Which of the Kuril Islands is the largest. Underground bunkers matua

On February 2, 1946, Mikhail Kalinin, Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, signed a decree according to which South Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands became part of the Soviet Union. The country received a territory that is rightfully considered one of the most picturesque places on Earth. Stunning landscapes active volcanoes Plants and animals found only here make the Kuril Islands attractive for tourists and researchers.

The Kurils are a chain of 56 islands, from Kamchatka to Hokkaido, which includes two parallel ridges - the Big and Small Kuril Islands. They separate the Sea of ​​Okhotsk from the Pacific Ocean. Local aborigines - the Ainu - are still a mystery to scientists who disagree on where this people came from.

It is known that the Ainu lived in the Kuriles for at least seven thousand years. They had very thick hair; men wore long beards and mustaches (in contrast to the Mongoloid race, who were deprived of facial hair). Their body was also hairy, which is why some scientists assumed that the ancestors of the Ainu were from the Caucasus. However, DNA tests did not confirm this hypothesis: rather, the relatives of the Kuril aborigines lived in Tibet and Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean.

The facial features of the aborigines were reminiscent of those of Europe. Their appearance, language and customs did not resemble either the Kamchadals or the Japanese. Despite the not at all hot climate, in summer the Ainu wore only loincloths, like the inhabitants of hot latitudes. Were engaged agriculture, hunting, fishing, gathering.

The Ainu gave names to the islands: Paramushir meant "wide island", Ushishir - "island with bays", Shikotan - " the best place“, Kunashir is“ black island. ”“ Man ”in their language sounded like“ kuru. ”That is why the Cossacks from the first Russian expeditions who arrived on the islands called the aborigines Kuril and Kuril.

Here, courageous men work at sea, and beautiful women they are awaited on the islands, driving off-road in huge Japanese jeeps, which look more like one-room "Stalin-era" apartments than cars. Here the harsh life of sailors is full of romance, and romance becomes commonplace. Anyone here who has lived on land for more than a year considers himself to be a local resident.

Everything you need, including food, is delivered to the islands from Vladivostok, and not from the nearest Sakhalin, because Sakhalin is also an island, and everything is also expensive.

There is nothing on the Kuril Islands, except for "dilapidated housing", fish factories and the border troops of the FSB. Here the "continental man" is always haunted by only two smells - fish and the sea, and only two obsessive sounds - the cry of seagulls and the breath of the ocean.

And yet, the Kuril Islands are one of the most, perhaps, picturesque islands Russia.

Highest waterfall

The waterfall, which for a long time was considered the highest in Russia, is located on the Iturup island. The height of the "hero" is 141 meters - about the same as a 40-storey building. The name of the epic hero was given to the waterfall in 1946 by the participants of the Sakhalin research expedition.

Ilya Muromets is three times the height of the free fall of water (not interrupted by ledges) Niagara Falls and is considered the most inaccessible waterfall Of the Far East... It can be seen, without risk to life, only from the side of the water - from the side of a sea vessel or a low-flying aircraft. Although they say that trained climbers, with special equipment, reached it along the ground, through high crumbling cliffs.

Largest island

The largest Kuril island is considered to be Iturup, with an area of ​​3200 square kilometers. It is little more than the Pacific island nation of Samoa. In the language of the Ainu, "etorop" means "medusa"; there is also a version that the name of the island is associated with neighboring island Urup ("salmon"). On Iturup there is the city of Kurilsk, where more than 2,600 people live.

The nature here is contrasting: spruce and fir forests, thickets of bamboo, elfin trees. The picturesque landscape is decorated with 20 volcanoes, nine of which are active. The highest, extinct volcano, Stockap, has a height of 1,634 meters and consists of ten merged cones with several craters at the top. The island is rich in lakes (there are more than 30), hot and mineral springs.

The most unusual lake

Boiling Lake Ponto is located in the south of Lake Kunashir, at an altitude of 130 meters above sea level. It is located in the caldera of the Golovnin volcano. it dangerous place: the lake is seething, boiling, jets of gas and steam periodically break out near the shores. The ponto is up to 23 meters deep and about 230 meters in diameter. The surface temperature in places where thermal waters come out reaches 100 degrees, and in other parts - up to 60 degrees.

The color of the water in Ponto is lead-gray - due to lake sediments, which are saturated with sulfur (there is evidence that the Japanese mined it here at the beginning of the last century). The lake water contains a large amount of antimony, arsenic, heavy metal salts. Near the boiling lake is the Hot Lake, where you can swim. The water in it is turquoise. The two lakes are separated by a rock, but they communicate through an artificial channel dug by the Japanese.

Tallest active volcano

The northernmost and most high volcano Kuril - Alaid - is located 30 kilometers northwest of Paramushir Island and 70 kilometers southwest of Kamchatka. Its height is 2339 meters. There is a legend that Alaid used to be located in the south of Kamchatka, but other mountains drove it out: due to the fact that it was the largest, the volcano blocked the light. Since then, Alaid has been standing alone - on the Atlasov Island in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. And on the Kuril Lake in Kamchatka, the Heart of Alaid Island remained.

The volcano has 33 secondary cinder cones on the slopes and at the base. Since the end of the 18th century, it has erupted more than a dozen times. The last time it happened was on August 23, 1997. In addition, small seismic activity was recorded from October 31 to December 19, 2003. And on October 5, 2012, Alaid threw steam and gas plumes to a height of 200 meters.

There is a sad page in the history of the volcano: in April 2002, two Japanese tourists were killed while climbing Alaid.

The most active volcano

The most active volcano from the Kuril group is located on the Matua Island of the Greater Kuril Ridge. It got its name in honor of the Russian navigator and hydrographer Gabriel Sarychev. The height of the volcano is 1446 meters above sea level.

Only in the last century, the Sarychev volcano erupted seven times. One of the most powerful eruptions was recorded in 1946: then a stream of a mixture of volcanic gases, ash and stones reached the sea. The last time the volcano erupted was in 2009: this led to an increase in the area of ​​the island by 1.5 square kilometers.

The most unusual volcano

Tyatya volcano, located on the Kunashir Island of the Great Kuril Ridge, is considered one of the most beautiful on the planet. It is a "volcano within a volcano" with an absolutely correct shape. Above the comb-shaped part ancient volcano the younger central cone protrudes. The height of Tyat, by the way, is recognized as one of the seven wonders of Sakhalin - 1819 meters. He is like Eiffel tower in Paris: in clear weather the volcano can be seen from any point of Kunashir.

The Ainu named the volcano "Chacha-nupuri" - "Father Mountain". And here Russian name originated from the Japanese: in their language there is no syllable "cha" - there is "cha". Therefore, "Chacha" turned into "Tyatya".

In 1973, a violent volcanic eruption occurred, as a result of which ash settled within a radius of 80 kilometers. Because of this, the nearby large village of Tyatino was abandoned by people. The volcano is considered dangerous for aircraft: it is known that in different years several helicopters crashed near its top. It is not excluded that the cause of the disasters was poisonous gases, which are unexpectedly periodically thrown out by a side crater.

Historical eruptions of Tyat took place in 1812 and 1973. The volcano is still restless: there is little activity in the central crater.

Oldest tree

The oldest tree in the Far East, the Sage Yew, is located on the Kunashir Island. The yew is over a thousand years old. The Sage's diameter is 130 centimeters.

Yew is a common plant in this area. Centenarians resemble baobabs - they are stumpy, thick. The oldest trees are hollow inside: the living wood of a meter in diameter yews is usually very thin, the dead one dies off, forming a huge hollow.

All parts of the yew tree, with the exception of the aryllus (the fleshy structure surrounding the seed), are poisonous. Interestingly, the word "toxin" comes from the Latin name for this tree. Locals use edible yew berries for food.

The rarest bird

A large piebald kingfisher nests on Kunashir, which is not found anywhere else in Russia. The bird appeared on the island in the 60s - 70s of the last century: outside our country, this species of kingfisher lives on japanese islands, in the Himalayas, in the north of the Indochina peninsula, in eastern and southeastern China.

The great piebald kingfisher settles with the swift mountain rivers with a rocky bottom and rifts, feeds on small fish, nests in burrows dug in steep banks. According to scientists, about 20 pairs of these birds nest on Kunashir.

The wildest tree

Kunashir Island - the only place in Russia, where obovate magnolia grows in the wild. The most beautiful subtropical plant has taken root here thanks to natural feature: The Sea of ​​Okhotsk coast of Kunashir is heated by a warm branch of the Kuroshio Current. It creates a greenhouse effect, and therefore summers and winters in Kunashir are warmer than on the Pacific coast.

Magnolia flowers reach the size of a large plate, but it is quite difficult to notice them: they are usually located at the height of a four-story building.

Sakhalin and Kuril Islands are located on the eastern edge of the Asian continent. The volcanic origin of the islands, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, powerful cyclones and hurricanes destroyed and created bizarre landscapes, rock heaps and a kind of flora.

Kunashir, Cape Column

This essay tells about some of the prominent perennials that the author was able to photograph along the botanical trails of the "plant hunter". *

The names of the species are given mainly in accordance with the "Keys to Plants of the Soviet Far East" (Voroshilov V.N., Nauka, 1982) and "Flora of the Soviet Far East" (Voroshilov V.N., Nauka, 1966), as well as the book "Wild Ornamental Plants of Sakhalin and Kuril Islands"(Yegorova E.M., Science, 1977).

The significant length of the islands from north to south (Sakhalin 943 km, Kuril Islands 1200 km) contributed to the formation of various vegetation belts: from tundra in the north to almost subtropics in the south, with a corresponding flora composition. Of no small importance is the unique location of the archipelago itself, washed by the mighty The Pacific Ocean and the Sea of ​​Okhotsk, dominated by ocean fogs and unpredictable wind conditions. Finally, big influence the flora of the islands was influenced by the flora of neighboring territories: northern Japan (Hokkaido island) and the mainland East Asia... That is why the overwhelming majority of rare plants have areas of the East Asian and, less often, of the North Pacific type, and in some cases they are limited only to the island territory: Sakhalin, Kuriles, Hokkaido.

The very first acquaintance with the Kuriles and Sakhalin cannot leave the observer indifferent. Picturesque mountains and volcanoes, vast sea distances, unusual, especially for a European, flora and vegetation ... Many islands are magnificent natural monuments... The southern island of Kunashir with a length of 100 km stands out, where not far from the sea there are very valuable and rich in interesting plants areas of broad-leaved forest, which can be called natural botanical garden... They are also rich in flora. Iturup (200 km long) and the southwest of Sakhalin. Fr. Shikotan (50 km long).

