Russia is expanding

The largest area of ​​the planet continues to increase thanks to earthquakes and volcanic eruptions in the Far East.

An earthquake on Sakhalin Island in 2007 caused the island area to increase by nearly 3 km ² . Photo: Telegraph.

Boris Levin, director of the Russian Institute of Marine and Geophysics, said the country had nearly 4.5 km ^{2 of} land thanks to an earthquake on Sakhalin Island in 2007 and volcanic eruptions on Matua - a Uninhabited island located in northern Japan.

According to research by the Russian Institute of Marine Geology and Geophysics, the recent earthquake on Sakhalin Island made a part of the sea floor rise and become a land.

'The new land area on Sakhalin Island has an area of ​​nearly 3 km ² . Another new 1.5 km ^{2 area} appeared on Matua Island after the Sarychev volcano erupted violently from June this year. Geologists went to the island and measured its area , 'the Telegraph quoted Levin as saying on Russia's Vesti-24 television channel.

Sakhalin (yellow) is Russia's largest island.Photos: geography.about.com.

Sarychev is one of the most active volcanoes on the island of Matua, which Russia calls Kuril (located between Japan's Hokkaido island and the Kamchatka peninsula of Russia).

Dr. Sue Loughlin, an expert with the British Geography Department, said that the Kuril Islands are primarily made up of cold lava from volcanoes.

'Volcanic activity makes the island's land area increase thanks to lava flows. When lava flows, mud and other forms of volcanic material adhere to the slopes of the island , 'she explained.

Professor David Pyle, a researcher in the Department of Earth Sciences, Oxford University, explains how the phenomenon of volcanic eruption can create new land.

'A huge column of dust and smoke appears in the atmosphere after the Sarychev volcano opened on June 12, 2009. It was so big that astronauts on the International Space Station could see it. It is very likely that pumice, soil, cold lava and ash from volcanoes have increased the land area , 'he said.

Sarychev volcano on the island of Matua erupted on June 12.The column of dust that it produces is so great that one can observe it from the universe.Then Matua island area increased by 1.5 km ² . Photo: NASA.

Pyle added that ecosystems will quickly grow on new lands.

'The forms of volcanic material are very fertile so plants will multiply rapidly,' he said.

According to Pyle, because Matua Island is too far away, the scientific community cannot know exactly how many times it erupted.

'But it probably erupted at least 10 times in the last century,' he commented.

Sakhalin is Russia's largest island. Forests covering the entire island and mountains occupy 2/3 of the area. At the beginning of the 20th century, about 32,000 Russians - including 22,000 prisoners - came to the island to live with a few thousand indigenous people. Today Sakhalin's population is approximately 546,700 people.