The Sakhalin Region in Russia’s Far East is the country’s only region located on islands. The area’s main natural feature is high seismic and volcanic activity, mostly on the Kuril Islands.
The Sakhalin Region in Russia’s Far East is the country’s only region located on islands. The area’s main natural feature is high seismic and volcanic activity, mostly on the Kuril Islands.
The Sakhalin Region’s waters are full of fish. Photo: Catching dog salmon near Kunashir Island.
For those who have never visited Sakhalin, it is primarily associated with red caviar.
The Gorny Vozdukh ski resort is located almost within the city limits of Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk – the administrative center of the Sakhalin Region – and is popular with downhill skiers.
Sakhalin Island sees a lot of snow in winter. The north of the island gets covered with snow in late October, while it reaches the south of the island nearly a month later. The snow is at its deepest in March, when it ranges from 50 cm in the north to 70 cm in the south, and up to a meter in the east.
The Kuril Islands are a chain of islands that stretch from Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula to Japan’s Island of Hokkaido. Commercial exploration for non-ferrous metal ores, mercury, natural gas and oil has been conducted on the islands and along the coastal area. Three of the Kuril Islands – Iturup, Kunashir and Shikotan – were occupied by Soviet forces at the end of World War II, and are still claimed by Japan.
The island of Iturup is home to many thermal and mineral springs, the most popular of which are located in the valleys of the Kipyashchaya and Sernaya rivers.
Russia’s Far East is home to a rare species of yew tree. Forests where the protected tree grows are classified as nature reserves.
Bogdan Khmelnitsky is an active volcano on Iturup Island on the Greater Kuril Ridge.
A rookery of northern fur seals and sea lions on Tyuleny (Seal) Island.
Sakhalin is the only region in Russia that produces agar, a jelly obtained from Ahnfeltia, a type of red algae.
Shikotan is the largest island in the Lesser Chain of the Kuril Islands. The cape in the northeast of the island is known as the Edge of the World. To visit Shikotan, tourists need a border pass.
