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See also:KURILES (See also:Jap. Chishima, " thousand islands ") , a See also:chain of small islands belonging to See also:Japan, stretching in a See also:north-easterly direction from Nemuro See also:Bay, on the extreme See also:east of the See also:island of See also:Yezo, to Chishima-kaikyo (Kuriles Strait), which separates them from the southernmost point of See also:Kamchatka. They extend from 440 45' to 50° 56' N. and from 145° 25' to 156° 32' E. Their coasts measure 1496 m.; their See also:area is 6159 sq. m.; their See also:total number is 32, and the names of the eight See also:principal islands, counting from the See also:south, are Kunashiri, Shikotan, Etorofu (generally called Etorop, and known formerly to See also:Europe as Staten Island), Urup, Simusir, Onnekotan, Paramoshiri (Paramusir) and Shumshiri. From Noshapzaki (Notsu-no-See also:sake or Notsu Cape), the most easterly point of Nemuro See also:province, to Tomari, the most See also:westerly point in Kunashiri, the distance is 71 m., and the Kuriles Strait separating Shumshiri from Kamchatka is about the same width. The name " Kurile " is derived from the See also:Russian kurit (to See also:smoke), in allusion to the active volcanic See also:character of the See also:group. The dense fogs that envelop these islands, and the violence of the currents in their vicinity, have greatly hindered exploration, so that little is known of their physiography. They See also:lie entangled in a vast See also:net of See also:sea-See also:weed; are the resort of innumerable birds, and used to be largely frequented by See also:seals and sea-otters, which, however, have been
almost completely driven away by unregulated See also:hunting. Near the south-eastern See also:coast of Kunashiri stands a See also:mountain called Rausunobori (3005 ft. high), See also:round whose See also:base See also:sulphur bubbles up in large quantities, and hot springs as well as a hot stream are found. On the See also:west coast of the same island is a boiling See also:lake, called Ponto, which deposits on its See also:bed and round its shores See also:black See also:sand, consisting almost entirely of pure sulphur. This island has several lofty peaks; Ponnobori-See also:yama near the eastcoast, and Chachanobori and Rurindake in the north. Chachanobori (about 7382 ft.) is described by Messrs See also:- CHAMBERLAIN (0. Fr. chamberlain, chamberlenc, Mod. Fr. chambellan, from O. H. Ger. Chamarling, Chamarlinc, whence also the Med. Lat. cambellanus, camerlingus, camerlengus; Ital. camerlingo; Span. camerlengo, compounded of 0. H. Ger. Chamara, Kamara [Lat.
- CHAMBERLAIN, JOSEPH (1836— )
- CHAMBERLAIN, JOSHUA LAWRENCE (1828– )
- CHAMBERLAIN, SIR NEVILLE BOWLES (1820-1902)
Chamberlain and See also:- MASON, FRANCIS (1799—1874)
- MASON, GEORGE (1725—1792)
- MASON, GEORGE HEMMING (1818–1872)
- MASON, JAMES MURRAY (1798-1871)
- MASON, JOHN (1586-1635)
- MASON, JOHN YOUNG (1799-1859)
- MASON, LOWELL (1792—1872)
- MASON, SIR JOHN (1503–1566)
- MASON, SIR JOSIAH (1795-1881)
- MASON, WILLIAM (1725—1797)
Mason as " a See also:cone within a cone, the inner and higher of the two being—so the natives say—surrounded by a lake." The island has extensive forests of conifers with an undergrowth of ferns and flowering See also:plants, and bears are numerous. The See also:chief See also:port of Kunashiri is Tomari,onthesouthcoast. The island of Shikotan is remarkable for the growth of a See also:species of See also:bamboo (called Shikotan-chiku), having dark See also:- BROWN
- BROWN, CHARLES BROCKDEN (1771-181o)
- BROWN, FORD MADOX (1821-1893)
- BROWN, FRANCIS (1849- )
- BROWN, GEORGE (1818-188o)
- BROWN, HENRY KIRKE (1814-1886)
- BROWN, JACOB (1775–1828)
- BROWN, JOHN (1715–1766)
- BROWN, JOHN (1722-1787)
- BROWN, JOHN (1735–1788)
- BROWN, JOHN (1784–1858)
- BROWN, JOHN (1800-1859)
