Ailsa Craig, an ancient volcanic plug off the south-west coast of Scotland

A small Fijian island.

A small island in the Adriatic Sea

An island (IPA: /ˈaɪlənd/) or isle (/ˈaɪl/) is any piece of land that is completely surrounded by water in two dimensions, above high tide, and isolated from other significant landmasses. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls are called islets. A key or cay is another name for a small island or islet. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot, /ˈaɪət/. Look up island in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is about Ailsa Craig, a Scottish island. ... This article is about the country. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 229 pixel Image in higher resolution (2048 × 585 pixel, file size: 195 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) I created this picture and I release this picture into the public domain. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 229 pixel Image in higher resolution (2048 × 585 pixel, file size: 195 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) I created this picture and I release this picture into the public domain. ... Island in the adriatic, taken by user:donarreiskoffer June 2003, high resolution picture on request on talk page. ... Island in the adriatic, taken by user:donarreiskoffer June 2003, high resolution picture on request on talk page. ... A satellite image of the Adriatic Sea. ... Portion of a Pacific atoll showing two islets on the ribbon or barrier reef separated by a deep pass between the ocean and the lagoon. ... Mōkōlea Rock in Kailua Bay, O‘ahu, Hawai‘i, 2. ... A cay (also spelled key, but both are pronounced alike as key [IPA: ]) is a small, low island consisting mostly of sand or coral. ... AIT may refer to: Academy for Information Technology, Scotch Plains, New Jersey Academy of Information Technology and Engineering, formerly Academy of Information Technology, Stamford, Connecticut Adichunchanagiri Institute of Technology Advanced Individual Training Advanced International Translations, localization, translation and software development company Advanced Infantry Training Advanced Intelligent Tape Advanced Internet Technology...

There are two main types of islands: continental islands and oceanic islands. There are also artificial islands. A grouping of geographically and/or geologically related islands is called an archipelago. Before Mexico City, Tenochtitlan was an artificial island of 250,000 (Dr Atl) Dejima, not allowed direct contact with nearby Nagasaki Formoza (Gdynia) The World in Dubai An artificial island is an island that has been formed by human, rather than natural means. ... The Mergui Archipelago The Archipelago Sea, situated between the Gulf of Bothnia and the Gulf of Finland, the largest archipelago in the world by the number of islands. ...

The word island comes from Old English ī(e)gland (literally, "watery land"). However, the spelling of the word was modified in the 15th century by association with the etymologically unrelated Old French loanword isle.^[1] Old English (also called Anglo-Saxon[1], Old English: ) is an early form of the English language that was spoken in parts of what is now England and southern Scotland between the mid-fifth century and the mid-twelfth century. ... Etymologies redirects here. ...

There is no standard of size which distinguishes islands from islets and continents. Mōkōlea Rock in Kailua Bay, O‘ahu, Hawai‘i, 2. ... Animated, colour-coded map showing the various continents. ...

When defining islands as pieces of land that are completely surrounded by water, narrow bodies of water like rivers and canals are generally left out of consideration^{[citation needed]}. For instance, in France the Canal du Midi connects the Garonne river to the Mediterranean Sea, thereby completing a continuous water connection from the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. So technically, the land mass that includes the Iberian Peninsula and the part of France that is south of the Garonne River and the Canal du Midi is completely surrounded by water. For a completely natural example, the Orinoco River splits into two branches near Tamatama, in Amazonas state, Venezuela. The southern branch flows south and joins the Rio Negro, and then the Amazon. Thus, all of the Guianas (Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana) and substantial parts of Brazil and Venezuela are surrounded by (river or ocean) water. These instances are not generally considered islands. For other uses, see River (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Canal (disambiguation). ... The Canal du Midi or Canal des Deux Mers (Occitan: Canal de las Doas Mars / Canal del Miègjorn) is a 240 km long canal in the south (le Midi) of France. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Mediterranean redirects here. ... The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe, and includes modern day Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar. ... For other uses, see Orinoco (disambiguation). ...

This also helps explain why Africa-Eurasia can be seen as one continuous landmass (and thus technically the biggest island): generally the Suez Canal is not seen as something that divides the land mass in two. For other uses, see Suez (disambiguation). ...

On the other hand, an island may still be described as such despite the presence of a land bridge, e.g., Singapore and its causeway or the various Dutch delta Islands, such as IJsselmonde. The retaining of the island description may therefore be to some degree simply due to historical reasons - though the land bridges are often of a different geological nature (for example sand instead of stone), and thus the islands remain islands in a more scientific sense as well. Satellite image of the Rhine-Meuse delta, showing the island of IJsselmonde (9) IJsselmonde is an island between the Nieuwe Maas, Noord and Oude Maas rivers in the province of Zuid Holland in the Netherlands. ...

