The largest lakes of the Kuril Islands: morphometry and geographical distribution (materials for the database)

The work presents modern data on the location, morphometry, and genesis of the largest lakes basins of the Kuril Islands obtained in the volcanological expeditions of the IMGG FEB RAS during 2005– 2018 and using open geographic information resources. 1099 lakes were sampled according to the criterion S ≥ 1 km², the list of studied objects included 20 reservoirs, represented by 7 volcanic and 13 lagoon lakes. The considered lakes are clearly divided according to their origin, area and height of the mirror, and maximum depth. The most part of large lakes falls on the Southern Kurils, and the largest water body – the volcanic lake Koltsevoe – is located on Onekotan Island, which is a part of the group of the Northern Kurils. Volcanic lakes occupy an area of 48.26 km² (60 % of the total area of 20 lakes), the depth varies in the range from several tens to several hundred meters. This category of lakes is characterized by relatively high levels of the mirror, which range from 50 to 648 m above sea level. Lagoon lakes occupy an area of 32.15 km² (40 % of the total area of 20 lakes), the depth of water bodies is small – from 1 to 23 m, the absolute height of the lake mirror is from 1–5 to 8–9 m.