IN FORBIDDEN SEAS 
CHAPTER I 
THE KURIL ISLANDS 
As this book will deal more particularly with sea- 
otter hunting and adventures among the Kuril 
Islands, I will begin by giving a short account of 
those islands, for they lie in a part of the world so 
little known and frequented that the vast majority 
of people have little or no idea where they are 
situated. 
The Kuril Islands form the eastern boundary of 
the Sea of Okotsk, and extend in almost a straight 
line in a north-east direction from the east coast of 
Yezo to the southern extremity of Kamchatka, a 
distance of about 630 geographical miles. Their 
total area is 2,788 geographical square miles. Shiko- 
tan and the small group of islands lying off the 
easternmost point of Yezo can hardly be said to 
belong to the Kuril Chain. The spelling of the 
names of the islands will be found to vary on dif¬ 
ferent maps. I have adopted that used on the 
British Admiralty charts of 1897. 
All the islands, with the exception of Shumshir, 
are mountainous and of volcanic origin. Active, 
dormant, or extinct volcanoes are found on every 
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