Often (and perhaps fortunately) the magnificent creatures of the plant kingdom are reliably hidden from man. Remoteness of habitats, impenetrable jungle and thickets, rocky cliffs and high mountains increase their inaccessibility. Deserted territories, extreme weather (frequent and heavy rains, fogs, daytime temperature contrasts, etc.), the absence of not only roads, but also paths, cold rivers and icy streams complicate the situation and restrain the enthusiasm of the pioneer. Sometimes it only remains coastal strip, where "impermeable" (rocks strongly protruding into the sea) and strong sea tides, which cover the entire coast, interfere. Especially not welcoming northern islands with many non-melting snowfields, gray with volcanic ash. There are no trees here, there is a lot of Maksimovich's incredibly resinous alder, which you will remember for a long time.

The main enemy of the traveler, especially when climbing volcanoes, is completely impassable bamboo walls and semi-traversable dwarf cedar. (Now, if you could invent a personal mini-helicopter or mini-bulldozer ...)

Dwarf cedar, "monkey trail" Pinus pumila (Pall.) Rgl.

In general, while working on the islands, it should be borne in mind that all these wonderful places do not tolerate frivolous attitudes. In bam6uchniki you can get lost and not get out, dying from hypothermia even in summer. Moreover, they completely conquer the territory, not allowing other plants, and therefore there are no landmarks. And I would like an earthquake and a stormy wind to catch you on the plain, and not on the top. During a typhoon, it is dangerous to be on the banks of the river, and when it is stormy - on a boat ...

What in the first place attracts a person's attention if he looks more closely at the plant world around him? First of all, that the plants natural flora unusually diverse in their appearance and each species is unique in the structure and color of the flower, in the shape and texture of the leaves. In addition, many of them are favorably distinguished by expediency, nobility of form and harmony of proportions, which are often lost by cultural varieties.

The first shock is experienced when meeting a peculiar plant community: giant thickets of tall grasses. In the south, these large perennial herbaceous plants on fertile soils reach over summer season three to four meters in height! A.P. Chekhov called them fantastic. And one visiting correspondent compared the bear pipe with telegraph poles (which he published in the newspaper). Here, of course, a strong exaggeration, but to some extent it testifies to the brightness of the impression. Indeed, a rider on a horse can hide in these thickets, and, by the way, a curious bear can get close quietly and very close. On the islands, they are not at all aggressive: they are simply interested in finding out who got into their possession. We have been convinced of this many times. Even having met a bear with two cubs, we peacefully dispersed in our directions. By the way, bear trails (intermittent, paw-to-paw) are interesting because they are the most convenient option moving. The only bad thing is that especially a lot of ticks are concentrated there.

The most prominent are the powerful clumps of butterbur, bear's pipe, buckwheat and wild rose.

(not to be confused with cow parsnip with pubescent hard leaves, causing burns).

In early spring, representatives of the aroid family are among the first to appear on the plain, amazing with their unusual appearance. And every spring, like the first time, you stop, stunned by this miracle. Their bright bedspreads are visible from a distance against the background of last year's withered foliage. The fragrant flowers of the Kamchatka calla are unusually picturesque at the streams, when their white "sails", pierced by the sun, are reflected in the water blue. Sometimes there are lowlands, completely overgrown with calla. Leaves of incredible size appear later and even resemble banana leaves in optimal habitats. Bizarre beak-like symlocarpuses also attract attention, surprising with their inflorescences with unusual dark cherry bedspreads.

Early flowering anemones are also noticeable there, especially the large-flowered anemone Radde with delicate white numerous (12-20 pcs.) "Petals". Its thin stems endure all the vicissitudes of a cold, protracted and windy spring. A rather powerful marigold with fiery yellow inflorescences, almost covering the leaves, lives along the streams.

In the middle tier of mountains in mixed forests, you can find Gray's bifolia. This is a rare relict plant with beautiful flowers, berry-like dark blue fruits, unusual outlines of leaves and an unusual chain-like rhizome, consisting of large rounded links - traces of annual shoots. The type of area is insular. Solid carpets form the original Kamchatka trillium with a large trifoliate flower and three broad-oval leaves gathered in a whorl. Numerous representatives of this genus grow in North America and are called "forest lilies".

Gray's bifolia Diphylleia grayi Fr. Schmidt Trillium Kamchatka Trillium camtschatcense Ker-Gawl.

Gray's bifolia (rhizome)

The giant Glen lily, which reaches two meters in height, makes a great impression. The strong aroma of large flowers is felt from a distance. Island type of distribution. Quite rarely comes across Japanese kandyk with a graceful delicate flower, reminiscent of a cyclamen. Insular area.

Iturup, autumn, larch trees

In the dark coniferous forest, one cannot fail to notice the beautiful Ud clintonia with magnificent brushes of "porcelain" flowers. Its dark blue berry-like fruits are also decorative.

Unusual redberry berry (local "bedbug"), growing in mass on forest burns. It is she who is the "highlight" of the Sakhalin berry "plantations" and is very popular with the local population. It is not consumed raw, but in drinks and jams it has a wonderful, original and unique taste.

The islands are home to a wide variety of decorative ferns. Forest species often form a closed canopy. The tall eastern ostrich (of the island range) thrives on the slopes of streams. Even more rare is Matsumura plagiogyria (Iturup, Urup, Japan) with shiny leathery leaves. She hides from bad weather under the cover of bamboo, occupying its outskirts.

The rare Japanese chitus with large and beautifully dissected leaves, also of an insular range, is also very interesting. The slender Asiatic Chistus is quite common, especially on Sakhalin.

It stands out for its decorativeness, the maidenhair stop-shaped - an openwork graceful fern with delicate fan-shaped leaves. The Japanese leaflet is also unusual in appearance, with not at all dissected linear leaves, and a kind of average coniogram.

Many rhododendrons are known for their large, beautiful inflorescences. The very rare short-fruited rhododendron, reaching a height of three meters, with spectacular large flowers, is striking in its size. We found it only once on Iturup near the Atsonupuri volcano in a completely unique location- fir forest - among the overgrown lava flows that have created bizarre boulders, grottoes and canyons. Many rare orchids also grew there. It was felt that there is a particularly favorable ecological situation here. Two other types of rhododendrons are very attractive and quite common in the highlands: the golden rhododendron and the Kamchatka rhododendron

Undoubtedly decorate forests and hydrangeas. Panicle hydrangea is a beautiful tall (up to 5 m) shrub with many large white inflorescences. The second type - petiolate hydrangea - is one of the most decorative lianas of the temperate zone. This woody climbing vine attaches itself to trees with thin air suction roots. Both hydrangeas are of the island type of distribution.

Particularly noteworthy is the most insidious plant of the island flora - dubious sumac. It is a woody liana or upright shrub up to 2 meters in height, with trifoliate leaves, brownish in spring and red-purple in autumn. It differs from other local lianas in triple-dissected, rather than whole leaves. Occurs: on Sakhalin - southwest, very rare; in the Kuril Islands: Kunashir and Shikotan - often, Iturup - less often, Urup - rarely. In many cases it forms continuous thickets. This sumac, at the slightest contact, gives very severe burns, even ulcers, accompanied by severe itching. All parts of the plant are poisonous. Received by right the local name "mustard". The consequences of contact do not appear immediately, so the person does not know which plant burned him. In some places, mainly on the Okhotsk coast southern islands, he completely covers the ground, stones, climbs rocks and trees. We involuntarily had to get to know this sumac closely. The second type - sumac hairy-fruited - is a small beautiful tree with feathery leaves that turn red in autumn, collected at the top in a large beautiful whorl. It is very rare on Kunashir and Iturup, so meeting with him is very problematic. The only time we saw it on Kunashir and we somehow did not want to find out its possibly burning properties. Both species have an insular range.

Rus, sumac dubious, "mustard" Rhus ambigua Lav. ex Dipp.

It is also better to keep a respectful distance from the tall aralia - a small rather decorative, but thorny tree - nicknamed the "devil's tree" because of the many large thorns.

Of the trees, you can still distinguish the pointed yew, mahogany, (sometimes with a very powerful trunk), with beautiful soft dark green needles, red-brown bark and bright red fruits.

The pearl of the island flora is undoubtedly the magnolia - a beautiful slender tree with luxurious fragrant flowers and leaves falling for the winter. It is very rare only in the south of Kunashir. Unfortunately, he suffers from the curiosity of those around him breaking branches, not only flowers. This is the only wild magnolia species in our country. Other species in the southern regions grow only in plantings.

Magnolia obovate Magnolia obovata Thunb. Kunashir

In addition to the listed plants, it is easy to notice other interesting and decorative tree species in the forests. Such as cherry (plum) Sargent (Prunus sargentii Rehd.) With magnificent dense pink flowers (up to 4 cm in diameter!), Completely covering the branches. The pink cloud of a blossoming tree makes an unforgettable impression, recalling the charm of cherry blossoms. Shrub cherry (plum) kurilian (Prunus kurilensis (Miyabe) Miyabe) is also beautiful, strewn with many smaller light pink flowers. The large slender beautiful tree of the Siori bird cherry (Prunus ssiori Fr. Schmidt) with unusually long clusters of flowers is also surprising. Spectacular viburnum forked (Viburnum furcatum Blume ex Maxim.), Decorated with bright inflorescences and fruits, decorative in early spring, thanks to rather peculiar leaves with an elegant pattern of depressed veins.

In summer, in the seaside meadows and glades, there are many bright and diverse plants that attract our attention.

Orchids are well represented. Particularly impressive are the rather large bright purple flowers of the large-flowered Venus's slipper. On powerful specimens, there are up to 15 flowers. Original rare cremastra changeable with purple large flowers, collected in an almost one-sided dense raceme (island type of area). The graceful spreading hareorchis is more common.

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Meadows are also decorated with other beautiful orchids: spinous orchis and mosquito kokushnik.

Spinous orchis Orchis aristata Fish. ex Lindl.	Kokushnik mosquito Gymnadenia conopsea (L.) R. Br.

The tall black cohosh is distinguished by a special variety with beautiful spicate fishnet inflorescences. The miniature princess (or arctic raspberry) is cute.

A beautiful aspect in seaside meadows (Urup) is created by the dominant in the grass cover the Siberian anemone with large white inflorescences. On Sakhalin, in the same places, you can find the original two-colored edelweiss, an elegant plant with a creamy "flower" of felt (pubescent) bracts.

More rocky and relatively dry places on Sakhalin are decorated with a charming and surprisingly touching dream-grass or Ayan lumbago, and in the Kuril Islands it is replaced by the Tarao dream-grass. Shaggy large buds, pressed to the ground, resemble fluffy chickens. It is impossible to pass them by indifferently.