- BROWN, JOHN (1810—1882)
- BROWN, JOHN GEORGE (1831— )
- BROWN, ROBERT (1773-1858)
- BROWN, SAMUEL MORISON (1817—1856)
- BROWN, SIR GEORGE (1790-1865)
- BROWN, SIR JOHN (1816-1896)
- BROWN, SIR WILLIAM, BART
- BROWN, THOMAS (1663-1704)
- BROWN, THOMAS (1778-1820)
- BROWN, THOMAS EDWARD (1830-1897)
- BROWN, WILLIAM LAURENCE (1755–1830)
brown spots on the See also:cane. Etorofu has a coast-See also:line broken by deep bays, of which the principal are Naibo-wan, Rubetsu-wan and Bettobuwan on the See also:northern See also:shore and Shitokap-wan on the See also:southern. It is covered almost completely with dense See also:forest, and has anumberof streams abounding with See also:salmon. Shana, the chief port, is in Rubetsu Bay. This island, the principal of the group, is divided into four provinces for administrative purposes, namely, Etorofu, Furubetsu, Shana and Shibetoro. Its mountains are Atosha-nobori (4035 ft.) in Etorofu; Chiripnupari (5009 ft.) in Shana; and Mokoro-nobori (3930 ft.) and Atuiyadake (3932 ft.) in Shibetoro. Among the other islands three only See also:call for See also:notice on See also:account of their altitudes, namely, Ketoi-jima, Rashua-jima and Matua-jima, which rise to heights of 3944, 3304 and 5240 ft. respectively.
See also:Population.—Not much is known about the See also:aborigines. By some authorities See also:Ainu colonists are supposed to have been the first settlers, and to have arrived there via Yezo; by others, the earliest corners are believed to have been a hyperborean tribe travelling southwards by way of Kamchatka. The islands themselves have not been sufficiently explored to determine whether they furnish any ethnological evidences. The See also:present population aggregates about 4400, or o1 per sq. m., of whom about 600 are Ainu (q.v.). There is little disposition to emigrate thither from Japan proper, the number of settlers being less than too annually.
See also:History.—The Kurile Islands were discovered in 1634 by the Dutch navigator See also:- MARTIN (Martinus)
- MARTIN, BON LOUIS HENRI (1810-1883)
- MARTIN, CLAUD (1735-1800)
- MARTIN, FRANCOIS XAVIER (1762-1846)
- MARTIN, HOMER DODGE (1836-1897)
- MARTIN, JOHN (1789-1854)
- MARTIN, LUTHER (1748-1826)
- MARTIN, SIR THEODORE (1816-1909)
- MARTIN, SIR WILLIAM FANSHAWE (1801–1895)
- MARTIN, ST (c. 316-400)
- MARTIN, WILLIAM (1767-1810)
Martin de Vries. The three southern islands, Kunashiri, Etorofu, and Shikotan, are believed to have belonged to Japan from a remote date, but at the beginning of the 18th See also:century the Russians, having conquered Kamchatka, found their way to the northern See also:part of the Kuriles in pursuit of See also:fur-bearing animals, with which the islands then abounded. Gradually these encroachments were pushed farther south, simultaneously with aggressions imperilling the See also:Japanese settlements in the southern See also:half of See also:Sakhalin. Japan's occupation was far from effective in either region, and in 1875 she was not unwilling to conclude a See also:convention by which she agreed to withdraw altogether from Sakhalin provided that See also:Russia withdrew from the Kuriles.
An officer of the Japanese See also:navy, Lieut. Gunji, See also:left See also:Tokyo with about See also:forty comrades in 1892, his intention being to See also:form a See also:settlement on Shumshiri, the most northerly of the Kurile Islands. They embarked in open boats, and for that See also:reason, as well as because they were going to constitute themselves their See also:country's extreme outpost, the enterprise attracted public See also:enthusiasm. After a See also:long struggle the immigrants became fairly prosperous.
See Capt. H. J. See also:Snow, Notes on the Kurile Islands (See also:London, 1896).
End of Article: KURILES (Jap. Chishima, " thousand islands ")
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