Ekarma Island

Ekarma Island is an uninhabited volcanic island in the northern Kuril chain, in the Sea of Okhotsk. Administratively it belongs to the North Kuril municipal district of Sakhalin Oblast and lies between the islands of Chirinkotan and Shiashkotan. The whole island is occupied by an active volcano and has no permanent population.

Nature and landscape

Ekarma is formed by two merged volcanic cones, the higher of which rises to almost 1170 meters above sea level. The island is oval in outline, roughly 5 by 7.5 kilometers, with an area of about 31.5 square kilometers. Its shores are steep: sheer cliffs and reefs surround the island on every side, leaving no sheltered bay or safe anchorage for ships nearby. The slopes have waterfalls and thermal mineral springs, typical of active Kuril volcanoes.

History

Traces of ancient settlements of the Okhotsk Iron Age culture have been found on the island, designated by archaeologists as Ekarma-1 and Ekarma-2. According to one version, the island's name is of Ainu origin and can be translated as "a convenient mooring" — although modern sailors note the opposite: the approaches to the island are difficult and exposed to wind and waves.

The return of the Aleutian cackling goose

Ekarma Island is linked to the recovery of the Aleutian cackling goose, a rare species that nearly disappeared during the 20th century. According to available accounts, in 1989 the Kamchatka ornithologist Nikolai Gerasimov proposed bringing the bird back to the Kurils. In 1992 the first batch of 19 birds was brought from the United States, and over the following twenty years helicopters delivered new groups of geese to the island; the last group of 85 birds was released in 2010. Today the geese breed on the island on their own, and their grown population is now seen even wintering in Japan.

Getting there

Landing on Ekarma independently is practically impossible: the island is uninhabited, with no piers or shelter for boats. It can mostly be seen as part of specialized expedition cruises along the Kuril Islands that pass by the Okhotsk Sea coast of the northern Kurils.