The island chain known as the Kurils stretches north across the Pacific Ocean from the Japanese island of Hokkaido to the southern tip of Russia's the Kamchatka Peninsula. It consists of 56 islands and minor rocks. The chain is part of the belt of geologic instability circling the Pacific and contains at least 100 volcanoes, of which 35 are still active, and many hotsprings. Earthquakes and tidal waves are common phenomena over these islands. Four islands - which Russia calls the Southern Kurils and Japan call the Northern Territories - are the subject of a 60-year-old dispute between the two nations . They are Kunashir (known in Japanese as Kunashiri), Iturup (Etorofu), Shikotan and the rocky Habomai islets. The southernmost islet in the Habomai group lies only a few kilometres off Nemuro on the Japanese island of Hokkaido Because of the dispute, Russia and Japan have not yet signed a peace treaty to end World War II.