An islet is a very small, often unnamed
island
An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...
. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no
vegetation
Vegetation is an assemblage of plant species and the ground cover they provide. It is a general term, without specific reference to particular taxa, life forms, structure, spatial extent, or any other specific botanical or geographic character ...
and cannot support
human habitation
Habitability refers to the adequacy of an environment for human living. Where housing is concerned, there are generally local ordinances which define habitability. If a residence complies with those laws it is said to be habitable. In extreme e ...
. It may be made of rock, sand and/or
hard coral
Scleractinia, also called stony corals or hard corals, are marine animals in the phylum Cnidaria that build themselves a hard skeleton. The individual animals are known as polyps and have a cylindrical body crowned by an oral disc in which a mo ...
; may be permanent or tidal (i.e. surfaced
reef
A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock out ...
or
seamount
A seamount is a large geologic landform that rises from the ocean floor that does not reach to the water's surface (sea level), and thus is not an island, islet or cliff-rock. Seamounts are typically formed from extinct volcanoes that rise abru ...
); and may exist in the
sea
The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...
,
lake
A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...
s,
river
A river is a natural flowing watercourse, usually freshwater, flowing towards an ocean, sea, lake or another river. In some cases, a river flows into the ground and becomes dry at the end of its course without reaching another body of wate ...
s or any other sizeable
bodies of water
A body of water or waterbody (often spelled water body) is any significant accumulation of water on the surface of Earth or another planet. The term most often refers to oceans, seas, and lakes, but it includes smaller pools of water such as p ...
.
Definition
As suggested by its origin ''islette'', an
Old French
Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...
diminutive
A diminutive is a root word that has been modified to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment. A (abbreviated ) is a word-formati ...
of "isle", use of the term implies small size, but little attention is given to drawing an upper limit on its applicability.
The World Landforms website says, "An islet landform is generally considered to be a rock or small island that has little vegetation and cannot sustain human habitation", and further that size may vary from a few square feet to several square miles, with no specific rule pertaining to size.
Other terms
*
Ait
An ait (, like ''eight'') or eyot () is a small island. It is especially used to refer to river islands found on the River Thames and its tributaries in England.
Aits are typically formed by the deposit of sediment in the water, which accumu ...
(/eɪt/, like eight) or eyot (/aɪ(ə)t, eɪt/), a small island. It is especially used to refer to river islands found on the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
and its tributaries in England.
*
Cay
A cay ( ), also spelled caye or key, is a small, low-elevation, sandy island on the surface of a coral reef. Cays occur in tropical environments throughout the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, including in the Caribbean and on the Great ...
or key, an islet formed by the accumulation of fine sand deposits atop a
reef
A reef is a ridge or shoal of rock, coral or similar relatively stable material, lying beneath the surface of a natural body of water. Many reefs result from natural, abiotic processes— deposition of sand, wave erosion planing down rock out ...
, especially in the
Caribbean
The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...
and West Atlantic.
Rum Cay
Rum Cay (formerly known as Mamana and Santa Maria de la Concepción) is an island and district of the Bahamas. It measures in area, it is located at Lat.: N23 42' 30" - Long.: W 74 50' 00". It has many rolling hills that rise to about 120 feet (3 ...
in the
Bahamas
The Bahamas (), officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the West Indies in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It takes up 97% of the Lucayan Archipelago's land area and is home to ...
and the
Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and e ...
off
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
are examples of islets.
* The French suffix ''
-hou
''-hou'' or ''hou'' is a place-name element found commonly in the Norman toponymy of the Channel Islands and continental Normandy.
Etymology and signification
Its etymology and meaning are disputed, but most specialists think it comes from Saxo ...
'' from the Scandinavian ''-holm'', is used for the names of some islets in the
Channel Islands
The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...
, such as
Écréhous
The Écréhous (or in Jèrriais: ''Êcrého'') are a group of islands and rocks situated six miles (9.6 km) north-east of Jersey, and eight miles (12.8 km) from France. They form part of the Bailiwick of Jersey and are administratively ...
,
Burhou
Burhou (pronounced ''ber-ROO'') is a small island about northwest of Alderney that is part of the Channel Islands. It has no permanent residents, and is a bird sanctuary, so landing there is banned from March 15 to August 1. The island's wildl ...
,
Lihou
Lihou () is a small tidal island located just off the west coast of the island of Guernsey, in the English Channel, between Great Britain and France. Administratively, Lihou forms part of the Parish of St. Peter's in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...
and
Les Houmets
Les Houmets are to the east of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. Their name derives from a diminutive of '' hou'', a Norman/Guernésiais word meaning islets. They are tidal islands.
Among the islets are Houmet Benest/Houmet Benêt, Houmet Par ...