Types

Continental islands

Angel Island in San Francisco Bay

Continental islands are bodies of land that lie on the continental shelf of a continent. Examples include Greenland and Sable Island off North America; Barbados and Trinidad off South America; Great Britain, Ireland and Sicily off Europe; Sumatra and Java off Asia; and New Guinea, Tasmania and Kangaroo Island off Australia. Image File history File links Angelskyview. ... Image File history File links Angelskyview. ... Aerial view of Angel Island. ...  Sediment  Rock  Mantle  The global continental shelf, highlighted in cyan The continental shelf is the extended perimeter of each continent and associated coastal plain, which is covered during interglacial periods such as the current epoch by relatively shallow seas (known as shelf seas) and gulfs. ... Sable Island from space, April 1994. ... North American redirects here. ... For other uses, see Trinidad (disambiguation). ... South America South America is a continent crossed by the equator, with most of its area in the Southern Hemisphere. ... Sicily ( in Italian and Sicilian) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,708 km² (9,926 sq. ... For other uses, see Europe (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Sumatra (disambiguation). ... Java (Indonesian, Javanese, and Sundanese: Jawa) is an island of Indonesia, and the site of its capital city, Jakarta. ... For other uses, see Asia (disambiguation). ... Slogan or Nickname: Island of Inspiration; The Apple Isle; Holiday Isle Motto(s): Ubertas et Fidelitas (Fertility and Faithfulness) Other Australian states and territories Capital Hobart Government Constitutional monarchy Governor William Cox Premier Paul Lennon (ALP) Federal representation  - House seats 5  - Senate seats 12 Gross State Product (2004-05)  - Product... Kangaroo Island is Australias third largest island - after Tasmania and Melville Island. ...

A special type of continental island is the microcontinental island, which results when a continent is rifted. Examples are Madagascar off Africa; the Kerguelen Islands; and some of the Seychelles. It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Rift valley. ... A world map showing the continent of Africa Africa is the worlds second-largest and second most-populous continent, after Asia. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Another subtype is an island or bar formed by deposition of tiny rocks where a water current loses some of its carrying capacity. An example is barrier islands, which are accumulations of sand deposited by sea currents on the continental shelf. Another example is islands in river deltas or in large rivers. While some are transitory and may disappear if the volume or speed of the current changes, others are stable and long-lived. For other uses, see Shoal (disambiguation). ... In geography, a bar is a linear shoaling landform feature within a body of water. ... For other uses, see Sand (disambiguation). ... Nile River delta, as seen from Earth orbit. ...

Oceanic islands

The islands of Hawai'i are volcanic islands.

Wake Island is a volcanic island that has become an atoll.

Oceanic islands are ones that do not sit on continental shelves. They are volcanic in origin. One type of oceanic island is found in a volcanic island arc. These islands arise from volcanoes where the subduction of one plate under another is occurring. Examples include the Mariana Islands, the Aleutian Islands and most of Tonga in the Pacific Ocean. Some of the Lesser Antilles and the South Sandwich Islands are the only Atlantic Ocean examples. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (636x639, 343 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Hawaii Island Hawaii (island) ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (636x639, 343 KB) File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): Hawaii Island Hawaii (island) ... The Island of Hawaii (called the Big Island or Hawaii Island) is a volcanic island in the Pacific Ocean and one of the eight main islands that comprise the U.S. state of Hawaii. ... Download high resolution version (631x634, 306 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Download high resolution version (631x634, 306 KB) Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Portion of a Pacific atoll showing two islets on the ribbon or barrier reef separated by a deep pass between the ocean and the lagoon. ... Cleveland Volcano in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska photographed from the International Space Station For other uses, see Volcano (disambiguation). ... Geometry of a subduction zone - insets to show accretionary prism and partial melting of hydrated asthenosphere. ... The Mariana Islands (also the Marianas; up to the early 20th century sometimes called Ladrones Islands, from Spanish Islas de los Ladrones meaning Islands of Thieves) are an archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels... Aleutians seen from space The Aleutian Islands (possibly from Chukchi aliat, island) are a chain of more than 300 small volcanic islands forming an island arc in the Northern Pacific Ocean, occupying an area of 6,821 sq mi (17,666 km²) and extending about 1,200 mi (1,900... Location of the Lesser Antilles (green) in relation to the rest of the Caribbean Islands of the Lesser Antilles The Lesser Antilles, also known as the Caribbees,[1] are part of the Antilles, which together with the Bahamas and Greater Antilles form the West Indies. ... South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands is an overseas territory of the United Kingdom, also claimed by Argentina. ...

Another type of oceanic island occurs where an oceanic rift reaches the surface. There are two examples: Iceland, which is the world's largest volcanic island, and Jan Mayen — both are in the Atlantic. In plate tectonics, a divergent boundary (divergent fault boundary or divergent plate boundary) is a linear feature that exists between two tectonic plates where the plates are moving away from each other. ...

