Relentless

The Kuril Islands bring Fire back to the Ring of Fire.

Tucked into a remote corner north of Japan, Sarychev Peak in the Kuril islands is one of the world’s most active volcanoes, and as of very recently, one of the most photogenic.

These photographs, courtesy of the NASA Earth Observatory, show recent volcanic activity on the north of the Kuril Islands archipelago, which is the region's most intense eruption one to date since 1989.

Part of the tectonically unstable region, and the crown jewel of the Pacific ‘Ring of Fire’ these islands are also the focus of political volatility – they have been a disputed area between Russia and Japan since World War II and as a result are both a cultural, as well a natural peculiarity.

Images of the dust cloud dramatically protruding the stratosphere, as seen from space.

Volcanic activity aside, the NASA Earth Observatory is a spectacular collection of up-to-date, high-resolution photographs from space, which are well worth noting.