, and off
Normandy
Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
, such as
Tatihou
Tatihou is an islet of Normandy in France with an area of . It is located to the east of the Cotentin peninsula just off the coast near Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue. It is almost uninhabited, and is usually reached by amphibious craft although, bein ...
.
* Inch, a term used especially in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
, from the
Gaelic
Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...
''innis'', which originally meant island, but has been supplanted to refer to smaller islands, such the islet of Inch, off
St Mary's Isle Priory
St Mary's Isle Priory was a monastic house of Augustinian canons located on the Isle of Trail or St Mary's Isle in Galloway.
The Prioratus Sanctae Mariae de Trayl
It is alleged Fergus, First Lord of Galloway (1138), granted then St. Maria de Tra ...
,
Inch Kenneth
Inch Kenneth ( gd, Innis Choinnich) is a small grassy island off the west coast of the Isle of Mull, in Scotland. It is at the entrance of Loch na Keal, to the south of Ulva. It is part of the Loch na Keal National Scenic Area, one of 40 in Scot ...
,
Inchkeith
Inchkeith (from the gd, Innis Cheith) is an island in the Firth of Forth, Scotland, administratively part of the Fife council area.
Inchkeith has had a colourful history as a result of its proximity to Edinburgh and strategic location for u ...
,
Keith Inch
Keith Inch (originally ''Keith Insche'', ''Keithinche'' or ''Caikinche'') is the easternmost point of mainland Scotland, having formerly been an island. It is located in Peterhead in Aberdeenshire, forming the north point of Peterhead Bay at . I ...
(no longer an island) and
Inchcailloch
Inchcailloch ( gd, Innis na Cailleach) is an islet on Loch Lomond in Scotland. It is at its highest point. It is also known to some as Inchebroida.
The name Inchcailloch means "Isle of the old woman" or "Isle of the Cowled (Hooded) Woman" i ...
.
* Motu, a reef islet formed by broken
coral
Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and sec ...
and sand, surrounding an
atoll
An atoll () is a ring-shaped island, including a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partially or completely. There may be coral islands or cays on the rim. Atolls are located in warm tropical or subtropical oceans and seas where corals can gr ...
, especially in
Polynesia
Polynesia () "many" and νῆσος () "island"), to, Polinisia; mi, Porinihia; haw, Polenekia; fj, Polinisia; sm, Polenisia; rar, Porinetia; ty, Pōrīnetia; tvl, Polenisia; tkl, Polenihia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania, made up of ...
, such as
Motu One,
Motu Nao
Motu Nao is the Marquesan name for a small rock island in the southeastern Marquesas Islands, approximately northeast of Fatu Hiva. The French name for the island is ''Rocher Thomasset'', which in English is ''Thomasset Rock''.
At low tide, th ...
and
Motu Paahi
Motu Paahi ("small island") is an islet in the coral reef surrounding Bora Bora, in French Polynesia.
Islands of the Society Islands
{{FrenchPolynesia-geo-stub ...
.
*
River island
River Island is a London-based, multi-channel fashion brand, founded in 1948 by Bernard Lewis. The retailer has a presence in over 125 of worldwide markets, in stores and online.
Best known for its trend focused womenswear offering, River Isla ...
, an islet within the current of a river, such as the
Île de la Cité
Île de la Cité (; English: City Island) is an island in the river Seine in the center of Paris. In the 4th century, it was the site of the fortress of the Roman governor. In 508, Clovis I, the first King of the Franks, established his palace ...
in
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
.
* A rock, in the sense of a type of islet, is an uninhabited landform composed of exposed
rocks
In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks form the Earth's ...
, lying offshore, and having at most minimal vegetation, such as
Albino Rock
Albino Rock, formerly White Rock, is an islet east of Great Palm Island, part of the Greater Palm group in Queensland, Australia. The island is in the Hinchinbrook jurisdiction, and is part of Orpheus Island National Park.
The surrounding ...
in the
Palm Island group off
Queensland
)
, nickname = Sunshine State
, image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, established_ ...
, Australia.
*
Sandbar
In oceanography, geomorphology, and Earth science, geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank (geography), bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body o ...
or shoal, an exposed
sandbar
In oceanography, geomorphology, and Earth science, geoscience, a shoal is a natural submerged ridge, bank (geography), bank, or bar that consists of, or is covered by, sand or other unconsolidated material and rises from the bed of a body o ...
.
*
Sea stack
A stack or sea stack is a geology, geological landform consisting of a steep and often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a coast, formed by Coastal_erosion#Wave_action, wave erosion. Stacks are formed over time by wind and wate ...
, a thin, vertical landform jutting out of a body of water.
*
Skerry
A skerry is a small rocky island, or islet, usually too small for human habitation. It may simply be a rocky reef. A skerry can also be called a low sea stack.
