Onekotan is a deserted volcanic island in the northwest Pacific Ocean near the northern end of Russia’s Kuril Islands chain in the Sea of Okhotsk.
The archipelago consists of two stratovolcanos at each end, Krenitsyn and Nemo, connected by a flat strip of land. Crater lakes surround both volcanoes.
The 4344-foot Krenitsyn volcano on the island’s northern tip sits amid the wide Tao-Rusyr Caldera in Lake Koltsevoye, which formed following a volcanic eruption 10,000 years ago.
Nemo’s peak rests at 3,343 ft, flanked by the curved shape of Lake Chernoye.
Thankfully, landscape photographer Daniel Kordan in partnership with conservationist Vladimir Burkanov trekked Onekotan to give everyone a rare glimpse at the beautiful miracle of the Kuril Islands. Check it out in the aware-winning documentary From Kurils with Love.
