The Strait of Hope
North Kuril city district, Sakhalin region, Russia.
Description:
The Strait of Hope is located in the North Pacific Ocean, in the middle of the islands of the Kuril Archipelago. The strait separates the island of Rassua from the island of Matua, connects the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk.
Its length is 15 kilometers, width 29 kilometers, maximum depth of about 500 meters. The shores of the strait are precipitous and rocky. In the strait there are Capes Pologii and North, also many streams flow into it. There are many surface and underwater rocks on the coasts. In its northern part is the Ainu Bay, which extends into the island of Matua. The magnitude of the tide along the banks is about 1 meter.
The strait is named after the ship “Hope”, on which the navigator I. F. Kruzenshtern sailed through it in 1805. The shores of the Strait of Hope are not inhabited.