Plants of rocks and taluses, which occupy vast areas on these mountainous islands, are especially diverse. In the harsh conditions of the struggle for existence in rocky plants, the leaf apparatus significantly decreases, and, on the contrary, the number of flowers and, often, their size increases. All this makes the plants more attractive. Special life forms have developed: miniature plants with a mass of relatively large flowers, often covering the leaves. The stone surround is a gorgeous backdrop that enhances the beauty of the plant. Rocky cliffs, canyons and rocks with cascades of waterfalls and streams, decorated with numerous colors, are very picturesque. At the same time, it seems that these plants were placed on the rocks by the hand of an experienced designer, showing extraordinary taste and skill.

Various saxifrages and sedum plants find a safe refuge on the rocks. Sherleria-shaped saxifrage and Fortune's saxifrage look spectacular. Most known to the population (due to its medicinal properties) compact stonecrop pink or "golden root" (with yellow flowers), which led to its complete disappearance in the immediate vicinity. Self-medication often ended in hospitalization.

Sedum pink, "golden root" Sedum rosea (L.) Scop.

An interesting creeping sedum with pink flowers (in the photo it is in buds) and pinkish-gray beautiful greenery stands out noticeably, next to it you can see a small and compact stone fern, St. Woodsia multivariate also adapted well to the rocks.

Decorative splendid starwort acupressure is a relative of the well-known boring garden weed "woodlice". Its white stars sparkle brightly against the background of bluish-gray leaves. On the rocks, it forms picturesque ampel (hanging) garlands. The penny penny, a rather powerful plant, also grows well on rocky cliffs.

A common plant, a fan-shaped catchment, has also acquired a miniature appearance, having climbed onto the talus. In its gray leaves with a wax coating, dew drops sparkle with diamonds, and blue-violet flowers reach 7 cm in diameter.

Even a Manchurian apple tree with fragrant pinkish-white flowers on the rocks has turned into a dwarf tree (almost a bonsai).

The Chinese carnation is also beautiful in the stone surroundings. In the widespread Sakhalin grains, numerous flowers are covered with greenery, coloring gravelly and stony taluses.

The endemic Sakhalin resin is very rare and attractive. Found only on high cliffs of the northwestern coast of the Tatar Strait (Sakhalin). A tiny specimen of kurilian daisy also looks picturesque - and how beautiful a flower is in splendid isolation!

Sakhalin smolivka Silene sachalinensis Fr. Schmidt Habitat of Sakhalin smolivka

One of the most decorative species of the genus wormwood is Schmidt's wormwood with a narrow range, limited to the island territory. The compact, undersized "bush" with silvery-bluish finely dissected leaves is beautiful from the moment of regrowth. The same island species includes a wonderful and very decorative Potentilla, indeed large-flowered. Common in the Kuril Islands and extremely rare in Sakhalin. I had to go around the entire Patience Peninsula in order to find it in small quantities on the rocks of the sea coast. And here it is her only habitat.

On the seaside rocks, without risking your life, you can get acquainted with the magnificent and legendary flower of courage - Kuril edelweiss (while the search for the famous Alpine edelweiss growing in the Alps, on steep rocky cliffs, is quite dangerous). Its location is limited to two islands: Shikotan and Iturup. Kuril edelweiss is an intensely pubescent plant with a large "star" formed by white tomentose bracts. True flowers are yellow, very small and clustered in the center of the "star". Its large velvet "stars" are often more spectacular than alpine edelweiss flowers.

Kuril edelweiss Leontopodium kurilense Takeda

Shikotan, characteristic landscapes
(Separate groups of trees seem to be scattered over the "mown" meadows - low bamboo.)

The inaccessible highlands are inhabited by very peculiar plants. But in order to meet them, it is necessary to overcome long and difficult kilometers of path through forest rubble and steep slopes, impassable thickets of bamboo and semi-traversable weaves of dwarf cedar. We have to develop very necessary qualities in ourselves: patience, perseverance and determination to reach the goal at all costs. But, having made your way to the clouds (in the literal sense), you are usually rewarded with the beauty of the amazing panorama that opens up, and especially - the meeting with rare mountain plants. And indeed then "you stand drunk at the top" ...

The Sakhalin highlands, as a rule, are even more difficult than the Kuril highlands and make you completely dependent on the helicopter. At the same time, unfortunately, the weather at the top is almost always bad.

Special plant species have taken root on the tops of mountains and volcanoes. In conditions of low temperatures, specific moisture (constant humidity of the air and substrate with powerful drainage) and lighting (frequent fogs), the dominance of strong winds, compact plants densely pressed to the ground (or slag) were formed.

As you know, the Kuril Islands are a continuous chain of numerous volcanoes (we managed to visit 12 of them).

The volcanoes Stokap on Iturup and Tyatya on Kunashir turned out to be unusually interesting in terms of the composition of the flora. They were also the most difficult to climb: almost three quarters of the way were high and continuous thickets of bamboo and dwarf cedar. But even after the euphoria about the exit from the thickets - steep talus (two steps forward, one step back) at the last stages of the ascent, a thoroughly exhausted traveler is also not a joy.

Subsequently, it turned out that we were surprisingly lucky and we descended from the peaks very in time, because almost immediately an earthquake began in the Tyati and Stokap volcano area, on which we worked, and an incredibly powerful typhoon hit Iturup and Sakhalin.

Tyatya - one of the most beautiful Kuril volcanoes - had a geometrically regular conical shape and vast cinder fields. It was considered invalid, i.e. It did not erupt for 100 years, and we managed to climb it before it soon awoke. And, of course, its remarkable silhouette was severely damaged, and the alpine flora disappeared.

Among the rocky scree on volcanoes, the dicenter, "broken heart" (in the shape of a flower), or "mountain queen", as it is called in Japan, really looks regal. This figurative definition is quite justified. She amazes with her grace, originality and beauty. It is a touching miniature plant with silvery-bluish finely dissected leaves and white, pink or red flowers that look like a cracked heart. A solid little miracle ...

In summer, on the northern islands, the snowfields, which persist until next winter, thaw a little at the edges, and spring flora always bloom there, including a pretty primrose or cuneiform primrose. Quite often in the Kuril Islands, the Aleutian phyllodoce and the beautiful Cassiopeia are lyciform with flowers that resemble lily of the valley flowers.

Alpine aster Aster alpinus L.

One of the rarest alpine species is the whole-leaved miyakeya - an endemic species (or genus), narrowly localized even within Sakhalin. It grows on the tops of the oldest East Sakhalin Mountains, where you can fly only by helicopter. The whole plant is intensely pubescent, the bluish-lilac flower is surrounded by a shaggy veil. It blooms very early. And for a long time miyakeya seemed unattainable. Over time, we still managed to find it on the outskirts of the main mountain range (and even without a helicopter).

It is easy to see that the main "hosts" on the approaches to the highlands are two species: bamboo (in the south) and dwarf cedar (everywhere). The height of the bamboo plant is determined by the level of snow cover. On Shikotan, in well-ventilated places, it is not high and is not an obstacle.

When climbing after a bamboo, forest or woodland, you find yourself in the belt of dwarf cedar. Here you have to portray a "tightrope walker", trying to move along the tangled branches, falling through and getting stuck together with a backpack. On Iturup, in order to get to Stokap, which is located at the end of the ridge of volcanoes, you need to climb the first Burevestnik volcano and then walk along the tops of two volcanoes. And at the very end of the path, in front of the third volcano, an unfortunate surprise appears the "monkey trail" (see photo at the beginning). This path was marked by geologists. It became noticeable, but the decapitated branches turned into protruding "peaks", unsafe for the traveler. And at the beginning, during the first ascent of Burevestnik, geologists, fearing for us, categorically refused to show the beginning of the path, as we did not beg them.

Once on Sakhalin, in the East Sakhalin Mountains, we unexpectedly found ourselves in a completely fantastic forest of dwarf cedar. Its bizarrely curved branches reached an extraordinary height (two human heights!), And created just a fabulous impression! You walk on the ground like in an ordinary forest. We have never seen anything like it in the Far East ...

Unique place: dwarf cedar - outside and inside Pinus pumila (Pall.) Rgl.

On Kunashir and Iturup we got acquainted with hot springs. Some of them are well known (Hot Beach, Hot Springs). There were also unusual frozen heaps of black lava and other traces of volcanic activity.

Let's summarize some of the results. So, the flora of the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin is unique in many ways. The islands are small in size and therefore particularly fragile and vulnerable. The remoteness of many plant habitats and the small population of the territory only partially ensure their safety. There are episodes like this ... In the south of Kunashir, where several hiking trails appeared, our path ran through an amazing forest. On both sides we were surrounded by the giant, fragrant flowering lilies of Glen. We were literally mesmerized by their beauty. The sight was unforgettable! A few hours later, returning, we again found ourselves on this path. It was already a nightmarish path with decapitated lilies. Some of the tourists thoroughly and methodically knocked down these wonderful inflorescences ... And the magnolia flowers were preserved only at the very top of the trees ...

And, unfortunately, wild plants everywhere are retreating further and further from cities and towns (and not only on the islands). And they are replaced by weeds ...

Chick. Defenseless too

An orphaned bear cub on a volcano near the tent of geologists.
He quickly learned the time of lunch and taught the cook to order, once having arranged a small thunder
in the dining tent. Then the impatient eater had to be fed first.

Gerald Durrell, a wonderful and famous person who has traveled all over the world, stated: "We have inherited an inexpressibly beautiful and varied garden, but the problem is that we are useless gardeners" ...

Kurile Islands

(Far East)

The island arc of the Kuriles stretches for one thousand two hundred kilometers from Kamchatka to the Japanese island of Hokkaido. Thirty-six large islands and more than a hundred small islets and rocks make up this Far Eastern archipelago. It represents two parallel island chains: the volcanic Great Kuril Ridge and the Malaya Ridge located to the east, where there are no active volcanoes.

The Kuriles are the second region of active volcanism in Russia after Kamchatka. There are more volcanoes here than on the territory of their northern neighbor - more than a hundred, including forty active ones. But Kuril volcanoes erupt less often than their Kamchatka counterparts, and only a few, like Alaid, Tyat or Sarychev volcano, demonstrate a truly formidable disposition.

It is interesting that the names of most volcanoes, as well as bays, straits or waterfalls, are Russian or Japanese and appeared in the last two hundred years, and almost all islands have retained the ancient names given to them by the indigenous inhabitants of the archipelago - the Ainu.

The Kruzenshtern and Bussol straits divide the Great Range into three parts: the northern part with the islands of Shumshu, Paramushir, Onekotan and Shiashkotan; middle, which includes a lot of small islets and only one large island Simushir; and the southern one, in which the main, largest and most populated islands are concentrated: Urup, Iturup and Kunashir. This also includes the Small Kuril Ridge, which has a length of only one hundred and five kilometers and consists of a rather large picturesque island of Shikotan and several small islets.

