Shumshu Island

Shumshu Island is one of the islands of the Kuril ridge, located in its northern part. Russian explorers discovered and explored the island in the XVII century. In 1875, the procedure of transferring the Kuril Islands to Japan took place on the island. Its area is 231 square kilometers. It is separated from the island of Paramushir by the Second Kuril Strait, from Kamchatka by the First Kuril Strait.

The island has a hilly terrain. The base of the island are volcanic rocks, the surface is loose marine sediments. The sea around the island is rich in thickets of seaweed and sea cabbage, it is home to seals, calans, sea lions. Many waterfowl nest on the lakes of the island. There are foxes, small rodents on the island.

Nowadays there is no permanent population on the island. Previously, there were several settlements on it. There is a border outpost and two lighthouses on the island. On the island after 1945 there were Japanese fortifications: dots, warehouses, trenches, anti-tank ditches, zots. On the island you can see traces of bombing, parts of aircraft and tanks, fragments of shells. Also on the island is a monument to Pacific sailors who died in 1945 during the assault on Shumshu.