Iturup (Russian Итуруп; Ainu エト・オロ・プ; Japanese 択捉島, Etorofu) is the largest island of the Kuriles, located in the Sakhalin Oblast of Russia. It is the northernmost island in the southern Kuril chain claimed by Japan (see Kuril Islands dispute). The Ainu language (Ainu: , aynu itak; Japanese: ainu-go) is spoken by the Ainu ethnic group on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. ... For the political history of the sovereignty conflict, see Kuril Islands dispute. ... The Sakhalin Oblast (Russian: Сахали́нская о́бласть) is a regional subdivision of Russia. ... The Kuril Islands with the disputed islands highlighted The Kuril Island conflict is a dispute between Japan and Russia over sovereignty over the southernmost Kuril Islands. ...

Iturup is located near the southern end of the Kurile chain, between Kunashir (19 km to the SW) and Urup (37 km to the NE). The town of Kurilsk (pop 2,200 as of 2002), district seat of Kurilsky District, is located roughly midway along its western shore. Kunashir Island (国後島:Kunashiri in Japanese, Кунашир (Kunashir) in Russian, Black Island in Ainu language), a southwestern island of the Kuril Islands, located in the Sakhalin Oblast of the Russian Federation. ... A kilometre (American spelling: kilometer), symbol: km is a unit of length in the metric system equal to 1000 metres (from the Greek words χίλια (khilia) = thousand and μέτρο (metro) = count/measure). ... Urup (Japanese 得撫島, Uruppu) is one of the Kuril Islands to the north of Japan. ... Kurilsk (Russian: ; Japanese: 留別村, Rubetsu) is a town in Sakhalin Oblast, Russia, situated on the island of Iturup, at . ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ...

A Soviet Anti-Air Defense (PVO) airfield, named Burevestnik, is located on the island and since the 1950s has been home for a number of Mikoyan fighter jets. In 1968, Seaboard World Airlines Flight 253 was intercepted over the Kuriles and forced to land at Burevestnik with 214 American troops bound for Vietnam. Voyska PVO (Russian: Войска ПВО, or PVO Strany until 1981) was the air defense branch of the Soviet military. ... Burevestnik (Russian: ; English:Stormy Petrel) was the All-Union Voluntary Sports Society of students and teachers of the most part of high schools and universities in the USSR, established in 1957. ... The 1950s were the decade that traditionally speaking, spanned the years 1950 through 1959. ... The MiG logo Mikoyan, formerly Mikoyan-Gurevich (Russian: ), is a Russian military aircraft design bureau, primarily of fighter aircraft. ... 1968 (MCMLXVIII) was a leap year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1968 calendar). ... Seaboard World Airlines Flight 253 was involved in a Cold War incident in 1968. ...

• Area - 3,139 sq km
• Length - 200 km
• Width - 7–27 km

Square kilometre (US spelling: Square kilometer), symbol km², is an SI unit of surface area. ...

Geography

Iturup consists of volcanic massifs and mountain ridges. A series of a dozen volcanoes running NE to SW form the backbone of the island, the highest being Berutarube (1,220 m) and the nearby Atsonupuri (1,206 m) near Iturup's southern end. The shores of the island are high and abrupt. The vegetation mostly consists of spruce, larch, pine, fir, and mixed deciduous forests with alder, lianas and Kuril bamboo underbrush. The mountains are covered with birch and Siberian Dwarf Pine scrub, herbaceous flowers or bare rocks. This article is about volcanoes in geology. ... In geology, a massif is a section of the Earths crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. ... Mount McKinley (Denali) in Alaska (USA) has the largest visible base-to-summit elevation difference on Earth. ... A ridge is a geological feature that features a continuous elevational crest for some distance. ... Smoking Bromo and Semeru (background) volcanoes on Java in Indonesia. ... Vegetation is a general term for the plant life of a region; it refers to the ground cover provided by plants, and is, by far, the most abundant biotic element of the biosphere. ... Species About 35; see text. ... Species About 12; see text Larches are conifers in the genus Larix, in the family Pinaceae. ... Species About 115. ... FIR may stand for: finite impulse response (a property of some digital filters) far infrared, i. ... Deciduous means temporary or tending to fall off (deriving from the Latin word decidere, to fall off). ... A forest is an area with a high density of trees (or, historically, a wooded function as carbon dioxide sinks, animal habitats, hydrologic flow modulators, and soil conservers, constituting one of the most important aspects of the Earths biosphere. ... Species About 20-30 species, see text. ... A liana is woody climber. ... Diversity Around 91 genera and 1,000 species Subtribes Arthrostylidiinae Arundinariinae Bambusinae Chusqueinae Guaduinae Melocanninae Nastinae Racemobambodinae Shibataeinae See the full Taxonomy of the Bambuseae. ... Underbrush is a term used to describe the low shrubs and young trees that grow on the floor of a forest. ... Species Many species; see text and classification Birch is the name of any tree of the genus Betula, in the family Betulaceae, closely related to the beech/oak family, Fagaceae. ... Binomial name Pinus pumila (Pall. ... Clivia miniata right hereflowers. ...

History

Initially inhabited by the Ainu, the island saw both a Russian settlement (late 18th century) and a Japanese garrison (1800) at the site of the present-day Kurilsk. In 1855 Iturup was ceded to Japan by the Treaty of Shimoda. The Ainu (pronounced , eye-noo, アイヌ / aynu) are an ethnic group indigenous to Hokkaido, the northern part of Honshu in Northern Japan, the Kuril Islands, much of Sakhalin, and the southernmost third of the Kamchatka peninsula. ... 1800 (MDCCC) was an common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... 1855 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The Treaty of Shimoda was signed between the Russian Admiral Efimii Vasilevich Putiatin and Toshiakira Kawaji of Japan in the city of Shimoda, Japan, on February 7th, 1855. ...

Route followed by the Japanese fleet to Pearl Harbor and back

On 26 November 1941 a Japanese carrier fleet left Hitokappu Bay (Japanese: 単冠湾), on the eastern shore of Iturup, and sailed for an attack on the American base of Pearl Harbor. Download high resolution version (1004x710, 213 KB)Public Domain chart from Reports of General MacArthur, prepared by his General Staff. ... Download high resolution version (1004x710, 213 KB)Public Domain chart from Reports of General MacArthur, prepared by his General Staff. ... An aircraft carrier is a warship designed to deploy and recover aircraft—in effect acting as a sea-going airbase. ... Combatants United States of America Imperial Japan Commanders Husband Kimmel (USN), Walter Short (USA) Chuichi Nagumo (IJN) Strength 8 battleships, 8 cruisers, 29 destroyers, 9 submarines, ~50 other ships, ~390 planes 6 aircraft carriers, 2 battleships, 3 cruisers, 9 destroyers, 8 tankers, 23 fleet submarines, 5 midget submarines, 441 planes...

In 1945, occupied by the Soviet Union after Japan's defeat in World War II. In 1956 the two countries agreed to restore diplomatic relations, but the peace treaty, as of 2006, has not been concluded due to the disputed status of Iturup and other islands Japan continues to claim. 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... Combatants Allies: Poland, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, France/Free France, United States, China, Canada, India, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Greece, Norway, Honduras, and others Axis Powers: Germany, Italy, Japan, Bulgaria, Finland, Romania, Hungary, Burma, Slovakia Casualties Military dead: 17 million Civilian dead: 33 million Total dead: 50 million Military... 1956 (MCMLVI) was a leap year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2006 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Google Maps
• Ocean Dots.com