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 There are days when you want to go far, far, to the very end of the world, where there are no people or cars, to plunge into the world of pristine nature and feel like one in the whole world. Unfortunately, it is not so easy to find such a corner on our planet at present. But there are still such places on the territory of Russia, for example, the Island Arc and the Kuril Islands The Kuril Islands stretches from Kamchatka to Hokkaido Island for 1200 km.
The archipelago consists of 36 large islands and a huge number of small rocks and islets. It consists of 2 island chains: the Big and Small Kuril ridge, on which there are no active volcanoes.
The Kuril Islands are the second after Kamchatka volcanic region located on the territory of the Russian Federation. There are more than 100 volcanoes in the Kuril Islands, 40 of which are active. However, eruptions here occur much less frequently than in Kamchatka.
Almost all Russian and Japanese names of waterfalls, volcanoes, bays and straits that are located in the Kuril Islands appeared only about 200 years ago, and all the islands retained the names given to them by the indigenous inhabitants of the Kuril Islands - the Ainu.
The large ridge is divided into 3 parts by the Kruzenshtern and Bussol straits: the northern one, which includes the Shumshu, Paramushur, Onekotan and Shiashkotan islands, the middle one, with the Simushir island and a huge number of small islets, and the southern, in which the largest and most densely populated islands were concentrated: Kunashir , Iturup and Urup.
The Small Kuril Range, 105 km long, consists of the large and very picturesque island of Shikotan.
Somewhat off to the side of the chain of islands, to the west of Shumshu Island, is the Atlasov Island, which is a huge cone rising from the Sea of Okhotsk and the Alaid volcano. This mountain is the most extreme and highest fire-breathing mountain of the Kuriles. In clear weather, the top of this mountain can be seen from Kamchatka. Eruptions of the Alaid volcano occur every 30-40 years. The last of them was registered in 1972.
On the entire territory of the Russian Far East, perhaps, one cannot find more picturesque landscapes than on the Kuril Islands. Each of the many islands is beautiful in its own way. Formidable volcanoes with smoking peaks are located in close proximity to the amazingly beautiful coastal cliffs and bays.
Any traveler who has visited Sakhalin, Kamchatka or any other region of the Far East will get an unforgettable experience, but who has visited the Kuriles will truly fall in love with this harsh and at the same time amazing and beautiful land.
As already mentioned, most of the volcanoes located on the territory of the islands erupt less often, but their eruptions bring no less harm. The reason for this is that they are in close proximity to the sea, and since any, even the most insignificant, eruption is always accompanied by tremors, they cause huge tsunami waves that hit the islands. So, for example, in 1952 a volcanic eruption occurred, which caused a tsunami up to 30 m high. This gigantic wave with destructive force hit the city of Severo-Uralsk and practically wiped it off the face of the earth. The few who could survive this catastrophe left the island forever.
The most dangerous volcanoes located on the Kunashir Island are Tyatya and Golovnin. There are 8 active volcanoes on the Iturup Island. The most active of them are the volcanoes Berutarube, Atsonupuri, Stokap, Ivan the Terrible, Tebenkova, Baransky. On the island of Simushir, the most active volcanoes are the Burning Sopka, Zavaritsky, and Prevo Peak.
Previous information that this archipelago got its name thanks to the "smoking" volcanoes is just a legend. The indigenous people named each island separately.
However, I would like to note that active volcanoes bring not only harm, but also benefit. Due to volcanic activity on the territory of some islands there are mineral springs, some of which are hot. For example, on the island of Shiashkotan there are about 1,000 of them, but on the island of Urup there is a hot waterfall.
In many craters, warm lakes have appeared, the waters of which help to treat various diseases. For example, the Ebeko volcano has become a real sanatorium for the residents of Severo-Kurilsk. Every day, in any weather, residents of the city strive to visit this lake, because even in winter the water temperature in it reaches + 40 ° C.
Famous all over the world and located on the island of Kunashir Hot Beach, located at the foot of the Mendeleev volcano, and the volcanic rock in this area is covered with a thin layer, in some places very hot sea sand. A strip of this hot sand stretches along the coast for almost 1 km. The temperature of the steam escaping from the bowels reaches +100 ° C, and the temperature of the water that comes from hot springs is +90 ° C. It is also interesting that the inhabitants of the island have learned to use this steam for their own purposes, they heat food on it, and also use it to heat houses.
Describing the Kuril Islands, one cannot ignore the nature of the islands. Due to the fact that the territory of the archipelago stretches from north to south, you can find a wide variety of vegetation here. So, for example, on the islands located in the north, large territories are occupied by thickets of cedar and dwarf alder, and tundra plants also grow here. Sweet grass grows on these islands wild garlic, kugatornik, sweet root, sarana, cloudberry and blueberry.
On the islands of Iturup and Kunashir you can walk in the fir and oak forests, admire the maples, wild cherry... But on Shikotan, in addition to the above trees, you can find yew and velvet tree. And it is on this island that magnolia grows. But the fauna in the depths of the islands is not so rich. There are bears, foxes, as well as small rodents, namely voles and shrews. Mustangs are also found here, but there are not so many of them.
A real playground for animals on the seaside. Here you can see killer whales, sperm whales, gray whales, dolphins, fur seals, seals and the largest seals - sea lions. Also, each island is densely populated with birds, about 30 species of which are listed in the Red Book of Russia.
Salmon fish come to the numerous rivers of the islands to spawn: char, chum salmon and, of course, pink salmon... They enter coastal waters and huge flocks sardine, saury, pollock and halibut... Rich in water and flounder, sea bass and gobies.
At present it is not easy to get to this wonderful corner of Russia, because the tourist development of the islands, due to the fact that they are significantly removed from civilization, is difficult. Therefore, only a few tourists can admire the beauty of this region, but those who have seen the Kuril Islands at least once fall in love with them for life.
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