Simushir

Simushir was inhabited by the Ainu. The island appears on an official map showing the territories of Matsumae Domain, a feudal domain of Edo period Japan dated 1644, and these holdings were officially confirmed by the Tokugawa shogunate in 1715. Russian explorer Gerasim Izmailov was marooned on Simushir in the early 1770s. He spent a full year subsisting on "scallops, grass, and roots".{{Citation needed|date=January 2025}}.

Sovereignty initially passed to Russia under the terms of the Treaty of Shimoda, but was returned to the Empire of Japan per the Treaty of Saint Petersburg, along with the rest of the Kuril islands. The island was formerly administered as part of Shimushiru District of Nemuro Subprefecture of Hokkaidō. Settlers on the island were engaged in fishing, and the raising of Arctic fox and reindeer. During World War II, the civilian population was evacuated to the Japanese home islands and Simushir was garrisoned by a detachment from the Imperial Japanese Army. It was surrendered to Soviet forces during the Battle of the Kuril Islands without resistance.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}

Under the Soviet Union, Brouton Bay was used by the Soviet Navy as a secret submarine base between 1987 and 1994, and had a population of approximately 3000 people. The remains of the base can be seen clearly on satellite images.{{cite web|title=Take a Look Inside These Abandoned Submarines & Bases|url=http://www.historyinorbit.com/take-a-look-inside-these-abandoned-submarines-and-bases/18/?src=taboola&v=p|work=History in Orbit website|author=Ryan|pages=18–20|date=2015-03-15|access-date=2018-07-06|archive-date=2021-01-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125000538/https://historyinorbit.com/take-a-look-inside-these-abandoned-submarines-and-bases/18/?src=taboola&v=p|url-status=dead}}

Today, the island is uninhabited. It is currently administered as part of the Sakhalin Oblast of the Russian Federation.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}

Simushir is highly elongated, consisting of a series of stratovolcanos. The island has a length of {{convert|59|km|mi}} with a width of {{convert|13|km|mi}}, and an area of {{convert|227.6|km2|sqmi}}.{{cite web|url=http://www.washington.edu/burkemuseum/collections/ichthyology/okhotskia/ikip/Info/physical.html|title=International Kuril Island Project（IKIP）|publisher=University of Washington Fish Collection or the respective authors}} At the north end of the island is a half-submerged caldera, Brouton Bay, with an entrance only 2.5 meters deep, plunging to 240 meters in the center.

• Urataman ({{langx|ru| Уратаман}}, {{langx|ja|三日月山}}, Mikazuki Yama), {{convert|678|m|ft}} high and overlooking Brouton Bay, is the northernmost stratovolcano of the island. Further south are:
• Prevo ({{langx|ru| влк. Прево}}, {{langx|ja|新知富士}}, Shimushiru Fuji), with a height of {{convert|1360|m|ft}}. The peak erupted in the early 19th century, forming a symmetrical cone with a resemblance to Mount Fuji. On the summit is a 450 × 600 meter wide summit crater with a small caldera lake on its floor. Lava flows from the summit reach both coasts of central Simushir. Only two eruptions are known from Prevo Peak in historical times. The largest of these, during the 1760s, produced pyroclastic flows that destroyed all vegetation at the foot of the volcano. Weak explosive activity occurred during the most recent eruption, in the early 19th century.
• Zavaritzki ({{langx|ru|Вулкан Заварицкого}}, {{langx|ja|緑湖カルデラ}}, Midoriko Karudera), with a height of {{convert|624|m|ft}}, and a 2 × 3 kilometer fresh water caldera lake. Several young cones and lava domes are located near the margins the lake. An eruption in 1831 may have affected the global climate.{{cite journal|last1=Hutchison|first1=William|last2=Sugden|first2=Patrick|last3=Burke|first3=Andrea|last4=Abbott|first4=Peter|last5=Ponomareva|first5=Vera V.|last6=Dirksen|first6=Oleg|last7=Portnyagin|first7=Maxim V.|last8=MacInnes|first8=Breanyn|last9=Bourgeois|first9=Joanne |last10=Fitzhugh |first10=Ben|last11=Verkerk|first11=Magali|last12=Aubry|first12=Thomas J.|last13=Engwell|first13=Samantha L.|last14=Svensson|first14=Anders|last15=Chellman|first15=Nathan J.|last16=McConnell|first16=Joseph R.|last17=Davies|first17=Siwan|last18=Sigl|first18=Michael|last19=Plunkett|first19=Gill|title=The 1831 CE mystery eruption identified as Zavaritskii caldera, Simushir Island (Kurils)|journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences|date=7 January 2025|volume=122|issue=1|pages=e2416699122|doi=10.1073/pnas.2416699122|display-authors=5|url=https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2416699122|access-date=5 January 2025|doi-access=free|pmc=11725861}} A lava dome created in the 1916 and 1931 eruptions formed a small island in the northern part of the lake. In 1957, a new 350 meter wide, 40 meter high lava dome was created following explosive eruptions, decreasing the size of the lake.
• Milna ({{langx|ru|Мильна}}, {{langx|ja|新知岳}}, Shimushiru Dake), with a height of {{convert|1540|m|ft}}, is the highest point on the island. This volcano erupted in 1881 and in 1914. The outer flanks of the steep-sided mountain are dissected by deep gullies, with lava flows extending to the sea. The three kilometer wide caldera was breached to the south due to glaciations.
• Goriaschaia Sopka ({{langx|ru| Горящая Сопка}}, {{langx|ja|焼山}}; Yake Yama), with a height of {{convert|891|m|ft}}, is on the southwest end of the island. This volcano erupted in 1881 and in 1914.

