The relief is middle mountainous and of volcanic origin. Four volcanoes are still active. On other islands grass areas and sea racks prevail. The landscape has a mosaik character and consists of spots of forests and bamboo, meadows and open bogs. Marine landscapes dominate.
Landscape structures consists of mineral islands, lakes and pools, small rivers and streams.
The island is inhabited by brown bear, fox, weasel, hare and sable tiger. Marine mamals include species such as harbor seal, Stellar's sea lion, sea otter, humpbacked whale, killer whale and Risso's grey dolphin. Hundreds of thousands of migratory birds use the site as a stop-over or wintering place. The islands host breeding colonies of species of the central and southern Pacific. The rivers and lakes offer spawning grounds to all 22 species of salmon of the Okhotsk sea region.