Kunashir Island
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Kunashir Island (Russian: Кунаши́р; Japanese: 国後島, Kunashiri), meaning Black Island in Ainu) is the southernmost island of the Kuril Islands, which are controlled by Russia and claimed by Japan (see Kuril Islands dispute).
It lies between the straits of Kunashir, Catherine, Izmena, and South Kuril. Kunashir is visible from the nearby Japanese island of Hokkaidō.
Kunashir is formed by four volcanoes which were separate islands but have since joined together by low-lying areas with lakes and hot springs. All these volcanoes are still active: Tyatya (1,819 m), Smirnov, Mendeleev, and Golovnin).
The island is formed with the volcanic and crystalline rocks. The climate is of monsoon type. The vegetation mostly consists of spruce, pine, fir, and mixed deciduous forests with lianas and Kuril bamboo underbrush. The mountains are covered with birch and Siberian Dwarf Pine scrub, herbaceous flowers or bare rocks.
In 1789 Kunashiri was one of the settings of the Menashi-Kunashir Battle in which Ainu revolted against Japanese tradespeople and colonists. The Russian navigator Vasily Golovnin attempted to map and explore the island in 1819, but was apprehended by Japanese authorities and spent two years in prison.
Primary economic activity is fishery and fishing industry. The island has a port next to Yuzhno-Kurilsk, administrative center of Yuzhno-Kurilsky District and the island's main settlement.
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