Katharine’s Great Geography Lesson

by Katharine MacDonald

In an effort to improve the geographical knowledge and international awareness of the UPEI student populace, MacDonald attempts to teach you about four new places you probably haven’t heard of (and neither have we).

In this week’s article, we’ll start with the ‘Barren, Cold Islands’ category.

1) The Kamchatka Peninsula, Sakhalin, & Kuril Islands, Far East Russia

Region within the Kamchatka and Sakhalin Oblast krai (state) on the Sea of Okhotsk

Main city: Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (198,000)

Travel expense: as low as $7028 one-way from Toronto

Once known to Muscovites as the ‘land of fire’ because of its abundant (160) volcanoes, the Kamchatka peninsula is the southernmost stretch of Arctic tundra in the world. Bears, wolves, foxes, ermine, and many more kinds of mammals and fish call this region home, thanks to the temperate climate, low population density and minimal land development. The area has been greatly disputed in recent history, with Sakhalin and the Kurils being claimed by both Russia and Japan for the past century and a half.

2) The Faeroe Islands (Føroyar), Denmark

Autonomous province in the North Atlantic Ocean

Main city: Tórshavn (19,400)

Travel expense: $1031 one-way from Charlottetown to Copenhagen (Expedia won’t give me a figure to get to Vágar airport)

Found half-way between Ireland and Iceland are the Faeroe (or Faroe) islands, a cluster of eighteen small, green, rugged isles. Roughly 40,000 people inhabit the islands, where fishing and sheep-herding are the most common occupations. The Faeroes are the only place in the world where Faroese, a Germanic language similar to Norwegian, is principally spoken. A separatist movement has been present for some time, though past referendums have kept the Islands under Danish jurisdiction.

3) Anticosti Island (Ile d’Anticosti), Quebec

Island municipality belonging to Côte-Nord in the Gulf of St. Lawrence

Main city: Port-Menier (266, mostly lighthouse keepers)

Travel expense: Apparently, no one flies there - check for yourself, it’s airport “YPN”

The Island of Anticosti only became part of Quebec in 1974. Before then, it had a string of owners: the Innu and Mi’kmaq, the French, Louis Jolliet, the British Empire, Gabriel-Elzéar Taschereau, and not so long ago, a chocolate maker by the name of Henri Menier. Since then, the 20th largest island in Canada has become a formidable destination for hunters and fishers who cherish its unspoiled forests and harbours.

4) Aleutian Islands, Alaska

Archipelago along the Bering Strait in the North Pacific Ocean

Main city: Unalaska (4,300)

Travel expense: as low as $1243 one-way from Toronto

The Aleutians, home to the Aleut people, became part of the United States in the late 1860's. Before this time, the Islands were claimed by Russia, evident from the dotting of Russian Orthodox churches in Aleutian communities. The 300 or so islands extend straight from Alaska to Russia, and are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, to which Kamchatka and the Kurils also belong.