The Rat Islands are a volcanic group

Volcanic group

A volcanic group is a collection of related volcanoes or volcanic landforms. Note that the term is also used in a different sense when it denotes a suite of associated rock strata largely of volcanic origin; see group for details.-Notable volcanic groups:-See also:*Complex...

 of islands in the Aleutian Islands in southwest Alaska

Alaska

Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...

, between Buldir Island and the Near Islands

Near Islands

The Near Islands or Sasignan Islands are the smallest and westernmost group of the Aleutian Islands in southwestern Alaska.-Geography:The largest of the Near Islands are Attu and Agattu...

 group to its west, and Amchitka Pass

Amchitka Pass

Amchitka Pass is a strait in Alaska, United States. It is located in the Aleutian Islands, between the Rat Islands group to the west and the Delarof Islands to the east. Amchitka Pass has a least width of 50 miles and depths of 49 to over 1,000 fathoms. The islands on both sides of the pass should...

 and the Andreanof Islands

Andreanof Islands

The Andreanof Islands are a group of islands in the Aleutian Islands in southwest Alaska. They are located between Amchitka Pass and the Rat Islands group to the west, and Amukta Pass and the Islands of Four Mountains group to the east, at about 52° North and 172°57' to 179°09' West. The islands...

 group to its east, at about 51°47′17"N 178°18′10"E.

The largest islands in the group are, from west to east, Kiska

Kiska

Kiska is an island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands of Alaska located at . It is about long and varies in width from - Discovery :...

, Little Kiska

Little Kiska Island

Little Kiska Island is an island off east coast of the island of Kiska in the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. It lies immediately east of Kiska Harbor.-References:...

, Segula

Segula Island

Segula Island is an island in the Rat Islands archipelago of the western Aleutian Islands, Alaska. It consists of a Holocene stratovolcano, called Segula Volcano.Segula Island is three to four miles in diameter, and is located about east of Kiska Island...

, Rat

Rat Island (Alaska)

Rat Island is an island in the Rat Islands archipelago of the western Aleutian Islands in the U.S. state of Alaska. The island has a land area of 10.3126 sq mi and no permanent population...

 or Kryssei, Khvostof

Khvostof Island

Khvostof Island is an island in the Rat Islands archipelago of the Western Aleutian Islands, Alaska.-References:...

, Davidof

Davidof Island

Davidof Island is an island in the Rat Islands archipelago of the Western Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Davidof Island is irregular in shape with a north-south length of 2 miles and a greatest width of 0.7 mile. The high point in the south part is 1,074 feet, and the summit in the north part is 922...

, Little Sitkin

Little Sitkin Island

Little Sitkin Island is a volcanic island in the Rat Islands archipelago of the Western Aleutian Islands, Alaska, about three miles east of Davidof Island. Great Sitkin Island lies 185 mi further east in the Andreanof Islands.Little Sitkin is roughly circular and about 6 miles in diameter...

, Amchitka

Amchitka

Amchitka is a volcanic, tectonically unstable island in the Rat Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in southwest Alaska. It is part of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge. The island is about long, and from wide...

, and Semisopochnoi

Semisopochnoi Island

Semisopochnoi Island is part of the Rat Islands group in the western Aleutian Islands of Alaska. The island is uninhabited and provides an important nesting area for maritime birds. The island is of volcanic origin, containing several volcanoes including Mount Cerberus...

. The total land area of the Rat Islands is 360.849 sq mi (934.594 km²). None of the islands are inhabited.

The name Rat Islands is the English translation of the name given to the islands by Captain Fyodor Petrovich Litke

Fyodor Petrovich Litke

Count Fyodor Petrovich Litke , born Friedrich Benjamin Lütke, was a Russian navigator, geographer, and Arctic explorer. He became a count in 1866, and an admiral in 1855. He was a Corresponding Member , Honorable Member , and President of the Russian Academy of Science in St.Petersburg...

 in 1827 when he visited the Aleutian Islands on a voyage around the world. The islands are named so because of the rats that have ruled Rat Island since about 1780. As of 2009, the island is believed to be rat free.

The Rat Islands are very earthquake-prone as they are located on the boundary of the Pacific and North American tectonic plates. In 1965, there was a major earthquake

1965 Rat Islands earthquake

The 1965 Rat Islands earthquake occurred at 05:01 UTC, on 4 February. It had a magnitude of 8.7 and triggered a tsunami of over 10 m on Shemya Island, but caused very little damage.-Damage:...

with a magnitude of 8.7 in the Rat Islands.