In spite of its temperate latitude, the powerful Oyashio Current on the western flank of the Aleutian Low gives Simushir a chilly and very wet subarctic climate (Köppen Dfc) that amazingly almost qualifies as a polar climate (ET), which in low-lying areas would be expected only at latitudes about 20 degrees or {{convert|2200|km|mi|-1}} further north. Unlike typical subarctic or polar climates, however, the winters are only moderately severe and there is no permafrost since the mean annual temperature is around {{convert|2.8|C|F|1}}, whilst temperatures have never fallen below {{convert|−22.2|C|F|0}}. However, the extreme winds, which in winter average as much as {{convert|43|km/h|mph|0}}, make it feel much colder.[http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weatherall.php3?s=59123&refer=wx8dx&cityname=Ostrov-Simushir-Severo-Zapadniy-Fed.-Okrug-Russia&units=metric OSTROV SIMUSHIR, RUSSIA] Summers are mild, but extraordinarily cloudy with fogs occurring on six-sevenths of all days in summer and annual sunshine hours less than 1,100 per year, which is comparable to Reykjavík or the extremely foggy Sichuan Basin. Sunshine is actually most likely in the wettest months of September and October when the heavy rain removes the low-level fog, but clear days are extremely rare at any time of year.

{{Weather box

|location = Simushir Island (1948-1997)

