- Simushir
Simushir ( _ru. Симушир, _ja. 新知島) is a deserted volcanic island, part of the
Kuril Islands inRussia , located at coord|46.9666667|N|152.0333333|E|.A series of
volcano es (up to 1539 meters) form the structure of this highly elongated island, 59 km long and 12 km wide, with an area of 227.6 sq. km. A partly submerged, 7.5 km widecaldera is situated at the northeastern tip of the island. In the center of the island liesPrevo Peak and down to the southwest liesZavaritski Caldera , with three calderas contained within each other.Administratively this island belongs to the
Sakhalin Oblast of theRussian Federation .History
Russian explorer
Gerasim Izmailov was marooned on Simushir in the early 1770s. He spent a full year subsisting on "scallops, grass, and roots".The Ainu and the
Aleuts settled Simushir in the 19th century.At the northeastern tip of the island is the
Brouton Bay used by theSoviet Navy as a secretsubmarine base between 1987 and 1994. The remains of the base can be seen clearly on satellite images. Today the island is not inhabited, and several Soviet villages, likeKraternyy are deserted.Believed currently to be under exploration to exploit the oil field from Simushir with air traffic and supply for Exxon under license from The Russian Federation. Details unknown!
References
* [http://www.volcano.si.edu/world/region.cfm?rnum=0900 Global Volcanism Program]
* [http://www.theoceanadventure.com/KIIE/KI8.html Simushir submarine base]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9903EEDE123BF937A15753C1A964948260 Russians Said to Have Built Submarine Base Near Japan - New York Times:REUTERS Published: October 24, 1982]External links
* [http://land.worldcitydb.com/sakhalinskaya_ã¢â€â™_in_russian_federation_state.html Sakhalin Oblast]
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