Atlasov Island is located in the north of the island chain to the west of Shumshu. It is a giant cone of the Alaid volcano that has grown out of the waters of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. This is the most extreme and highest fire-breathing mountain in the Kuril Islands, rising above the sea for almost two and a half kilometers. Its regular conical top, crowned with a plume of smoke, is somewhat reminiscent of Fujiyama, sung by the artists and poets of Japan.

In good weather, the Alaid peak can be seen from Kamchatka, and, most likely, it was in 1698 that the discoverer of the peninsula, the Cossack Pentecostal Vladimir Atlasov, noticed it, who later wrote in his report that "opposite the first river on the sea I saw as if there were islands."

Kamchadals tell an interesting legend about this volcano located in the south of Kamchatka, Kuril Lake, in the center of which is the Heart of Alaid islet.

In the middle of the Kuril Lake, the legend says, there was once a high and beautiful mountain Alaid. The surrounding mountains, as if by choice, small, nondescript, envied the handsome Alaid and told various dirty tricks about him: he, they say, blocks the sun, and prevents the month from rising to the sky, he clings with its horn to the top of Alaid, and the glacier, where- I found it and sheltered it on my slope, and a lot more ...

Alaid is tired of the evil gossip around. He left the lake, left Kamchatka and found a new place for himself - in the sea, near the Kuril Islands. The lake water rushed after Alaid, but did not catch up with him. This is how the Ozernaya river was formed in Kamchatka. But love for his native land was strong in Alaid, he could not completely part with it, and left his heart in the lake. So now there is an islet of Uchichi in the middle of the lake, which means Heart-Stone.

The Europeans discovered the Kuril Islands in 1643, when the Dutch sailor De Vries visited them. But even thirty years before him, the Japanese had already landed on the southern islands, exploring and trying to settle in Shikotan and Kunashir.

However, in 1711, Russian Cossacks headed by Danila Antsiferov and Ivan Kozyrevsky arrived on the islands from Kamchatka. They brought the local Ainu "under the sovereign's hand" and imposed a tribute-yasak. Since then, the islands have become part of Russia and for almost three centuries (with the exception of forty years between the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 and World War II) have been our eastern outpost.

In the entire Russian Far East, deservedly famous for its natural beauty, you will not find more picturesque corners than in the Kuril Islands. Each island, with rare exceptions, is beautiful in its own way. The formidable majesty of volcanoes smoking gas jets here side by side with the bizarre beauty of coastal bays and rocks, unusual exotic flora on land and marine wonders in the Okhotsk and Pacific waters.

And if a traveler who has visited Kamchatka, the Ussuriysk Territory or Sakhalin is overwhelmed with admiration, then he simply falls in love with the Kuriles once and for all.

Although the Kuril volcanoes do not threaten with eruptions as often as the Kamchatka ones, they bring even more troubles. And the reason for this is their close proximity to the sea. Any eruption is accompanied by tremors, and they, in turn, cause "seaquakes". And the angry sea falls on the shores of the islands with giant destructive tsunami waves.

In 1952, a thirty-meter tsunami wave completely destroyed the city of Severo-Kurilsk on the island of Paramushir. The few surviving residents, having lost loved ones, homes and property, left the island forever. Similar disasters have happened before. The explorer of Kamchatka Krasheninnikov as early as 1737 described the earthquake and tsunami that devastated the coast of the peninsula and the Northern Kuriles.

“At three o'clock in the middle of the night,” he writes, “a shaking began and lasted for a quarter of an hour ... Meanwhile, a terrible noise and excitement occurred at the sea, and suddenly water fell on the shores at a height of three fathoms which, without standing at all, fled into the sea and Then the earth shook again, the water came against the previous one, but when it was cast it ran so far that it was impossible to see the sea. have never been seen before ... A quarter of an hour after that, a new terrible shaking followed, and moreover, the water rushed to the shore by thirty fathoms ... Because of this flood, the local residents were completely ruined, and many died in disaster ... "

In 1770, during the eruption of the Alaid volcano, the resulting tsunami destroyed the houses and gardens of the inhabitants of Paramushir and Shumshu. And in 1933, a wave twenty meters high hit the island of Harimkotan, where the Sarychev volcano erupted.

Since many volcanic islands are uninhabited, eruptions themselves cause serious damage only when they occur on large islands, which are chains of several volcanoes that have grown on a common base. There are few such islands, but they, naturally, are better populated and developed by man.

On Kunashir, Mendeleev, Golovnin and Tyatya volcanoes are active and dangerous. There are eight active volcanoes on Iturup: the most violent of them are the volcanoes of Baransky, Tebenkov, Ivan the Terrible, Stokap, Atsonupuri and Berutaruba. On Simushir, the Burning Sopka, Zavaritsky volcano and Prevo Peak are restless, on Shiashkotan - Sinarki and Kuntomintor, and on Onekotan - the Krenitsyn and Nemo volcanoes.

A special case is the island of Paramushir. It consists of three parallel intergrown volcanic ridges, consisting of more than thirty volcanoes. Six of them are active, with the most active volcano Ebeko located just eight kilometers from Severo-Kurilsk. When on March 8, 1963, this fire-breathing mountain decided to "salute" Women's Day, the poisonous sulfur dioxide from the formed fumaroles was blown towards the city, and residents could not leave their homes. Those who were caught by the gas attack in the cinema or in the club were forced to stay there and spend the night. Fortunately, in the morning the wind changed and the situation in the city returned to normal.

The already mentioned Atlasov Island is famous all over the world for its active and very formidable volcano Alaid. It erupts every thirty to forty years. The last time it was in 1972. And before that, in 1933, as a result of an underwater eruption near Alaid, a new island, Taketomi, was formed. It gradually grew due to new eruptions, and in 1961 it merged with its neighbor, forming a peninsula. Mighty Alaid, like the Italian volcano Krakatau, has been serving as a beacon for captains sailing from the Sea of ​​Okhotsk to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky since the time of Bering.

It must be admitted that the volcanic activity of the Kuriles has not only negative sides. On many islands there are mineral springs, including hot springs. On Shiashkotan, for example, there are up to a thousand hot springs. And on the island of Urup there is even a hot waterfall! In the craters of some volcanoes, warm lakes have formed, healing many ailments. The same volcano Ebeko has been serving the residents of Severe-Kurilsk as a kind of "dispensary" for a long time. Every weekend Kuril residents go to him to swim in a warm lake located in his crater. The water in this natural pool is heated to almost forty degrees.

The Hot Beach on Kunashir Island is famous all over the planet. You will not find such a miracle of nature anywhere else in the world. It is not difficult to get to it from Yuzhno-Kurilsk. Only seven kilometers to the south along the Pacific coast, and from a distance you can see a stretch of the coast, shrouded in thick steam. The beach is located at the foot of Mendeleev volcano, and volcanic rocks are covered here with a thin layer of sea sand. In some places it is very hot, and in some places streams of steam make their way through it. This vapor, which has risen to the surface through cracks in volcanic rocks, seems to dissolve in the thickness of the sand and warms it. Wherever you dig a hole on the beach, steam immediately begins to flow out of it.

A strip of hot sand stretches for almost a kilometer along the coast. The steam temperature is one hundred degrees, and the water in the hot springs gushing everywhere is heated to ninety-eight degrees. The inhabitants of the island use streams of underground steam to heat food, use them to heat their homes. Chickens rush here all year round, as it is warm in winter sheds heated by steam. A bathhouse and a laundry in the local village also do without stokers, and the children love to bake in the hot sand next to the fished crabs.

Despite the constant danger posed by them, volcanoes are all the same amazingly beautiful natural structures. These are not always the correct cones, like Alaid's. Sometimes it is a double cone, so to speak, "a volcano within a volcano," like Tyatya, for example. Sometimes it is a mountain crowned with jagged walls, like the ruins of an ancient fortress, and sometimes only caldera hollows remain from volcanoes. And if these calderas find themselves on the seashore, stunning beauty bays are formed, such as Lion's Mouth on Iturup Island. The entrance to it is guarded by the Rock-Lion, sticking out of the ocean, which really looks like a sleeping lion.

The Krenitsyn volcano on Onekotan is unique in its appearance. In the southern part of this long, narrow island is the Ring Lake. In the center of the caldera lake, the cone of a young volcano ascended for almost one and a half kilometers. The top of the black mountain is powdered with snow and slightly smokes, reminding of its origin.

And on the coast of the island of Harimkotan, after the next eruption of the Severgin volcano, many small lakes were formed, fed by streams flowing from its slopes. The water of the streams is saturated with mineral salts, and at the bottom of the lakes, these salts are deposited in concentric circles, forming multi-colored sediments: red, orange, yellow, green, white. Each lake has its own, special color of the bottom, and in the sunlight a scattering of water saucers shines with all the colors of the rainbow.

The structure of the Zavaritsky volcano on Simushir is unusual. Here, from the bottom of the ancient caldera, as well as on the Krenitsyn volcano, a new cone has grown. But he, in turn, exploded, forming a "caldera in a caldera". The middle of it is occupied by Lake Turquoise. This is probably the most beautiful lake in the archipelago: in good weather its waters really sparkle with turquoise and shimmer gently in the sun. This is due to the fact that the water of the caldera lake contains the smallest particles of sulfur that reflect light.

The wildlife of the islands is a worthy framing of the volcanic landscape of the Kuril ridge. Its originality is explained by the great length of the archipelago. Its northern islands are adjacent to the snowy Kamchatka, where the largest bears in Russia roam the gloomy taiga, and the rarest bighorn sheep can still be found on steep rocks. Hokkaido can be seen from the southern islands in good weather, where cheerful macaques frolic in groves of tropical plants and warm volcanic springs.

In addition, the cold Oya-Sio current runs along the Pacific shores of the Kuril ridge, bringing fogs, rains and cold winds. The Okhotsk coast of the Southern Kuriles is washed by the warm Soya current, one of the branches of the Pacific Gulf Stream - the Kuro-Sio current. Therefore, the vegetation of the Kuriles differs sharply not only in the northern and southern parts of the archipelago, but even on the opposite shores of the same islands.

Northern islands: Shumshu, Paramushir and others - the kingdom of cedar and alder elfin, and the temperature in summer does not rise above ten degrees. And in the south, on Iturup, Kunashir and their neighbors, there are real forests of fir, oak, maple, wild cherry with bamboo undergrowth. Even yew and velvet trees grow on Shikotan. All this varied forest stand is densely intertwined with wild grapes and other vines. Add to this the magnolia, found in the south of Shikotan, and you will understand that the local flora is already close to subtropical. At the same time, on the southern, Pacific coast of the same Iturup, the slopes are covered with the same cedar elfin as on Paramushir, and it is worth crossing the volcanic ridge to the Okhotsk coast, as thickets of three-meter bamboo will approach the path.