|metric first = Y

|single line = Y

|Jan record high C = 10.0

|Feb record high C = 8.0

|Mar record high C = 11.1

|Apr record high C = 19.2

|May record high C = 25.0

|Jun record high C = 28.1

|Jul record high C = 32.0

|Aug record high C = 31.0

|Sep record high C = 26.8

|Oct record high C = 20.9

|Nov record high C = 18.3

|Dec record high C = 11.3

|Jan avg record high C = 1.4

|Feb avg record high C = 1.4

|Mar avg record high C = 4.7

|Apr avg record high C = 12.7

|May avg record high C = 15.1

|Jun avg record high C = 17.6

|Jul avg record high C = 21.8

|Aug avg record high C = 24.4

|Sep avg record high C = 20.6

|Oct avg record high C = 16.3

|Nov avg record high C = 12.2

|Dec avg record high C = 5.3

|year avg record high C = 28.3

|Jan high C = -2.5

|Feb high C = -3.0

|Mar high C = -1.4

|Apr high C = 3.3

|May high C = 7.2

|Jun high C = 9.1

|Jul high C = 12.5

|Aug high C = 14.7

|Sep high C = 13.8

|Oct high C = 10.1

|Nov high C = 4.6

|Dec high C = 0.1

|Jan mean C = −4.5

|Feb mean C = −5.0

|Mar mean C = −3.4

|Apr mean C = 0.7

|May mean C = 3.6

|Jun mean C = 5.5

|Jul mean C = 8.8

|Aug mean C = 10.7

|Sep mean C = 10.2

|Oct mean C = 7.0

|Nov mean C = 2.0

|Dec mean C = −2.0

|year mean C = 3.1

|Jan low C = -6.9

|Feb low C = -7.4

|Mar low C = -5.9

|Apr low C = -1.9

|May low C = 0.7

|Jun low C = 2.6

|Jul low C = 5.4

|Aug low C = 7.2

|Sep low C = 6.8

|Oct low C = 3.9

|Nov low C = -0.7

|Dec low C = -4.5

|Jan avg record low C = -12.2

|Feb avg record low C = -14.0

|Mar avg record low C = -11.6

|Apr avg record low C = -5.7

|May avg record low C = -2.6

|Jun avg record low C = -0.8

|Jul avg record low C = 1.0

|Aug avg record low C = 4.2

|Sep avg record low C = 3.2

|Oct avg record low C = -0.6

|Nov avg record low C = -6.2

|Dec avg record low C = -8.7

|year avg record low C = -15.4

|Jan record low C = -22.2

|Feb record low C = -22.2

|Mar record low C = -19

|Apr record low C = -11.8

|May record low C = -5.0

|Jun record low C = -6.1

|Jul record low C = 0.3

|Aug record low C = 0.6

|Sep record low C = 0

|Oct record low C = -7.2

|Nov record low C = -12.8

|Dec record low C = -18.9

|precipitation colour = green

|Jan precipitation mm = 74.2

|Feb precipitation mm = 81.9

|Mar precipitation mm = 82.0

|Apr precipitation mm = 88.6

|May precipitation mm = 112.3

|Jun precipitation mm = 72.1

|Jul precipitation mm = 96.5

|Aug precipitation mm = 121.5

|Sep precipitation mm = 163.9

|Oct precipitation mm = 151.3

|Nov precipitation mm = 132.9

|Dec precipitation mm = 91.6

|Jan precipitation days = 21.1

|Feb precipitation days = 17.9

|Mar precipitation days = 15.3

|Apr precipitation days = 11.5

|May precipitation days = 11.1

|Jun precipitation days = 9.0

|Jul precipitation days = 11.1

|Aug precipitation days = 11.7

|Sep precipitation days = 11.6

|Oct precipitation days = 13.6

|Nov precipitation days = 16.9

|Dec precipitation days = 20.5

|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm

|Jan sun = 31.0

|Feb sun = 44.8

|Mar sun = 86.8

|Apr sun = 117.0

|May sun = 124.0

|Jun sun = 111.0

|Jul sun = 102.3

|Aug sun = 102.0

|Sep sun = 132.0

|Oct sun = 130.2

|Nov sun = 60.0

|Dec sun = 33.0

|source 1 = HKO (precipitation days){{cite web | url = http://www.hko.gov.hk/wxinfo/climat/world/eng/europe/russia/simusir_e.htm | title = Climatological Information for Simusir Island, Russia | access-date = 5 December 2011 | publisher = Hong Kong Observatory | archive-date = 24 September 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120924055102/http://www.hko.gov.hk/wxinfo/climat/world/eng/europe/russia/simusir_e.htm | url-status = dead }}

|source 2 = climatebase.ru {{cite web|title=Simusir, Russia|url=http://climatebase.ru/station/32195/?lang=en|publisher=Climatebase.ru|access-date=30 January 2013}}

Météo Climat (records) {{cite web|url=http://meteo-climat-bzh.dyndns.org/station-2095-1950-2013.php|title=Météo Climat stats for Simushir |publisher=Météo Climat|access-date=1 November 2019}}

|date=November 11

}}

In the spring crested and least auklet, Leach's storm petrel, and Japanese cormorant nest on the island.Kondratyev, A. Y., Litvinenko, N. M., Shibaev, Y. V., Vyatkin, P. S., & Kondratyeva, L. F. (2000). [http://publications.gc.ca/collections/Collection/CW69-15-4-2000E.pdf "The breeding seabirds of the Russian Far East"]. Seabirds of the Russian Far East, 37-81.

• List of volcanoes in Russia
• List of islands of Russia

{{reflist}}

• 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.
• {{cite web | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/10/24/world/russians-said-to-have-built-submarine-base-near-japan.html | title=Russians Said to Have Built Submarine Base Near Japan | publisher= The New York Times | date=October 24, 1982 | access-date=March 14, 2012}}

{{commons category }}

• {{cite gvp|name=Uratman|vn=290191|access-date=2021-06-25}}
• {{cite gvp|name=Prevo Peak|vn=290190|access-date=2021-06-25}}
• {{cite gvp|name=Zavaritzki Caldera|vn=290180|access-date=2021-06-25}}
• {{cite gvp|name=Milna|vn=290161|access-date=2021-06-25}}
• {{cite web|url=http://www.oceandots.com/pacific/kuril/simushir.php |title=Oceandots |access-date=May 28, 2010 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101223043232/http://www.oceandots.com/pacific/kuril/simushir.php |archive-date=December 23, 2010 }}
• [http://www.theoceanadventure.com/KIIE/KI8.html Simushir submarine base]

{{Kuril Islands}}

{{Sea of Okhotsk Islands}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Islands of the Sea of Okhotsk

Category:Islands of the Russian Far East

Category:Stratovolcanoes of Russia

Category:Islands of the Kuril Islands

Category:Volcanoes of the Kuril Islands

Category:Uninhabited islands of Russia

Category:Uninhabited islands of the Pacific Ocean

Category:Calderas of Russia

Category:Mountains of the Kuril Islands

Category:Russian and Soviet Navy submarine bases