Sakhalin and Kuril Islands

The Sakhalin and the Kurile Islands are located on the east of Russia; to the north and quite near Japan. The Major Kurile Archipelago stretches for 1,200 kilometers north west to the Kamchatka Peninsula. It includes 56 islands, of which Iturup, Kunashir and Paramushir are the largest. The Sakhalin Island lies between the continent and the Kuriles. It is equal in size to the European countries of Austria, Switzerland or Ireland. The Sakhalin resembles a giant fish in its shape. The broadest part of the island is about 160 km. The narrowest place - Poyasok Isthmus - is only 47 kilometers long. Nature reserves, protected by the state comprise 11,8 % of the region's area: 2 reserves (Poronaysky and Kurilsky), 1 special nature reserve of federal value (Maliye Kurily), 11 game preserves (protect and reproduce species),2 complex special nature reserves, 47 natural monuments, 1 National Park "Moneron Island", situated on a rocky island close to the Sakhalin southwestern coast. It is the first marine national park in Russia. It is located in the Tatar Strait, by the farthest southwestern point of the Sakhalin. The area of the island is about 30 square kilometers. The rare combination of various forms of underwater relief and influence of the warm Tsusimskoye Current explain why there are so many specimen of subtropical shellfish, sea urchin (Strongilacentrotus) and many fingered starfish in the underwater world of the Moneron Island.