Ushishir
Native name: Ушишир 宇志知島 | |
|---|---|
 NASA picture of Ushishir Island | |
 | |
| Geography | |
| Location | Sea of Okhotsk |
| Coordinates | 47°31′N 152°48′E / 47.52°N 152.80°E |
| Archipelago | Kuril Islands |
| Area | 5 km2 (1.9 sq mi) |
| Highest elevation | 401 m (1316 ft) |
| Highest point | Mikasayama |
| Administration | |
Russia | |
| Demographics | |
| Population | 0 |
| Ethnic groups | Ainu (formerly) |
Ushishir (
Geology
Ushishir consists of two islets almost connected by a narrow spit of land with an area of 5 km2 (1.9 sq mi).[1]
These islets are the tops of a partially submerged volcano. The southern island, Yankicha (Russian: Янкича), consists of the summit caldera and has a maximum width of 2.5 kilometres (1.6 miles). The caldera has a diameter of 1.6 kilometres (1.0 mile), and is breached on the south, forming a sea-water Crater Bay. The bay has an estimated depth of 30 metres (98 feet), and there is strong evidence of ongoing underwater volcanic activity, as evidenced by frequent bubbles, altered water chemistry and the presence of bacteria mats. Two small lava domes form small islands in the central lagoon, and numerous fumaroles and hot springs are along the southeast caldera shoreline. The island's highest point Mikasayama (御笠山) is 401 metres (1,316 feet) high, and is on the eastern shore. The northern islet (Ryponkicha Russian: o. Рыпонкича) is the smaller of the two, and consists of a portion of the volcano's flank, with sheer cliffs rising up 131 metres (430 feet) from the sea. Ushishir is still an
Fauna
In the spring and summer some of the largest colonies of crested and whiskered auklet in the Kuril Islands are found on the island; least auklet also nest here.[2]
History
Ushishir had no permanent habitation prior to European contact, but was visited in summer by the
See also
References
- "Ushishur". Global Volcanism Program. Smithsonian Institution.
- Oceandots entry at the Wayback Machine (archived December 23, 2010)
External links
Notes
- ^ "International Kuril Island Project（IKIP）". University of Washington Fish Collection or the respective authors.
- ^ Kondratyev, A. Y., Litvinenko, N. M., Shibaev, Y. V., Vyatkin, P. S., & Kondratyeva, L. F. (2000). "The breeding seabirds of the Russian Far East". Seabirds of the Russian Far East, 37-81.
Further reading
- Gorshkov, G. S. Volcanism and the Upper Mantle Investigations in the Kurile Island Arc. Monographs in geoscience. New York: Plenum Press, 1970. ISBN 0-306-30407-4
- Krasheninnikov, Stepan Petrovich, and James Greive. The History of Kamtschatka and the Kurilski Islands, with the Countries Adjacent. Chicago: Quadrangle Books, 1963.
- Rees, David. The Soviet Seizure of the Kuriles. New York: Praeger, 1985. ISBN 0-03-002552-4
- Takahashi, Hideki, and Masahiro Ōhara. Biodiversity and Biogeography of the Kuril Islands and Sakhalin. Bulletin of the Hokkaido University Museum, no. 2-. Sapporo, Japan: Hokkaido University Museum, 2004.
