Iturup

Infobox Disputed Islands
name = Iturup


image caption = NASA picture of Iturup's southern end with volcano Berutarube and small clouds
image size = 300px
locator
Location map|Japan|lat=45.033333|long=147.616667|caption=Iturup (off the coast of Hokkaidō)
map_custom = yes
native name =
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other_names = _ru. Итуруп; _ja. 択捉島; Ainu:エト・オロ・プ
location = Sea of Okhotsk
coordinates = coord|45|02|N|147|37|E|display=inline
archipelago = Kuril Islands
total islands =
major islands =
area = convert|3139|km2|acre
length =convert|200|km|mi
width =convert|27|km|mi
coastline =
highest mount = Stokap
elevation = convert|1634|m|ft
country claim = Japan
country claim divisions title = Prefecture
country claim divisions = Hokkaidō
country claim capital city = Tokyo
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country 1 claim = Russia
country 1 claim divisions title = Oblast
country 1 claim divisions = Sakhalin
country 1 claim capital city =
country 1 claim largest city =
country 1 claim largest city population =
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country = Russia
country admin divisions title =Oblast
country admin divisions = Sakhalin
country capital city =
country largest city =
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Iturup ( _ru. Итуруп; Ainu エト・オロ・プ; _ja. 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 km²
*Length - 200 km
*Width - 7–27 km

The strait between Iturup and Urup is known as the Vries Strait, after Dutch explorer Maarten Gerritsz Vries, the first recorded European to explore the area. [ [http://www.sakhalin.ru/Engl/Region/book/17th_18th.htm Dutch exploration] ]

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.

History

.

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. [Takahara, "Nemuro raid survivor"] 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 and Russia 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.

Administratively this island belongs to the Sakhalin Oblast of the Russian Federation.

ee also

*Kuril Islands dispute

References

External links

*cite web
last = Takahara
first = Kanako
authorlink =
coauthors =
date =
date = September 22, 2007
month =
url = http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20070922w1.html
title = Nemuro raid survivor longs for homeland
format = Newspaper article
work =
pages =
publisher = Japan Times
language =
accessdate = 2008-02-01
accessyear =
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=45.132319049014264,147.93411098090277&spn=1.0123577351814326,1.795166015625&t=k&hl=en Google Maps]
* [http://www.oceandots.com/pacific/kuril/iturup.htm Ocean Dots.com]
* [http://land.worldcitydb.com/sakhalinskaya_ã¢â€â™_in_russian_federation_state.html Sakhalin Oblast]