But the land fauna of the islands is not rich: bears, foxes and small rodents - voles, shrews. On several islands, however, there are still herds of mustangs - feral horses brought here by Japanese cavalrymen before the war. But the sea coast pleases with the richness of the animal world. Killer whales and sperm whales, gray whales and dolphins frolic everywhere in the Kuril waters, from the Treason Strait separating Kunashir from Hokkaido to the First Kuril Strait north of Shumshu. Here you can find fur seals and sea otters, seals and the largest of the seals - sea lions. These huge animals, sometimes weighing a ton, sometimes come into battle even with young sperm whales.

On every island or on the rocks near its shores, there are sure to be bird colonies. Hundreds of thousands of bald gulls, kittiwakes, cormorants, fulmars and axillas inhabit the Kuril Islands.

And they all have enough food - after all, places where warm and cold currents meet are always especially rich in fish. Huge flocks of large silvery ivasi sardines, saury, pollock and halibut come here. Here is the expanse of flounders, sea bass and gobies. And in the rivers red fish ascend to spawn: chum salmon, pink salmon and char. It is clear that both animals and birds of the Kuril Islands are always provided with food.

It is difficult to get to this Far Eastern volcanic archipelago yet. Only three motor ships go here from Vladivostok through Sakhalin. It takes two days to reach the southern Kuriles, and all five to the northern ones. Kamchatka coasters, which go around the peninsula, also visit Paramushir. But in winter, when the Sea of ​​Okhotsk is frozen, the islands are connected to the mainland only by rare flights.

But the inaccessibility only makes the goal more desirable. And if the traveler managed to get to the Kuril Islands, what he saw there will never be erased from his memory. Already sailing by the Catherine Strait (between Iturup and Kunashir), he will see five volcanoes from the deck at once, including the almost two-kilometer handsome Tyatya, which, like Alaid, serves as a lighthouse at the exit from the Sea of ​​Okhotsk to the Pacific Ocean.

Having landed on the coast in Yuzhno-Kurilsk, you can take advantage of the low tide and walk for an hour and a half along the black sand rolled up by waves to the Hot Beach, swim in its springs and marvel at this kilometer-long hot "frying pan" bubbling with steam. And while wading through the Kunashir bamboo jungle and cedar elfin to the top of Mendeleev volcano, the traveler can see fumaroles, mud volcanoes, and amazing sulfur fields on the slope of the volcano. Indeed, there are not so many places on Earth where icicles of yellow sulfur grow right before our eyes on stone cornices near the outlets of gas jets. You can put a branch of elfin into the stream, and in ten minutes it will turn into a kind of yellow coral.

There are no less natural wonders on the largest Kuril island - Iturup. Here the highest waterfall in Russia - 140-meter Ilya Muromets falls into the ocean from black basalt rocks. There is a picturesque bay of Lion's mouth, fumaroles of the Berutarube volcano and Lake Krasivoe in the Urbich caldera. Iturup has the most beautiful forests rich in berries and mushrooms. Local residents gather here some kind of special "Japanese mushroom", the size of a frying pan. They say that he is never wormy, and the taste is not inferior to white.

In the main village of the island of Malokurilsk, where a plant for processing whale meat existed for many years, until Russia stopped hunting them, you can see the most unusual fences in the world - from a whalebone! And all this exoticism is seen so far, not counting the residents of Kuril and border guards, forty to fifty people a year.

Tourist development of the amazing archipelago, the edge of volcanoes and fumaroles, bamboo and magnolias, bird colonies and sea lion rookeries, waterfalls and bizarre rocks, has not even begun yet.

But an inquisitive traveler now, if desired, could make a cruise, for example, along the route: Iturup - Kunashir - Shikotan. On this way, he would look into the fabulous Lion's Mouth with its 500-meter steep walls and for the first time feel himself inside a real volcanic vent, feel the Hot Beach under his feet and hear the roar of the Kunashir solfatar, swam along the Shikotan fjords and meet the dawn on a distant beautiful promontory with an expressive the name of the End of the World. And, looking at the endless expanse of the Pacific Ocean, I would almost physically feel that the next land in the east is eight thousand kilometers. As much as to the west to Moscow ...

From the book Encyclopedic Dictionary (K) author Brockhaus F.A.

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Original plants of Sakhalin and Kuriles

Kuril bamboo Sasa kurilensis (Rupr.) Makino et Schibata	Dwarf cedar, "monkey trail" Pinus pumila (Pall.) Rgl.	The most prominent are powerful chickens. ooze of butterbur, bears' pipe, buckwheat and wild rose. Japanese butterbur Petasites japonicus (Siebold et Zucc.) Maxim.
Bear pipe, angelica bearish Angelica ursina (Rupr.) Maxim.	Highlander, Sakhalin buckwheat Polygonum sachalinense Fr. Schmidt	Highlander, Weirich buckwheat Polygonum weyrichii Fr. Schmidt
Cannabis rosea (with butterbur) Senecio cannabifolius Less.	In the spring, representatives of the aroid family of the Kamchatka calla aridae were among the first to appear against the background of last year's withered foliage.	Symplocarpus renifolius Schott
Anemone Raddeana Regel	Fistus marigold Caltha fistulosa Schipcz.	Gray's bifolia Diphylleia grayi Fr. Schmidt is a rare relict plant with beautiful flowers, berry-like dark blue fruits, unusual outline leaves and an unusual chain-like rhizome, consisting of large rounded links - traces of annual shoots. Areal type - island
Gray's bifolia Diphylleia grayi Fr. Schmidt	Trillium camtschatcense Ker-Gawl. Solid carpets form the original Kamchatka trillium with a large triple flower and three broad-oval leaves gathered in a whorl. Numerous representatives of this genus are native to North America and are called "forest lilies".	Lily Glena Lilium glehnii Fr. Schmidt - Glen's giant lily reaches two meters in height. The strong aroma of large flowers is felt from a distance. Island type of distribution. Quite rarely comes across Japanese kandyk with a graceful delicate flower, reminiscent of a cyclamen. Insular area.
Japanese kandyk Erythronium japonicum Decne	Iturup, larch	Clintonia udskaya Clintonia udensis Trautv. et Mey. In the dark coniferous forest, one cannot fail to notice the beautiful Uud clintonia with magnificent brushes of "porcelain" flowers. Its dark blue berry-like fruits are also decorative.
Krasnika, "klopovka", vaccinium outstanding Vaccinium praestans Lamb.B grows in mass on forest burned areas. It is the "highlight" of the Sakhalin berry "plantations", it has a wonderful, unique taste.	Oriental ostrich Matteuccia orientalis (Hook.) Trev. The tall eastern ostrich (island range) thrives on the slopes of streams.	Plagiogyria Matsumura Plagiogyria matsumurana Makino.Peda Plagiogyria Matsumura (Iturup, Urup, Japan) with shiny leathery leaves. She hides from bad weather under the cover of bamboo, occupying its outskirts.
Japanese Chistus Osmunda japonica Thunb ...	Asiatic puree Osmunda asiatica (Fern.) Ohwi - Asiatic puree is common on Sakhalin.	Foot maidenhair Adianthum pedatum L. (on the right), together with Japanese chitus and Oriental ostrich, stands out for its decorative effect;
Japanese leaflet Phyllitis japonica Kom. Japanese leaf fern is unusual in appearance, with not dissected linear leaves at all.	Medium coniogram Coniogramme intermedia Hieron - medium coniogram fern.	Short-fruited rhododendron Rhododendron brachicarpum D. Don The very rare short-fruited rhododendron, reaching a height of three meters, with spectacular large flowers on Iturup near the Atsonupuri volcano in a completely unique place - a fir forest - among the overgrown lava flows, which created bizarre and bizarre lava, is striking in its size. There are also many rare orchids.
Kamchatka rhododendron Rhododendron camtschaticum Pall. Common in the highlands	Golden rhododendron Rhododendron aureum Georgi Common in the highlands	Panicle hydrangea Hydrangea paniculata Siebold - up to 5 m shrub with many large white inflorescences.
Pedunculate hydrangea Hydrangea petiolaris Siebold et Zucc is one of the most decorative lianas of the temperate zone. This woody climbing liana attaches itself by thin air roots-suckers to trees - hydrangeas - island-type distribution	Rus, sumac dubious, "mustard" Rhus ambigua Lav. ex Dipp	Rus, sumac dubious, "mustard" Rhus ambigua Lav. ex Dipp. Doubtful sumac - woody liana or erect shrub up to 2 meters in height, with trifoliate leaves, brownish in spring and red-purple in autumn. It differs from other local lianas in triple-dissected, rather than whole leaves. Occurs: on Sakhalin - southwest, very rare; in the Kuril Islands: Kunashir and Shikotan - often, Iturup - less often, Urup - rarely. In many cases it forms continuous thickets. Sumakh ("mustard") upon contact gives ulcers, accompanied by severe itching. All parts of the plant are poisonous. The consequences of contact do not appear immediately, so the person does not know which plant burned him. In some places, mainly on the Okhotsk coast of the southern islands, it completely covers the ground, stones, climbs rocks and trees. Hairy sumac is a small beautiful tree with feathery leaves that turn red in autumn, collected at the top in a large beautiful whorl. Very rare, on Kunashir and Iturup. Both species have an insular range.
Aralia tall Aralia elata (Miq.) Seem. Aralia tall - a small thorny tree ("devil's tree").	The fruits of the spiky yew (mahogany) Taxus cuspidata Siebold et Zucctis spiky, mahogany, (sometimes with a very powerful trunk), with beautiful soft dark green needles, red-brown bark and bright red fruits.	Magnolia obovate Magnolia obovata Thunb. Kunashir is a beautiful slender tree with luxurious fragrant flowers and leaves falling for the winter.
Large-flowered lady's slipper Cypripedium macranthon Sw.	Cremastra variabilis (Blume) Nakai and oreorchis sprawling Oreorchis patens	Spinous orchis Orchis aristata Fish. ex Lindl. meadow
Kokushnik mosquito Gymnadenia conopsea (L.) R. Br .. meadow	Black cohosh simple Cimicifuga simplex Wormsk.	Rubus arcticus L.
Siberian anemone Anemone sibirica L. On the coastal meadows of Urup, the Siberian anemone dominates.	Edelweiss bicolor Leontopodium discolor Beauverd - edelweiss bicolor, graceful plant with a creamy "flower" of felt (pubescent) bracts	Sleep grass, Ayan lumbago Pulsatilla ajanensis Regel et Til- The stony and dry places on Sakhalin are decorated with sleep grass or Ayan lumbago, and in the Kuril Islands it is replaced by the Tarao sleep grass. Shaggy large buds, pressed to the ground, resemble fluffy chickens.
Sleep-grass, lumbago Tarao Pulsatilla taraoi (Makino) Takeda ex Zam. et Paegie	Saxifraga sherlerioides D. Don Saxifraga cherlerioides D. Don Sherleria-shaped saxifrage and Fortune's saxifrage look spectacular. Most known to the population (due to its medicinal properties) compact stonecrop pink or "golden root" (with yellow flowers), which led to its complete disappearance in the immediate vicinity. Self-medication often ended in hospitalization.	Fortune's saxifrage Saxifraga fortunei Hook. f.
Sedum pink, "golden root" Sedum rosea (L.) Scop.	Sedum multi-stemmed Sedum pluricaule (Maxim.) Kudo and St. John's wort Dryopteris fragrans (L.) Schott. The creeping stonecrop with pink flowers (in the buds in the photo) and pinkish-gray beautiful greenery stands out noticeably, next to it is a small and compact stone fern, St. Woodsia multi-row well adapted to the rocks.	Woodsia polystyrene Woodsia polystichoides D. Eat.
Eagle-leaf stellaria Stellaria ruscifolia Pall. ex Schlecht- is a relative of the "woodlice" garden weed.	Penny cape Hedysarum hedysaroides (L.) Schinz et Thell.	Fan catchment Aquilegia flabellata Siebold et Zucc. Dew droplets collect in its leaves, gray from a wax coating, and blue-violet flowers reach 7 cm in diameter.
Manchurian apple-tree Malus mandshurica (Maxim.) Kom. with fragrant pinkish-white flowers on the rocks turned into a dwarf tree	Chinese carnation Dianthus chinensis L	Sakhalin groats Draba sachalinensis (Fr. Schmidt) Trautv.
Silene sachalinensis Fr. Schmidt, an endemic species found only on the high cliffs of the northwestern coast of the Tatar Strait (Sakhalin).	Kuril daisy Leucanthemum kurilense (Tzvel.) Worosch	Schmidt's wormwood Artemisia schmidtiana Maxim - Schmidt's wormwood is limited to the island territory
Cinquefoil Potentilla megalantha Takeda is common in the Kuril Islands and extremely rare in Sakhalin.	Kuril Edelweiss Leontopodiu m Kurilense Takeda It is located on two islands: Shikotan and Iturup. Kuril edelweiss is an intensely pubescent plant with a large "star" formed by white tomentose bracts. True flowers are yellow, very small and clustered in the center of the "star".	Foreign dicenter, "broken heart" Dicentra peregrina (J. Rudolph) Makino. Among the rocky scree on the volcanoes is the center ("broken heart").
Penstemon shrub Penstemon frutescens Lamb. Common for highlands	Campanula lasiocarpa Cham	Primula, cuneiform primrose Primula cuneifolia Ledeb. In summer, on the northern islands, the snowfields, which persist until next winter, thaw a little along the edges, and spring flora always bloom there, including primrose or wedge-leaved primrose.
Cassiopeia lycopodioides Cassiope lycopodioides (Pall.) D. Don	Phyllodoce Aleutian Phyllodoce aleutica (Spreng.) Heller	Alpine aster Aster alpinus L.
Whole-leaved miyakea Miyakea integrifolia Miyabe et Tatew One of the rarest alpine species is the whole-leaved miyakea - an endemic species (or genus), narrowly localized even within Sakhalin. Grows on the tops of the East Sakhalin Mountains. The whole plant is intensely pubescent, the bluish-lilac flower is surrounded by a shaggy veil. It blooms very early.	Bamboo	dwarf cedar - outside and inside Pinus pumila (Pall.) Rgl.
Ribs of a whale in the vicinity of a whale plant (island Simushir)	Leaves of lysichiton in summer	Thickets of fern "ostrich feather" (Kunashir island)
Egorova Elena Markelovna		Egorova Elena Markelovna

