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Category Geography

What do we know about continental islands?

Continental islands lie off the large land masses that form continents. They lie on the continental shelf, which is the sloping, underwater ledge found at the edge of continents.

Continental islands were once part of a huge single land mass called Pangaea. Eventually, slow movements of the Earth’s crust broke Pangaea apart into several pieces that began to drift away. When the breakup occurred, some large chunks of land split from the bigger land masses. These fragments of land that were surrounded by the sea became islands.

Greenland and Madagascar are examples of continental islands that were formed in this manner. Other continental islands were formed because of changes in the sea level.

About 18,000 years ago, ice covered large parts of our planet. As this ice began to melt, the sea level rose. The ocean flooded many low-lying areas, creating islands such as the British Isles, which were once part of mainland Europe.

 

What are the different types of islands?

 
 
 
 
There are several types of islands like continental islands and oceanic islands. Continental islands are found in shallow seas off large land masses. Greenland and Sri Lanka are examples of continental islands.

Oceanic islands are found out in the ocean. Most oceanic islands were created by volcanic activity, and are known as volcanic islands.

The majority of volcanic islands are found in the Pacific Ocean. The best example of such an island is Hawaii. In addition, there are also sedimentary and barrier islands. Sedimentary islands, like Friesan Island, are formed by the sediment that is deposited by rivers.

A barrier island is a long, thin, sandy stretch of land that runs parallel to the coastline. Long Island, New York, is a good example of a barrier island.

Finally, there are coral islands, such as the Maldives in the Indian Ocean. They are composed of the limey skeletons of microscopic creatures known as coral polyps.

 

How is a peninsula different from an island?

While an island is surrounded by water on all sides, a peninsula is bordered by water only on three sides. A peninsula will always be connected to the mainland on one side. Peninsulas can be small, or very large. They are found on every continent.

In Europe, Portugal and Spain form the Iberian Peninsula. The Horn of Africa, which juts into the Arabian Sea, is a huge peninsula. The nations of North Korea and South Korea make up the Korean Peninsula in Eastern Asia.

 In Australia, there is the Cape York Peninsula. And of course, the Indian subcontinent forms a huge peninsula, bordered by the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the Indian Ocean.

What is the difference between an island and an archipelago?

Sometimes, islands are formed very close together, in clusters. Such a cluster of islands is called an archipelago.

Archipelagos can be made up of hundreds, or even thousands, of islands. These islands may differ from one another in their plant and animal life.

 Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, New Zealand, Greece, Hawaii, Maldives, Azores, and New York City are examples of well-known archipelagos. Indonesia is the world’s largest archipelago by area and population.

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What is an island?

An island is an area of land that is completely surrounded by water. Islands come in all shapes and forms. They can vary in size from a single rock, to a huge land mass.

Greenland is the world’s largest island. Australia is also surrounded by water, but it is considered to be a continent, rather than an island. It is difficult to determine the world’s smallest island, but some, like Singapore, are really tiny.

Islands can be found in the middle of the ocean, or just off the coast. They are also found in rivers, deltas, and lakes.

Islands are formed in different ways, and they are classified according to how they came into existence. Many islands have flora and fauna that are unique to them, and found nowhere else in the world.