Urup

Urup (Russian: Уру́п, romanized: Urúp, Japanese: 得撫島, romanized: Uruppu-tō, Ainu: ウルㇷ゚, romanized: Urup) is a volcanic island in the Kuril Islands chain in the south of the Sea of Okhotsk, northwest Pacific Ocean. Its name is derived from the Ainu language word urup, meaning "sockeye salmon". Historically, the island was populated and a Japanese garrison was present in the Second World War and then a Russian garrison. Today, the island is uninhabited although there are former mining operations on the island where temporary workers have resided. It is administered as part of the Sakhalin Oblast of the Russian Federation. Urup is essentially rectangular in shape, with a long axis of 120 kilometers (75 miles) and a narrow axis of about 20 kilometers (12 miles). It is the fourth largest of the Kuril Islands, with an area of 1,430 square kilometres (552 square miles). The highest point is Gora Ivao at 1,426 metres (4,678 ft). A number of tiny islets and rocks are scattered around the coast of Urup. The strait between Urup and Iturup is known as the Vries Strait, after Dutch explorer Maarten Gerritsz Vries, the first recorded European to explore the area.