C http://www.kuriles1.ru/orig/default.htm plants of candidate of biological sciences - Yegorova Elena Markelovna

Sakhalin and the Kuriles - a meeting of the north and south

Adianthum pedatum L. - Foot adiantum
Anemone raddeana Regel - Anemone Radde, Anemone Radde
Anemone sibirica L. - Siberian anemone, Siberian anemone
Angelica ursina (Rupr.) Maxim. - Angelica bear, Bear pipe
Aquilegia flabellata Siebold et Zucc. - The catchment is fan-shaped
Aralia elata (Miq.) Seem. - Aralia high
Artemisia schmidtiana Maxim. - Schmidt's wormwood
Aster alpinus L. - Alpine aster
Caltha fistulosa Schipcz. - Fisty marigold
Campanula lasiocarpa Cham. - Hairy bellflower
Cassiope lycopodioides (Pall.) D. Don - Cassiopeia lycopodiacea
Cimicifuga simplex Wormsk. - Black cohosh simple
Clintonia udensis Trautv. et Mey. - Clintonia Udskaya
Coniogramme intermedia Hieron - Medium coniogram
Cremastra variabilis (Blume) Nakai - Cremastra changeable
Cypripedium macranthon Sw. - Large-flowered lady's slipper
Dianthus chinensis L. - Chinese carnation
Dicentra peregrina (J. Rudolph) Makino - Foreign center, "Broken heart"
Diphylleia grayi Fr. Schmidt - Gray's Two-leafed
Draba sachalinensis (Fr. Schmidt) Trautv. - Krupka Sakhalin
Dryopteris fragrans (L.) Schott - Stone St. John's wort
Erythronium japonicum Decne. - Japanese Kandyk
Gymnadenia conopsea (L.) R. Br. - Kokushnik mosquito
Hedysarum hedysaroides (L.) Schinz. et Thell. - Penny penny
Hydrangea paniculata Siebold - Panicle Hydrangea
Hydrangea petiolaris Siebold et Zucc. - Hydrangea pedunculate
Leontopodium discolor Beauverd - Edelweiss bicolor
Leontopodium kurilense Takeda - Kuril edelweiss
Leucanthemum kurilense (Tzvel.) Worosch. - Kuril Nivyanik
Lilium glehnii Fr. Schmidt - Lily Glena
Lysichiton camtschatcense (L.) Schott - Kamchatka calla (lysichiton)
Magnolia obovata Thunb. - Magnolia obovate
Malus mandshurica (Maxim.) Kom. - Manchurian apple tree
Matteuccia orientalis (Hook.) Trev. - Oriental ostrich
Miyakea integrifolia Miyabe et Tatew. - Whole-leaved Miyakeya
Orchis aristata Fish. ex Lindl. - Spinous orchis
Oreorchis patens (Lindl.) Lindl. - Sprawling oreorchis
Osmunda asiatica (Fern.) Ohwi - Asian Osmunda, Asian Chistous
Osmunda japonica Thunb. - Japanese Osmunda, Japanese Chistous
Penstemon frutescens Lamb. - Penstemon shrub
Petasites japonicus (Siebold et Zucc.) Maxim. - Japanese butterbur
Phyllitis japonica Kom. - Japanese leaflet
Phyllodoce aleutica (Spreng.) Heller - Phyllodoce Aleutian
Pinus pumila (Pall.) Rgl. - Cedar elfin
Plagiogyria matsumurana Makino - Plagiogyria Matsumura
Polygonum sachalinense Fr. Schmidt - Highlander (buckwheat) Sakhalin
Polygonum weyrichii Fr. Schmidt - Highlander (buckwheat) Weirich
Potentilla megalantha Takeda - Large-flowered cinquefoil
Primula cuneifolia Ledeb. - Wedge-leaved primrose, Wedge-leaved primrose
Prunus kurilensis (Miyabe) Miyabe - Kuril prunus, cherry (plum) Kuril
Prunus sargentii Rehd. - Prunus Sargent
Prunus ssiori Fr. Schmidt - Prunus siori
Pulsatilla ajanensis Regel et Til. - Ayan lumbago, Ayan dream-grass
Pulsatilla taraoi (Makino) Takeda ex Zam. et Paegie - Tarao Lumbago, Dream-grass Tarao
Rhododendron aureum Georgi - Golden Rhododendron
Rhododendron brachicarpum D. Don - Short-fruited rhododendron
Rhododendron camtschaticum Pall. - Kamchatka rhododendron
Rhus ambigua Lav. ex Dipp. - Rus (sumakh) dubious
Rhus trichocarpa Miq. - Rus (sumac) hairy
Rubus arcticus L. - Arctic princess (raspberry)
Sasa kurilensis (Rupr.) Makino et Schibata - Kuril bamboo
Saxifraga cherlerioides D. Don - Sherleriform saxifrage
Saxifraga fortunei Hook. f. - Fortune's Saxifrage
Sedum pluricaule (Maxim.) Kudo - Multi-stem sedum
Sedum rosea (L.) Scop. - Sedum pink, Golden root
Senecio cannabifolius Less. - Cannabis rootwort
Silene sachalinensis Fr. Schmidt - Sakhalin Smolevka
Stellaria ruscifolia Pall. ex Schlecht. - Eagle-leaf stellate
Symplocarpus renifolius Schott - Pochifolia symplocarpus
Taxus cuspidata Siebold et Zucc. - Yew pointed
Trillium camtschatcense Ker-Gawl. - Trillium Kamchatka
Vaccinium praestans Lamb. - Vaccinium outstanding, Krasnika
Viburnum furcatum Blume ex Maxim. - Viburnum forked
Woodsia polystichoides D. Eat. - Woodsia multi-row

The considerable length from north to south of Sakhalin - 943 km, Kuril - 1200 km contributed to the formation of various vegetation belts: from tundra in the north to almost subtropics in the south, with a corresponding composition of flora. Of great importance is the location of the archipelago with the dominance of ocean fogs and unpredictable wind conditions and flora of neighboring territories: about. Hokkaido and the East Asian mainland. That is why the overwhelming majority of rare plants have areas of the East Asian and North Pacific types.
The southern island of Kunashir with a length of 100 km stands out especially, where not far from the sea there are very valuable and rich in interesting plants areas of broadleaf forest, which can be called a natural botanical garden. They are also rich in flora. Iturup (200 km long) and the southwest of Sakhalin. Fr. Shikotan (50 km long).
Deserted territories, extreme weather (frequent and heavy rains, fogs, daytime temperature contrasts, etc.), the absence of trails restrain the enthusiasm of the pioneer. The northern islands with many non-melting snowfields are especially not hospitable. There are no trees here, a lot of Maksimovich's resinous alder, which you remember for a long time.
The main enemy of the traveler is the impassable walls of bamboo and dwarf cedar. Giant thicket of tall grasses in the south - these large perennial herbaceous plants on fertile soils reach three to four meters in height during the summer season.

