Chirpoy
Encyclopedia
Chyornie Bratya is collectively the name for a pair of uninhabited volcanic islands located between Simushir
and Urup
in the Kuril Islands
chain in the Sea of Okhotsk
in the northwest Pacific Ocean
. The larger of the two is named Chirpoy, and the smaller is named Brat Chirpoev (Russian for Chirpoy's Brother). The origin of the names is uncertain: the original Ainu language
name of the island was Repunmoshiri, a word meaning “place of many small birds”.
which measures 8–9 km wide. The two islands are surrounded by a number of small islet
s and offshore rocks and together, the collective forms the Chernye Brat'ya (Russian for Black Brothers) Islands. Both islands are separated by the Snou Strait
.
Chirpoy, the northernmost of the two islands, has an area of approximately 21 km², and consists of three overlapping stratovolcano
es. Vulkan Chernoga , with a height of 691 metres (2,267.1 ft) is the tallest point on the island.
Brat Chirpoev, the southern of the two islands, has an area of approximately 16 km². However, the tallest structure out of both islands is on Brat Chirpoy where 749 metres (2,457.3 ft) tall Brat Chirpoev dominates the island. Brat Chirpoy is the site of the southernmost of five major Steller sea lion rookeries on the Kuril Islands.
, a feudal domain of Edo period
Japan
dated 1644, and these holdings were officially confirmed by the Tokugawa shogunate
in 1715. Administration of the islands came under the Matsumae domain’s regional office location on Kunashir from 1756. In 1801, the Japanese government officially claimed control of the islands, incorporating them into Ezo Province (now Hokkaidō
), but sovereignty
passed to the Empire of Russia under the terms of the Treaty of Shimoda
in 1855. Under the Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1875), sovereignty passed to the Empire of Japan
along with the rest of the Kurile islands. The islands were formerly administered as part of Uruppu District of Nemuro Subprefecture
of Hokkaidō.
In 1952, upon signing the Treaty of San Francisco
, Japan renounced its claim to the islands.. The islands are uninhabited and are administered as part of the Sakhalin Oblast
of the Russian Federation.
Simushir
Simushir is an uninhabited volcanic island near the center of the Kuril Islands chain in the Sea of Okhotsk in the northwest Pacific Ocean. Its name is derived from the Ainu language for “large island”.-Geology:...
and Urup
Urup
Urup is an uninhabited volcanic island near in the south of the Kuril Islands chain in the Sea of Okhotsk in the northwest Pacific Ocean. Its name is derived from the Ainu language word for salmon trout.-Geography and climate:...
in the Kuril Islands
Kuril Islands
The Kuril Islands , in Russia's Sakhalin Oblast region, form a volcanic archipelago that stretches approximately northeast from Hokkaidō, Japan, to Kamchatka, Russia, separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the North Pacific Ocean. There are 56 islands and many more minor rocks. It consists of Greater...
chain in the Sea of Okhotsk
Sea of Okhotsk
The Sea of Okhotsk is a marginal sea of the western Pacific Ocean, lying between the Kamchatka Peninsula on the east, the Kuril Islands on the southeast, the island of Hokkaidō to the far south, the island of Sakhalin along the west, and a long stretch of eastern Siberian coast along the west and...
in the northwest Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. The larger of the two is named Chirpoy, and the smaller is named Brat Chirpoev (Russian for Chirpoy's Brother). The origin of the names is uncertain: the original Ainu language
Ainu language
Ainu is one of the Ainu languages, spoken by members of the Ainu ethnic group on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaidō....
name of the island was Repunmoshiri, a word meaning “place of many small birds”.
Geography
The Chirpoy islands are the remains of a partially submerged volcanic calderaCaldera
A caldera is a cauldron-like volcanic feature usually formed by the collapse of land following a volcanic eruption, such as the one at Yellowstone National Park in the US. They are sometimes confused with volcanic craters...
which measures 8–9 km wide. The two islands are surrounded by a number of small islet
Islet
An islet is a very small island.- Types :As suggested by its origin as islette, an Old French diminutive of "isle", use of the term implies small size, but little attention is given to drawing an upper limit on its applicability....
s and offshore rocks and together, the collective forms the Chernye Brat'ya (Russian for Black Brothers) Islands. Both islands are separated by the Snou Strait
Snou Strait
The Snou Strait is a stretch of water which separates Chirpoy from Brat Chirpoev. The channel is littered with offshore rocks and islets. It was named after Henry James Snow FRGS , an Englishman who hunted in and charted the Kuril Islands between 1873 and 1896....
