Iturup

Iturup

Disputed island Native name: Ainu: エツ゚ヲロㇷ゚シㇼ
Sentinel-2 image of Iturup (May 2023)
Iturup Show map of Japan Iturup Show map of Russia
Other names	Russian: Итуру́п; Japanese: 択捉島
Geography
Location	Sea of Okhotsk
Coordinates	45°02′N 147°37′E / 45.033°N 147.617°E / 45.033; 147.617
Archipelago	Kuril Islands
Area	3,139 km2 (1,212 sq mi)
Length	200 km (120 mi)
Width	27 km (16.8 mi)
Highest elevation	1,634 m (5361 ft)
Highest point	Stokap
Administration
Russia
Federal subject	Sakhalin Oblast
District	Kurilsky
Claimed by
Japan
Prefecture	Hokkaido
Subprefecture	Nemuro
Demographics
Population	7,500 (2003)

Iturup (Russian: Итуру́п; Japanese: 択捉島), also historically known by other names, is an island in the Kuril Archipelago separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the North Pacific Ocean. The town of Kurilsk, administrative center of Kurilsky District, is located roughly midway along its western shore. Iturup is the largest and northernmost of the southern Kurils, ownership of which is disputed between Japan and Russia. It is located between Kunashiri 19 km (12 mi) to its southwest and Urup 37 km (23 mi) to its northeast. The Vries Strait between Iturup and Urup forms the Miyabe Line dividing the predominant plants of the Kurils.

The native inhabitants of the islands since at least the 14th century were the Ainu. Various European explorers passed the area over the years but settlement varied between Russian and Japanese. The island was formally claimed as Japanese territory in 1855. Near the end of the Second World War in 1945, the Soviet Union occupied the southern Kurils and forcibly removed its Japanese residents. Japan continues to claim the islands and considers the northern edge of the island to be its own northernmost point.