In addition to the listed plants, it is easy to notice other interesting and decorative tree species in the forests. Such as cherry (plum) Sargent (Prunus sargentii Rehd.) With magnificent dense pink flowers (up to 4 cm in diameter!), Completely covering the branches. The pink cloud of a blossoming tree makes an unforgettable impression, recalling the charm of cherry blossoms. Shrub cherry (plum) kurilian (Prunus kurilensis (Miyabe) Miyabe) is also beautiful, strewn with many smaller light pink flowers. The large slender beautiful tree of the Siori bird cherry (Prunus ssiori Fr. Schmidt) with unusually long clusters of flowers is also surprising. Spectacular viburnum forked (Viburnum furcatum Blume ex Maxim.) Decorated with bright inflorescences and fruits, decorative in early spring, thanks to rather peculiar leaves with an elegant pattern of depressed veins.

Orchids are well represented. Particularly impressive are the rather large bright purple flowers of the large-flowered Venus's slipper. On powerful specimens, there are up to 15 flowers. Original rare cremastra changeable with purple large flowers, collected in an almost one-sided dense raceme (island type of area). The graceful spreading hareorchis is more common.

Plants of rocks and talus are especially distinguished. In conditions of struggle for existence in rocky plants, the leaf apparatus significantly decreases and the number of flowers increases. Special life forms have developed: miniature plants with a mass of relatively large flowers, often covering the leaves. The stone surround is a gorgeous backdrop that enhances the beauty of the plant.

The inaccessible highlands are inhabited by peculiar plants. Special plant species have taken root on the tops of mountains and volcanoes. In conditions of low temperatures, specific moisture (constant humidity of the air and substrate with powerful drainage) and lighting (frequent fogs), the dominance of strong winds, compact plants densely pressed to the ground (or slag) were formed.

The main "owners" of the highlands are bamboo (in the south) and dwarf cedar (everywhere). The height of the bamboo plant is determined by the level of snow cover. When climbing after a bamboo, forest or woodland, you find yourself in the belt of dwarf cedar.

flora of the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin is unique. The islands are small in size and therefore particularly fragile and vulnerable. Their remoteness and small population partly ensure their safety. Unfortunately, wild plants are retreating further and further from settlements. And they are replaced by weeds ...

Terrestrial vegetation is scarce in the north of the ridge and somewhat richer in the south. Small-leaved forests and tall grasses dominate. Coniferous-deciduous and coniferous forests are less widespread. The flora of the Kuril Islands includes about a thousand plant species. The youthfulness of the surface and intense volcanism are associated with the low distribution of endemic and relict forms of plants and the uniqueness of the soils.

The soils have several humus horizons covered by volcanic ash. Their fertility depends on the composition of the ashes. On ashes with an abundance of phosphorus and lime, soils are more fertile than on ashes made of glassy acid particles. The soils of the Kuril Islands belong to the types of mountain-tundra, mountain-meadow, sod, silt-peat. Podzolic soils are not widespread.

On the northern islands, along with thickets of dwarf cedar and shrub alder, meadows and heathers are widespread; above 550-1000 m there are mountain tundras, mainly shrub-lichen. They are characterized by heather, saxifrage, etc. In the middle part of the Kuril arc, from Rasshua Island to Iturup, the lower parts of the mountain slopes are surrounded by sparse birch forests of stone (elm-leaved) birch (Betula ulmifolia) and wet meadows. Birch forests often have an alder (Alnaster maximowiczii) undergrowth. Above are the belts of shrubs and heaths. In the north of this segment of the Kuril arc, heaths also form the lowest belt (up to 100 m), descending into the damp and cooled foot of the slopes due to climatic inversion, and above them stone birch forests begin.

On the southern islands - Iturup, Kunashir - and the islands of the Lesser Kuril ridge, the vegetation is more lush and varied. Here there are dense thickets of Kuril bamboo (Sasa kurilensis) and large umbellates. On the slopes of the mountains protected from the influence of the cold current, as well as on the plains and hills of the extreme south of the Kuril ridge, coniferous-broad-leaved and broad-leaved forests grow with oaks, maple, elm, velvet, etc. from Picea ajanensis, P. glehnii and Abies sachalinensis) with an admixture of deciduous species, rising to 500-600 m.On Iturup and Shikotan there are also light forests of Kuril larch (Larix kurilensis). Above the coniferous forests are stone birch groves, and often at once thickets of dwarf cedar and shrub alder. Forests of the southern islands - the high humidity of the air depressingly affects the trees.

The islands are surrounded by vast fields of seaweed, which make it difficult for ships to approach the coast.
http://www.www.ecosystema.ru/rusgeo/6_3_2_6.html

The island arc of the Kuriles stretches for one thousand two hundred kilometers from Kamchatka to the Japanese island of Hokkaido. Thirty-six large islands and more than a hundred small islets and rocks make up this Far Eastern archipelago. It consists of two parallel island chains: the volcanic Great Kuril Ridge and the Malaya Ridge located to the east, where there are no active volcanoes.

The Kuriles are the second region of active volcanism in Russia after Kamchatka.

There are more volcanoes here than on the territory of their northern neighbor - more than a hundred, including forty active ones. But Kuril volcanoes erupt less often than their Kamchatka counterparts, and only a few, like Alaid, Tyat or Sarychev volcano, demonstrate a truly formidable disposition.

It is interesting that the names of most volcanoes, as well as bays, straits or waterfalls, are Russian or Japanese and appeared in the last two hundred years, and almost all the islands have retained the ancient names given to them by the indigenous inhabitants of the archipelago - the Ainu. Their names sound like some strange, then ringing, then rustling music.

The Kruzenshtern and Bussol straits divide the Great Range into three parts:

• the northern one with the islands of Shumshu, Paramushir, Onekotan and Shiashkotan; middle, which includes a lot of small islets and only one large island Simushir;
• and the southern one, in which the main, largest and,

most populated islands:

• Urup,
• Iturup and,
• Kunashir.

This also includes the Small Kuril Ridge, which is only 105 km long and consists of a rather large picturesque island of Shikotan and several small islets.

Atlasov Island is located in the north of the island chain to the west of Shumshu. It is a giant cone of the Alaid volcano that has grown out of the waters of the Sea of ​​Okhotsk. This is the highest fire-breathing mountain in the Kuril Islands, rising almost 2.5 km above the sea, and at the same time the most beautiful in the Kuriles. Its regular conical top, crowned with a plume of smoke, is somewhat reminiscent of Fujiyama, sung by the artists and poets of Japan.

Alaid volcano on Atlasov Island

In good weather, the Alaid peak can be seen from Kamchatka, and most likely it was the discoverer of the peninsula, the Cossack Pentecostal Vladimir Atlasov, who noticed it back in 1698, who later wrote in his report that “opposite the first river on the sea I saw as if there were islands”.

Kamchadals tell a curious legend about this volcano and Kuril Lake located in the south of Kamchatka, in the center of which is the Heart of Alaid islet.

In the middle of the Kuril Lake, the legend says, there was once a high and beautiful mountain Alaid. The surrounding mountains, as if by selection, small and inconspicuous, envied the handsome Alaid and told about him various dirty tricks: he, they say, blocks the sun, and prevents the month from rising to the sky, he clings with his horn to the top of Alaid, and the glacier is somewhere. I found it and sheltered it on my slope, and a lot more ...

Alaid is tired of the evil gossip around. He left the lake, left Kamchatka and found a new place for himself - in the sea, near the Kuril Islands. The lake water rushed after Alaid, but did not catch up with him. This is how the Ozernaya river was formed in Kamchatka. But love for his native land was strong in Alaid, he could not completely part with it, and left his heart in the lake. So now there is an islet of Uchichi in the middle of the lake, which means Heart-Stone.

Discovery of the Kuril Islands

The Europeans discovered the Kuril Islands in 1643, when the Dutch sailor De Vries visited them. But even thirty years before him, the Japanese had already landed on the southern islands, exploring and trying to settle in Shikotan and Kunashir. However, in 1711, Russian Cossacks headed by Danila Antsiferov and Ivan Kozyrevsky arrived on the islands from Kamchatka. They brought the local Ainu "under the sovereign's hand" and imposed a tribute-yasak. Since then, the islands have become part of Russia and for almost three centuries (with the exception of forty years between the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 and World War II) have been our eastern outpost.

In the entire Russian Far East, deservedly famous for its natural beauty, one cannot find more picturesque corners than in the Kuril Islands. Each island, with rare exceptions, is beautiful in its own way. The formidable majesty of volcanoes smoking gas jets here side by side with the bizarre beauty of coastal bays and rocks, unusual exotic flora on land and marine wonders in the Okhotsk and Pacific waters.

And if a traveler who has visited Kamchatka, the Ussuriysk Territory or Sakhalin is overwhelmed with admiration, then he simply falls in love with the Kuriles once and for all.

Although the Kuril volcanoes do not threaten with eruptions as often as the Kamchatka ones, they bring even more troubles. And the reason for this is their close proximity to the sea. Any eruption is accompanied by tremors, and they, in turn, cause "seaquakes". And the angry sea falls on the shores of the islands with giant destructive tsunami waves.

Tsunami on Paramushir Island

In 1952, a 30-meter tsunami wave completely destroyed the city of Severo-Kurilsk on the island of Paramushir. The few surviving residents, having lost loved ones, homes and property, left the island forever. Similar disasters have happened before.

The explorer of Kamchatka Krasheninnikov as early as 1737 described the earthquake and tsunami that devastated the coast of the peninsula and the Northern Kuriles.

“By midnight at three o'clock,” he writes, “a shaking began and lasted for a quarter of an hour ... Meanwhile, there was a terrible noise and excitement at the sea, and suddenly the water burst into the banks three sazhens high, which, without standing at all, fled into the sea and withdrew from the coast for a notable distance. Then the earth shook a second time, the water came against the previous one, but when it was cast, it ran so far that it was impossible to see the sea. At that time, in the strait between the first and second Kuril Islands, at the bottom of the sea, stone mountains, which had never been seen before ... About a quarter of an hour after that, another terrible shaking followed, and moreover, water rushed to the shore by thirty fathoms ... From of this flood, the local inhabitants were completely ruined, and many died miserably their belly ... "

In 1770, during the eruption of the Alaid volcano, the resulting tsunami destroyed the houses and gardens of the inhabitants of Paramushir and Shumshu. And in 1933, a wave 20 m high hit the island of Harimkotan, where the Sarychev volcano erupted.

Since many volcanic islands are uninhabited, eruptions themselves cause serious damage only when they occur on large islands, which are chains of several volcanoes that have grown on a common base. There are few such islands, but they are, of course, better populated and developed by man.

