The Kuril Islands or Kurile Islands (, , or ; ; Japanese: ), in Russia's Sakhalin Oblast region, form a volcanic archipelago that stretches approximately northeast from Hokkaido, Japan, to Kamchatka, Russia, separating the Sea of Okhotsk from the North Pacific Ocean. There are 56 islands and many minor rocks. It consists of Greater Kuril Ridge and Lesser Kuril Ridge. The total land area is and the total population is 19,434.