Iturup

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NASA picture of Iturup's southern end with volcano Berutarube and small clouds.

Iturup (Russian: Итуру́п; Ainu エト・オロ・プ; Japanese: 択捉島, Etorofu) is the largest island of the South Kuril Islands. It is the northernmost island in the southern Kuril islands, and though presently is controlled by Russia, Japan also claims this island (see Kuril Islands dispute).

Iturup is located near the southern end of the Kurile chain, between Kunashir (19 km to the SW) and Urup (37 km to the NE). The town of Kurilsk, administrative center of Kurilsky District, is located roughly midway along its western shore.

Area - 3,139 sq km
Length - 200 km
Width - 7–27 km

1 Geography
2 History
3 See also
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Geography

Iturup consists of volcanic massifs and mountain ridges. A series of a dozen volcanoes running NE to SW form the backbone of the island, the highest being Stokap (1,634 m) in the central part of Iturup. The shores of the island are high and abrupt. The vegetation mostly consists of spruce, larch, pine, fir, and mixed deciduous forests with alder, lianas and Kuril bamboo underbrush. The mountains are covered with birch and Siberian Dwarf Pine scrub, herbaceous flowers or bare rocks.

[edit] History

Japanese inhabitants of the island at a riverside picnic in 1933

Initially inhabited by the Ainu, the island saw both a Russian settlement (late 18th century) and a Japanese garrison (1800) at the site of the present-day Kurilsk. In 1855 Iturup was ceded to Japan by the Treaty of Shimoda.

On 26 November 1941 a Japanese carrier fleet left Hitokappu Bay (Japanese: 単冠湾), on the eastern shore of Iturup, and sailed for an attack on the American base of Pearl Harbor.

In 1945, it was occupied by the Soviet Union after Japan's defeat in World War II. The Japanese inhabitants were expelled to mainland Japan.^[1] In 1956 the two countries agreed to restore diplomatic relations, but the peace treaty, as of 2007, has not been concluded due to the disputed status of Iturup and other islands Japan continues to claim.

A Soviet Anti-Air Defense (PVO) airfield, Burevestnik, (English: storm-petrel), is located on the island and since the 1950s has been home for a number of Mikoyan fighter jets. In 1968, Seaboard World Airlines Flight 253 was intercepted over the Kuriles and forced to land at Burevestnik with 214 American troops bound for Vietnam. An older airfield, Vetrovoe, exists on the eastern part of the island and may have been used primarily by Japanese forces during World War II.