Cape Lopatka

Cape Lopatka is a headland at the southern tip of Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, where the Sea of Okhotsk meets the Pacific Ocean.

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Kamchatka Peninsula: A large peninsula in Russia’s Far East between the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Okhotsk. Cape Lopatka forms the peninsula’s southern tip.
Headland: A point of land that projects into a body of water, often formed by resistant coastal rock. Cape Lopatka is a prominent headland at Kamchatka’s southern end.
Battle of Shumshu: A Soviet amphibious assault on Japanese-held Shumshu Island in August 1945. The battle unfolded across the strait opposite Cape Lopatka.
First Kamchatka Strait: A passage in the Kuril Islands separating Shumshu from Paramushir. This strait lies south of Shumshu along the route from the cape into the Kurils.
Kuril Islands: A volcanic island chain extending between Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula and Japan’s Hokkaido. The chain begins just south of the cape across the First Kuril Strait.
Kamchatka River: The longest river on Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, flowing northeast into the Bering Sea. Its valley helps define the peninsula’s interior beyond the cape’s coastal setting.
Paramushir: A volcanic island in the northern Kuril chain, south of Shumshu. The island continues the Kuril arc southward from the cape’s vicinity.
Aleutian Low: A semi-permanent low-pressure system over the North Pacific, strongest in winter. Its storms contribute to harsh maritime conditions around Kamchatka’s exposed southern tip.
First Kuril Strait: The strait separating Cape Lopatka from Shumshu, the northernmost major Kuril island. It is the narrow passage immediately south of the cape.
Pacific Ring of Fire: A belt of frequent earthquakes and volcanoes bordering much of the Pacific Ocean. The cape lies on a volcanic peninsula shaped by this active belt.