Chirinkotan

Chirinkotan
Native name: <span class="nickname" ">Чиринкотан
知林古丹島

NASA picture of Chirinkotan Island
Geography
Location Sea of Okhotsk
Coordinates 48°59′N 153°29′E / 48.98°N 153.48°E / 48.98; 153.48
Archipelago Kuril Islands
Area 6 km2 (2.3 sq mi)
Highest elevation 742 m (2,434 ft)
Highest point Masaochi Peak volcano,
Country
Russia
Demographics
Population 0

Chirinkotan (Russian: Чиринкотан; Japanese 知林古丹島; Chirinkotan-tō) is an uninhabited volcanic island located in the centre of the Kuril Islands chain in the Sea of Okhotsk in the northwest Pacific Ocean. Its name is derived from the Ainu language for "mudslide". It is located 3 kilometres (1.9 miles) west of Ekarma, its nearest neighbor.

Geology

Chirinkotan is at the far end of a volcanic chain extending nearly 50 km west of the central part of the main Kuril Islands arc. The island is the top of a partially submerged stratovolcano rising approximately 3,000 metres (9,800 feet) from the floor of the Sea of Okhotsk, and is roughly circular with an area of 6 square kilometres (2.3 square miles).[1] The island’s highest point (“Masaochi” in Ainu) is 742 metres (2,434 feet) high, is still active volcano with major eruptions recorded in 1760, 1884, 1900, 1979, 1986, 2004, and 2013. Reports of a 1955 eruption are unconfirmed. The caldera is approximately one kilometre (0.62 miles) wide, with a depth of 300 to 400 metres (980–1,310 feet), and is breached on its south-east side. The shores of the island are steep cliffs, making landing by small boat impossible.

History

Chirinkotan has had no permanent habitation. Claimed by the Empire of Russia, sovereignty was passed to the Empire of Japan per the Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1875) along with the rest of the Kuril Islands. The island was formerly administered as part of Shumushu District of Nemuro Subprefecture of Hokkaidō. After World War II, the island came under the control of the Soviet Union, and is now administered as part of the Sakhalin Oblast of the Russian Federation.

See also

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chirinkotan.

Further reading

Notes

  1. "International Kuril Island Project(IKIP)". University of Washington Fish Collection or the respective authors.


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Sunday, March 06, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.