Ushishir

a group of small islands in the central part of the Greater Kuril Chain between the Srednii and Rikord straits. The two main islands, Ryponkich and lankich, are the remains of what was once a single volcano. The highest elevation is 401 m. Kraternaia Bay, a caldera with a diameter of approximately 1 km, juts into lankich Island. The islands are composed of andesites and have fumaroles and thermal springs, which in the past were sacred places of the Ainu. There are prostrate shrubs and oceanic meadows on the islands.