has stood alone - on Atlasov Island in the Sea of Okhotsk. And on the Kuril Lake in Kamchatka there remains the island of the Heart of Alaid.

Photo: Elena Shambarova

There is a sad page in the history of the volcano: in April 2002, two Japanese tourists died while climbing Alaid.

Most active volcano

The most unusual volcano

The Ainu named the volcano “Chacha-nupuri” - “father mountain”. But the Russian name comes from the Japanese: in their language there is no syllable “cha” - there is “cha”. Therefore, “Chacha” turned into “Tyatya”.

Historical eruptions of Tyati occurred in 1812 and 1973. The volcano is still restless: there is little activity in the central crater.

Photo: ktk-tour.ru

The oldest tree

The oldest tree in the Far East, the “Sage” yew, is located on Kunashir Island. The age of the yew is more than a thousand years. The diameter of the “Sage” is 130 centimeters.

All parts of the yew tree except the aryllus (the fleshy structure surrounding the seed) are poisonous. Interestingly, the word “toxin” comes precisely from the Latin name of this tree. Local residents use edible yew berries for food.

The rarest bird

The wildest tree

Magnolia flowers reach the size of a large plate, but they are quite difficult to notice: they are usually located at the height of a four-story building.

The Kuril Islands also have the highest waves in Russia, but catching a wave is not easy. Kokorev Konstantin, the author of the amazing video that we have added below, says:

“After studying maps and forecasts, we chose the Kuril Islands as potentially the best place in terms of wave quality in our country. The Kuril Islands turned out to be not an easy place for an ordinary tourist, and in order to catch the wave we had to endure two typhoons and many difficulties. Luck was on our side. Iturup Island showed us all its beauties and most importantly gave us the best waves in Russia"

The article was prepared based on the following resources: www.rg.ru and strana.lenta.ru

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