A third type of oceanic island is formed over volcanic hotspots. A hotspot is more or less stationary relative to the moving tectonic plate above it, so a chain of islands results as the plate drifts. Over long periods of time, this type of island is eventually eroded and "drowned" by isostatic adjustment, becoming a seamount. Plate movement across a hot-spot produces a line of islands oriented in the direction of the plate movement. An example is the Hawaiian Islands, from Hawaii to Kure, which then extends beneath the sea surface in a more northerly direction as the Emperor Seamounts. Another chain with similar orientation is the Tuamotu Archipelago; its older, northerly trend is the Line Islands. The southernmost chain is the Austral Islands, with its northerly trending part the atolls in the nation of Tuvalu. Tristan da Cunha is an example of a hotspot volcano in the Atlantic Ocean. Another hot spot in the Atlantic is the island of Surtsey, which was formed in 1963. In geology, a hotspot is a location on the Earths surface that has experienced active volcanism for a long period of time. ... The tectonic plates of the world were mapped in the second half of the 20th century. ... Isostasy is a term used in Geology to refer to the state of ice above stasy and is angravitational equilibrium between the Earths lithosphere and asthenosphere such that the tectonic plates float at an elevation which depends on their thickness and density. ... A seamount is a mountain rising from the ocean seafloor that does not reach to the waters surface (sea level), and thus is not an island. ... Map of the Hawaiian Islands, a chain of islands that stretches 2,400 km in a northwesterly direction from the southern tip of the Island of Hawaii. ... This article is about the U.S. State. ... Satellite image of Kure Atoll Kure Atoll or Ocean Island (Hawaiian: Kānemiloha‘i) lies some 55 miles beyond Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands at . ... The Emperor Seamounts are a chain of seamounts (submerged volcanic mountains) extending from the northwestern Hawaiian Islands (see Kure and Midway atolls) in a northwesterly direction until approximately 170º east longitude where they trend abruptly northward towards the tip of the Aleutian Islands and the Kamchatka Peninsula. ... Categories: Stub | Polynesia ... The Line Islands are a group of eleven atolls and low coral islands in the central Pacific Ocean south of the Hawaiian Islands, eight of which belong to Kiribati, while three are United States territories that are grouped with the United States Minor Outlying Islands. ... The Austral Islands are the southernmost group of islands in French Polynesia, sometimes also called the Tubuai Islands, after one of the main islands. ... Motto Our faith is our strength Anthem God Save the Queen Capital (and largest city) Edinburgh of the Seven Seas Official languages English Government Dependency of St. ... Surtsey, sixteen days after the onset of the eruption Surtsey (Icelandic: Surturs island) is a volcanic island off the southern coast of Iceland. ...

An atoll is an island formed from a coral reef that has grown on an eroded and submerged volcanic island. The reef rises to the surface of the water and forms a new island. Atolls are typically ring-shaped with a central lagoon. Examples include the Maldives in the Indian Ocean and Line Islands in the Pacific. Some of the biodiversity of a coral reef, in this case the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. ... This mid bay barrier in Narrabeen, a suburb of Sydney (Australia), has blocked what used to be a bay to form a lagoon. ... The Line Islands are a group of eleven atolls and low coral islands in the central Pacific Ocean south of the Hawaiian Islands, eight of which belong to Kiribati, while three are United States territories that are grouped with the United States Minor Outlying Islands. ...

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Island

• Australia
• Desert island
• High island
• Insularity
• Island biogeography
• Island country
• Islescape
• Islomania
• List of artificial islands
• List of divided islands
• List of fictional islands
• List of islands
• List of islands by area
• List of islands by name
• List of islands by highest point
• List of islands by population
• Phantom island
• Private island
• Reef
• Skerry
• Small Island Developing States
• Tidal island

A desert island in Palau. ... High Island is the name of several places in the United States: Communities High Island, Texas Islands High Island (Michigan) High Island (New York) High Island (Connecticut) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Insularity reflects a wide range of physical and emotional meanings in accordance with a person or place: For a place, it relates to an island or any physically isolated place distant and inaccessible without sufficient means of transport. ... The study of island biogeography is a field within biogeography that attempts to establish and explain the factors that affect the species diversity of a particular community. ... Island countries in the world An island country is a country that is wholly confined to an island or island group, and has no territory on the mainland of a continent. ... Islescape relates to the physiognomy as well as the features and assets that exist in the form of historical social, economic, cultural and political habits, routines, and traditions in an insular environment. ... Islomania is a craze for or a strong attraction to islands. ... Main article: Artificial island Currently, man-made islands are an expensive but in some cases lucrative option for many cities having lack-of-land problems (such as Tokyos Odaiba and Fukuokas island city project. ... The vast majority of islands in the world are either a country in their own right or part of a larger country. ... Below is a list of islands that have been invented for films, literature, television, or other media. ... This is a list of islands in the world grouped by oceans and by continents. ... Islands by area. ... This article features a list of islands sorted by their name. ... This is a list of islands in the world ordered by their highest point. ... This is a list of islands in the world ordered by population. ... Phantom islands are islands that are believed to exist and appear on maps for a period of time (sometimes centuries), and then are removed after they are proven not to exist (or the general population stops believing that they exist). ... A private island is a privately owned island. ... For other uses, see Reef (disambiguation). ... Look up skerry in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... St Michaels Mount, Cornwall at high tide in 1900. ...

References

Dictionary. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... This article is about the day. ...

External links

Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Island.

• Definition of island from United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea
• Listing of islands from United Nations Island Directory.