Top 10 Volcanoes in the Kuril Islands
The Kuril Islands curve for 1,300 kilometres between Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula and Japan's Hokkaido. They mark where the Pacific plate dives beneath Okhotsk, and they hold fifty-six volcanoes, many of them active. They are also among the least visited active volcanoes on Earth — a geopolitical and logistical no-man's land.
1. Sarychev Peak
A near-perfect cone on Matua Island. The 2009 eruption was one of the largest of the early 21st century, photographed from the International Space Station — the famous image of a "donut" cloud ringing the column.
2. Tyatya
A symmetrical cone on Kunashir Island in the southern chain. Its 1973 eruption included strong explosions and lava flows. The mountain is part of the disputed islands claimed by both Japan and Russia.
3. Ebeko
A persistently active volcano on Paramushir Island in the north, visible from the town of Severo-Kurilsk. Frequent ash plumes drift over the town's tin roofs; residents wear masks on bad days.
4. Chikurachki
Also on Paramushir, a sharp-peaked stratovolcano with several moderate eruptions in recent decades. The east flank carries the long Tatarinov ridge, with several adventitious cones.
5. Alaid
The northernmost Kuril volcano, on Atlasov Island. Sometimes called the Fuji of the Kurils for its conical profile. Its 2022-23 eruption sent lava flows down the west flank and an ash plume across the Sea of Okhotsk.
6. Onekotan
Two large stratovolcanoes share this island: Krenitsyn Peak rising out of a lake-filled caldera, and Nemo Peak to the north. The view of Krenitsyn from the air — a cone inside a lake inside a caldera — is one of the most striking volcanic sights anywhere.
7. Shiveluch (technically Kamchatka)
The southernmost Kamchatka volcano sits at the head of the Kuril chain. Its frequent dome eruptions feed the same arc; Kuril seismology and Shiveluch are typically studied together.
8. Berg
A small but persistent cone on Urup Island. Frequent explosive activity but little human exposure — Urup has no permanent population.
9. Iturup volcanoes (Atsonupuri, Baransky, Bogdan Khmelnitsky)
The largest of the southern Kurils, Iturup carries several active centres. Baransky has hot springs and fumarole fields used to supply geothermal power; Atsonupuri is one of the prettiest cones in the chain.
10. Submarine Kurils
Beneath the strait between the islands lie dozens of submarine volcanoes, some shallow enough to occasionally explode the surface. Russian survey vessels and SAR satellites monitor them continuously.
How to see them
Trips to the Kuril Islands are difficult. Russian expedition cruises from Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky reach the central chain; Japanese permission is required for the southern disputed islands. Most visitors are scientists or specialists; the rest of us watch the satellite imagery.
See them on the map
Open the map and follow the Kuril arc from Kamchatka south toward Hokkaido. The chain marks the boundary between the Pacific and the Sea of Okhotsk.