🔆 Kuril Islands
📍 Why in News?
✅ Japan protested Russia’s presidential visit to the Kuril Islands, highlighting the long-standing territorial dispute between the two countries.
🔆 About Kuril Islands
📍 Location
✅ An archipelago located between Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula and Japan’s Hokkaido
✅ Separates the Pacific Ocean to the east from the Sea of Okhotsk to the west
✅ Extends in an arc across the Northwestern Pacific Ocean
📍 Key Facts
✅ Comprises around 22 major islands, 36 smaller islets and several rocks
✅ Covers approximately 15,600 sq. km
✅ The islands are largely under Russian administration
🔆 Geological Significance
✅ Part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, making the region highly prone to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions
✅ Many islands are formed by stratovolcanoes
✅ Their formation is associated with subduction, where one tectonic plate descends beneath another
✅ The same tectonic process contributed to the formation of the Kuril Trench, a deep oceanic trench along the Pacific side of the island arc
🔆 Territorial Dispute
📍 Russia–Japan
✅ Japan disputes Russian control over the four southernmost islands — Etorofu (Iturup), Kunashiri (Kunashir), Shikotan and the Habomai Islands
✅ Japan refers to these as the Northern Territories
✅ The dispute has complicated the conclusion of a formal Russia–Japan peace treaty since World War II
📍 Prelims Quick Recall
✅ Kuril Islands → Russia & Japan dispute
✅ Between → Kamchatka Peninsula & Hokkaido
✅ East → Pacific Ocean | West → Sea of Okhotsk
✅ Geological setting → Pacific Ring of Fire
✅ Major feature → Kuril Trench
#places_in_news
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August 14, 2026 461 1
