RI0F-Thousand Islands

The RI0F team will conduct activities on IOTA AS-204 Balamushir Island in the Kuril Islands of Russia from July 28 to August 3, 2024.
Team——R7AA, RK8A, RM0F.
Nearest DX Point R0F
RI0F Log Searchsearch They will operate on the HF band.
QSL passed R7AA, ClubLog OQRS.
QTH Positioner – QO80bq.

Previous events:
RU0LM, UA0LCZ, RX3F, RK3AW, R6MG and R7MR will be active from 16-26 June 2014 as RI0F from Kuril Islands (IOTA AS-062).
They will be active on the HF bands.
QSL by RX3F.

The Thousand Islands are a “harsh” yet wonderful land

The Kuril Islands stretch for 1,200 km from north to south, from the Kamchatka Peninsula to the island of Hokkaido, bordered by the Sea of ​​Okhotsk in the west and the Pacific Ocean in the east. These are two chains of volcanic islands, about 55 in number, forming the Great and Small Ranges of the Kuril Islands. Territorially, the islands belong to Russia, being part of the Sakhalin Oblast, but the 4 southern islands, including the largest island, Iturup, are disputed by Japan, which considers these lands to be part of its Northern Territories. The total area of ​​the Kuril Islands exceeds 10,500 square kilometers.

The islands are located at the junction of lithospheric plates and are part of the so-called Pacific Ring of Fire. Due to high seismic activity, the region is frequently hit by earthquakes and its coasts are often hit by devastating tsunamis. Of the more than 65 volcanoes, 36 are still active today, creating the harsh lava landscape of the islands. The Kuril Islands are mountainous, with the highest point being Mount Alaide (2,339 m) on Atlas Island.

When the Gods Ruled the World

The Kuril Islands were long inhabited by many Ainu tribes, who believed that these lands were created by gods and later inhabited by humans. “Kuru” means “people from outer space” in the Ainu language. The Kuril Islands were thus called “Kurils”, and soon the entire archipelago adopted this name.

In 1635, the Japanese explored the coastline of the Kuril Islands and drew a map, but since they did not dare to land on the islands, the map was not accurate. Ten years later, during the expedition of Martin Freis, the Dutch landed and described the lands in more detail. The Northern Kuril Islands began to be discussed in Russia after Vladimir Atlasov’s expedition to the distant Kamchatka Peninsula in 1697, and in 1711 a group of heroic Cossacks landed on Shumshu Island in the north and clashed with local tribes. By the end of the 18th century, more than 2,000 Kuril people were conquered by Russia, and Catherine II exempted them from all taxes. At the same time, the Japanese built two fortifications on Kunashir Island and carried out punitive operations deep into the islands.

At the end of World War II, Russian troops occupied all of the Kuril Islands, and Japan still considers the southern part of the islands its territory.

Headwind

The Kuril Islands have an oceanic climate, which varies from arctic in the north of the archipelago to temperate in the south, on Kunashir and Shikotan. Winters here are quite warm, and the air masses from the mainland bring cold winds and snow, which are softened by moist air currents from the Pacific Ocean. The average annual temperature in the southern part of the archipelago is +6-8 C°. In the north, the temperature reaches +11-13 C° in July.

The flora of the Kuril Islands is very diverse and varies with latitude. The northern islands of Shumshu and Baramushir are dominated by shrubs and small trees such as alder and rowan, as well as many herbaceous plants and berries such as blueberry, waterberry and lingonberry. Further south, on Urup and Kunashir, the flora is even richer: Sakhalin fir, Kuril larch and Ayang spruce are found next to maples, oaks and hydrangeas. Rare magnolias, aniseed lilies, mountain peonies and Kuril edelweiss can also be found here. In the central part of the archipelago, Kuril bamboo grows on islands and forms entire thickets on the slopes of volcanoes – the view is amazing!

Short-necked bear and albatross

On Iturup Island, one can still see brown bears, which once inhabited almost the entire archipelago. There are also “cunning” foxes and small rodents. Gulls, petrels, falcons and giant albatrosses with a wingspan of up to 4 meters soar in the sky. In order to protect the natural resources of the area, a nature reserve was established as early as 1984, and more than 80 rare animal species have made their home here.

The waters around the Kuril Islands are rich in crabs, squid, fish and mollusks, which are exported in large quantities. Swift seals, sea otters and carnivorous killer whales – fearsome hunters of the sea – scurry through the waters.

From edge to edge

The population is unevenly distributed throughout the archipelago. About 20,000 people live mainly on the largest islands: Iturup, Kunashir, and the islands of Balamushir and Shikotan. The largest towns are Severokurilsk and Kurilsk. The rest of the Kuril people live in coastal villages.

Mineral resources have been discovered on the islands: non-ferrous metals (gold, silver), iron, mercury, titanium, as well as natural gas and oil deposits. However, due to the shortage of energy resources, the capacity for resource development and extraction is poor. To solve this problem, it is planned to build several power plants in the Kuril Islands. The fishing industry is actively developing. Sea farms are restoring valuable fish species, which account for a large part of the Kuril Islands’ exports.

The Thousand Islands are such a harsh yet beautiful land!

RI0F. Where are the Thousand Islands located. Map.