.
Chirpoy, the northernmost of the two islands, has an area of approximately 21 km², and consists of three overlapping stratovolcano
Stratovolcano
A stratovolcano, also known as a composite volcano, is a tall, conical volcano built up by many layers of hardened lava, tephra, pumice, and volcanic ash. Unlike shield volcanoes, stratovolcanoes are characterized by a steep profile and periodic, explosive eruptions...
es. Vulkan Chernoga , with a height of 691 metres (2,267.1 ft) is the tallest point on the island.
Brat Chirpoev, the southern of the two islands, has an area of approximately 16 km². However, the tallest structure out of both islands is on Brat Chirpoy where 749 metres (2,457.3 ft) tall Brat Chirpoev dominates the island. Brat Chirpoy is the site of the southernmost of five major Steller sea lion rookeries on the Kuril Islands.
History
Chirpoy appears on an official map showing the territories of Matsumae DomainMatsumae clan
The was a Japanese clan which was granted the area around Matsumae, Hokkaidō as a march fief in 1590 by Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and charged with defending it, and by extension all of Japan, from the Ainu 'barbarians' to the north. The clan was originally known as the Kakizaki clan who settled...
, a feudal domain of Edo period
Edo period
The , or , is a division of Japanese history which was ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family, running from 1603 to 1868. The political entity of this period was the Tokugawa shogunate....
Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
dated 1644, and these holdings were officially confirmed by the Tokugawa shogunate
Tokugawa shogunate
The Tokugawa shogunate, also known as the and the , was a feudal regime of Japan established by Tokugawa Ieyasu and ruled by the shoguns of the Tokugawa family. This period is known as the Edo period and gets its name from the capital city, Edo, which is now called Tokyo, after the name was...
in 1715. Administration of the islands came under the Matsumae domain’s regional office location on Kunashir from 1756. In 1801, the Japanese government officially claimed control of the islands, incorporating them into Ezo Province (now Hokkaidō
Hokkaido
, formerly known as Ezo, Yezo, Yeso, or Yesso, is Japan's second largest island; it is also the largest and northernmost of Japan's 47 prefectural-level subdivisions. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although the two islands are connected by the underwater railway Seikan Tunnel...
), but sovereignty
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
passed to the Empire of Russia under the terms of the Treaty of Shimoda
Treaty of Shimoda
The Treaty of Shimoda of 1855, formally Treaty of Commerce and Navigation between Japan and Russia , was signed between the Russian Vice-Admiral Euphimy Vasil'evich Putiatin and Toshiakira Kawaji of Japan in the city of Shimoda, Izu Province, Japan, on February 7, 1855...
in 1855. Under the Treaty of Saint Petersburg (1875), sovereignty passed to the Empire of Japan
Empire of Japan
The Empire of Japan is the name of the state of Japan that existed from the Meiji Restoration on 3 January 1868 to the enactment of the post-World War II Constitution of...
along with the rest of the Kurile islands. The islands were formerly administered as part of Uruppu District of Nemuro Subprefecture
Nemuro Subprefecture
is a subprefecture of Hokkaidō, Japan. The Japanese claim the disputed Southern Kurile Islands as part of this subprefecture....
of Hokkaidō.
In 1952, upon signing the Treaty of San Francisco
Treaty of San Francisco
The Treaty of Peace with Japan , between Japan and part of the Allied Powers, was officially signed by 48 nations on September 8, 1951, at the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco, California...
, Japan renounced its claim to the islands.. The islands are uninhabited and are administered as part of the Sakhalin Oblast
Sakhalin Oblast
Sakhalin Oblast is a federal subject of Russia comprising the island of Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands.The oblast has an area of 87,100 km² and a population of 546,695...
of the Russian Federation.