On Kunashir, Mendeleev, Golovnin and Tyatya volcanoes are active and dangerous.

There are eight active volcanoes on Iturup: the most violent of them are volcanoes:

• Baransky,
• Tebenkov,
• Ivan the Terrible,
• Stockup,
• Atsonupuri and,
• Berutarube.

On Simushir, Burning Sopka, Zavaritsky volcano and Prevo Peak are restless, on Shiashkotan-Sinarki and Kuntomintor, and on Onekotan - Krenitsyn and Nemo volcanoes.

A special case is the island of Paramushir. It consists of three parallel intergrown volcanic ridges, consisting of more than thirty volcanoes.

Six of them are active, with the most active volcano Ebeko located just eight kilometers from Severo-Kurilsk. When on March 8, 1963, this fire-breathing mountain decided to "salute" Women's Day, poisonous sulfur dioxide from the fumaroles formed was blown towards the city, and residents could not leave their homes. Those who were caught by the gas attack in the cinema or in the club were forced to stay there and spend the night. Fortunately, in the morning the wind changed and the situation in the city returned to normal.

The already mentioned Atlasov Island is famous all over the world for its active and very formidable volcano Alaid. It erupts every thirty to forty years. The last time it was in 1972. And before that, in 1933, as a result of an underwater eruption near Alaid, a new island, Taketomi, was formed. It gradually grew due to new eruptions, and in 1961 it merged with its neighbor, forming a peninsula.

Mighty Alaid, like the Italian volcano Stromboli, since the time of Bering has served as a beacon for captains sailing from the Sea of ​​Okhotsk to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky.

Volcanic activity in the Kuril Islands

It must be admitted that the volcanic activity of the Kuriles has not only negative sides. On many islands there are mineral springs, including hot springs.

On Shiashkotan, for example, there are up to a thousand hot springs. And on the island of Urup there is even a hot waterfall! In the craters of some volcanoes, warm lakes have formed, healing many ailments. The same volcano Ebeko has been serving the residents of Severo-Kurilsk as a kind of "dispensary" for a long time. Every weekend, groups of Kuril residents go to him to swim in a warm lake located in his crater. The water in this natural pool is heated to almost 40 ° C.

The Hot Beach on Kunashir Island is famous all over the planet. You will not find such a miracle of nature anywhere else in the world. Getting to him from Yuzhno-Kurilsk is not difficult. Only seven kilometers to the south along the Pacific coast, and from a distance you can see a stretch of the coast, shrouded in thick steam. The beach is located at the foot of Mendeleev volcano, and volcanic rocks are covered here with a thin layer of sea sand. In some places it is very hot, and in some places streams of steam make their way through it. This vapor, which has risen to the surface through cracks in volcanic rocks, seems to dissolve in the thickness of the sand and warms it. Wherever you dig a hole on the beach, steam immediately begins to flow out of it.

A strip of hot sand stretches for almost a kilometer along the coast. The steam temperature is 100 ° С, and the water in hot springs gushing everywhere is heated to 98 ° С. The inhabitants of the island use streams of underground steam to heat food, use them to heat their homes. Chickens rush here all year round, as it is warm in winter sheds heated by steam. A bathhouse and a laundry in the local village also do without stokers, and the children love to bake in the hot sand next to the fished crabs.

Despite the constant danger posed by them, volcanoes are still amazingly beautiful natural structures. These are not always the correct cones, like Alaid's. Sometimes it is a double cone, so to speak "volcano in a volcano", such as Tyatya. Sometimes it is a mountain crowned with jagged walls, like the ruins of an ancient fortress, and sometimes only caldera hollows remain from volcanoes. And if these calderas find themselves on the seashore, stunning beauty bays are formed, such as Lion's Mouth on Iturup Island. The entrance to it is guarded by the rock Kamen-Lev sticking out of the ocean, the Krenitsyn volcano on Onekotan is really unique in its appearance. In the southern part of this long, narrow island is the Ring Lake. In the center of the caldera lake, the cone of a young volcano rose for almost one and a half kilometers. The top of the black mountain is powdered with snow and smokes a little, reminding of its formidable origin.

And on the coast of the island of Harimkotan, after the next eruption of the Severgin volcano, many small lakes were formed, fed by streams flowing from its slopes. The water of the streams is saturated with mineral salts, and at the bottom of the lakes, these salts are deposited in concentric circles, forming multi-colored sediments: red, orange, yellow, green, white. Each lake has its own, special color of the bottom, and in the sunlight a scattering of water saucers shines with all the colors of the rainbow. like a sleeping lion.

The structure of the Zavaritsky volcano on Simushir is unusual. Here, from the bottom of the ancient caldera, as well as on the Krenitsyn volcano, a new cone has grown. But he, in turn, exploded, forming a "caldera in a caldera." The middle of it is occupied by Lake Turquoise. This is probably the most beautiful lake in the archipelago: in good weather its waters really sparkle with turquoise and shimmer gently in the sun. This is due to the fact that the water of the caldera lake contains the smallest particles of sulfur that reflect light.

Flora and fauna of the Kuril Islands

The wildlife of the islands is a worthy framing of the volcanic landscape of the Kuril ridge. Its originality is explained by the great length of the archipelago. Its northern islands are adjacent to the snowy Kamchatka, where the largest bears in Russia roam the gloomy taiga, and the rarest bighorn sheep can still be found on steep rocks. And from the southern islands, in good weather, you can see Hokkaido, where cheerful macaques frolic in groves of tropical plants and warm volcanic springs.

In addition, the cold Oya-Sio current passes along the Pacific coast of the Kuril ridge, bringing fogs, rains and cold winds. The Okhotsk coast of the Southern Kuriles is washed by the warm Soya current, one of the branches of the Pacific Gulf Stream - the Kuro-Sio current. Therefore, the vegetation of the Kuriles differs sharply not only in the northern and southern parts of the archipelago, but even on the opposite shores of the same islands.

Northern islands: Shumshu, Paramushir and others - the kingdom of cedar and alder dwarf trees, and the temperature in summer does not rise above ten degrees. And in the south - on Iturup, Kunashir and their neighbors - there are real forests of fir, oak, maple, wild cherry with bamboo undergrowth. Even yew and velvet trees grow on Shikotan. All this varied forest stand is densely intertwined with wild grapes and other vines. Add to this the magnolia, found in the south of Shikotan, and you will understand that the local flora is already close to subtropical. At the same time, on the southern, Pacific coast of the same Iturup, the slopes are covered with the same cedar dwarf tree as in Paramushir, and it is worth crossing the volcanic ridge to the Okhotsk coast, as thickets of three-meter bamboo will approach the path.

But the land fauna of the islands is not rich: bears, foxes and small rodents - voles, shrews. On several islands, however, there are still herds of mustangs - feral horses brought here by Japanese cavalrymen before the war. But the sea coast pleases with the richness of the animal world. Killer whales and sperm whales, gray whales and dolphins frolic everywhere in the Kuril waters, from the Treason Strait separating Kunashir from Hokkaido to the First Kuril Strait north of Shumshu. Here you can find fur seals and sea otters, seals and the largest of the seals - sea lions. These huge animals, sometimes weighing a ton, sometimes come into battle even with young sperm whales.

On every island or on the rocks near its shores, there are sure to be bird colonies. Hundreds of thousands of bald gulls, kittiwakes, cormorants, fulmars and axillas inhabit the Kuril Islands.

And they all have enough food - after all, places where warm and cold currents meet are always especially rich in fish. Huge flocks of large silvery ivasi sardines, saury, pollock and halibut come here. Here is the expanse of flounders, sea bass and gobies. And in the rivers red fish ascend to spawn: chum salmon, pink salmon and char. It is clear that both animals and birds of the Kurils are always provided with food.

It is difficult to get to this Far Eastern volcanic archipelago yet. Only three motor ships go here from Vladivostok through Sakhalin. It takes two days to reach the southern Kuriles, and all five to the northern ones. Kamchatka coasters, which go around the peninsula, also visit Paramushir. But in winter, when the Sea of ​​Okhotsk is frozen, the islands are connected to the mainland only by rare flights.

But the inaccessibility only makes the goal more desirable. And if the traveler managed to get to the Kuril Islands, what he saw there will never be erased from his memory. Already sailing by the Catherine Strait (between Iturup and Kunashir), he will see five volcanoes from the deck at once, including the almost two-kilometer handsome Tyatya, which, like Alaid, serves as a lighthouse at the exit from the Sea of ​​Okhotsk to the Pacific Ocean.

Having landed on the coast in Yuzhno-Kurilsk, a tourist can, taking advantage of the low tide, for an hour and a half to walk along the black sand packed with waves to the Hot Beach, swim in its springs and marvel at this kilometer-long hot "frying pan", bubbling with steam. And while wading through the Kunashir bamboo jungle and cedar elfin to the top of Mendeleev volcano, the traveler can see fumaroles, mud volcanoes, and amazing sulfur fields on the slope of the volcano. Indeed, there are not so many places on Earth where icicles of yellow sulfur grow right before our eyes on stone cornices near the outlets of gas jets. You can put a dwarf branch into a stream, and in ten minutes it will turn into a kind of yellow coral.

There are no less natural wonders on the largest Kuril island - Iturup. Here the highest waterfall in Russia - 140-meter Ilya Muromets falls into the ocean from black basalt rocks. The picturesque bay of Lion's mouth, fumaroles of the Berutarube volcano and Lake Krasivoe in the Urbich caldera await tourists here. Iturup has the most beautiful forests rich in berries and mushrooms. Local residents gather here some kind of special "Japanese mushroom", the size of a good frying pan. They say that he is never wormy, and the taste is not inferior to white.

The bays and coastal skerries of Shikotan are as beautiful as the famous fjords of New Zealand. In the main village of the island of Malokurilsk, where the plant processed whales for many years until Russia stopped hunting them, you can see the most unusual fences in the world - from a whalebone! And all this exoticism is seen so far, not counting the residents of Kuril and border guards, it is good if 40-50 people a year.

Tourist development of the amazing archipelago, the edge of volcanoes and fumaroles, bamboo and magnolias, bird colonies and sea lion rookeries, waterfalls and bizarre rocks, has not even begun yet.

But an inquisitive traveler now, if he so wishes, could make a cruise, say, along the route: Iturup - Kunashir - Shikotan. On this way, he would look into the fabulous Lion's Mouth with its 500-meter steep walls and for the first time feel himself inside a real volcanic vent, feel the Hot Beach under his feet and hear the roar of the Kunashir solfatar, swam along the Shikotan fjords and meet the dawn on a distant beautiful promontory with an expressive the name of the End of the World. And, looking at the endless expanse of the Pacific Ocean, I would almost physically feel that the next land in the east is 8000 km. As much as to the west to Moscow ...