A skerry may have vegetative life such as moss and small, hardy grasses. They a ...
, a small rocky island, usually defined to be too small for habitation, especially in
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
.
* Subsidiary islets, a more technical application, is applied to small land features isolated by water, lying off the shore of a larger island. Similarly, any emergent land in an atoll is also called an islet.
*
Tidal island
A tidal island is a piece of land that is connected to the mainland by a natural or man-made causeway that is exposed at low tide and submerged at high tide. Because of the mystique surrounding tidal islands, many of them have been sites of ...
, small islands (not always islets) which lie closely off the coast of a
mainland
Mainland is defined as "relating to or forming the main part of a country or continent, not including the islands around it egardless of status under territorial jurisdiction by an entity" The term is often politically, economically and/or dem ...
or a much larger island, being connected to it (and thus becomes a
peninsula
A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...
/
promontory
A promontory is a raised mass of land that projects into a lowland or a body of water (in which case it is a peninsula). Most promontories either are formed from a hard ridge of rock that has resisted the erosive forces that have removed the so ...
) in low tide and isolated by a
channel
Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to:
Geography
* Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water.
Australia
* Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...
in high tide.
In international law
Whether an islet is considered a rock or not, it can have significant economic consequences under Article 121 of the
UN Convention on the Law of the Sea
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea Treaty, is an international agreement that establishes a legal framework for all marine and maritime activities. , 167 c ...
, which stipulates that "Rocks which cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own shall have no
exclusive economic zone or
continental shelf
A continental shelf is a portion of a continent that is submerged under an area of relatively shallow water, known as a shelf sea. Much of these shelves were exposed by drops in sea level during glacial periods. The shelf surrounding an island ...
." One long-term dispute over the status of such an islet was that of
Snake Island (Black Sea)
Snake Island, also known as Serpent Island or Zmiinyi Island ( uk, острів Змії́ний, ostriv Zmiinyi; ro, Insula Șerpilor; russian: Змеиный, Zmeinyy), is an island belonging to Ukraine located in the Black Sea, near the ...
.
[Coalter G. Lathrop (July 22, 2009) "Maritime Delimitation in the Black Sea (Romania v. Ukraine)". ]American Journal of International Law
''The American Journal of International Law'' is an English-language scholarly journal focusing on international law and international relations. It is published quarterly since 1907 by the American Society of International Law (ASIL).
The ''Jo ...
, Vol. 103. Romania and Ukraine avoid rocky horror show
Euronews
Euronews (styled on-air in lowercase as euronews) is a European television news network, headquartered in Lyon, France. The network began broadcasting on 1 January 1993 and covers world news from a European perspective.
The majority of Eurone ...
, 03/02/09
The International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice (ICJ; french: Cour internationale de justice, links=no; ), sometimes known as the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN). It settles disputes between states in accordanc ...
jurisprudence however sometimes ignores islets, regardless of inhabitation status, in deciding territorial disputes; it did so in 2009 in adjudicating the Romania-Ukraine dispute, and previously in the dispute between Libya and Malta involving the islet of Filfla
Filfla is a small, mostly barren, uninhabited islet south of Malta, and is the most southerly point of the Maltese Archipelago. ''filflu'' (or ''filfluu''), a small rocky islet some southwest of Filfla, .
List of islets
There are thousands of islets on Earth: approximately 24,000 islands and islets in the Stockholm archipelago alone. The following is a list of example islets from around the world.
* Águila Islet, the southernmost point of The Americas
The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World.
Along with th ...
* Aplin Islet (Queensland)
* Apia
Apia () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Samoa, as well as the nation's only city. It is located on the central north coast of Upolu, Samoa's second-largest island. Apia falls within the political district (''itūmālō ...
* Auster Lake Islet
* Ball's Pyramid
Ball's Pyramid is an erosional remnant of a shield volcano and caldera lying southeast of Lord Howe Island in the Pacific Ocean. It is high, while measuring in length and only across, making it the tallest volcanic stack in the world. Bal ...
, South Pacific
* Bay Islet
Bay Islet or See Chau () is an uninhabited island in Sai Kung District, Hong Kong.
Geography
Bay Islet is located in Rocky Harbour, also known as Leung Shuen Wan Hoi, and is separated from Jin Island
Jin Island or Tiu Chung Chau () is an isl ...
or See Chau, Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
* Bikirrin, in Majuro
Majuro (; Marshallese: ' ) is the capital and largest city of the Marshall Islands. It is also a large coral atoll of 64 islands in the Pacific Ocean. It forms a legislative district of the Ratak (Sunrise) Chain of the Marshall Islands. The ato ...
, Marshall Islands
* Black Rock, South Atlantic
* Boundary Islet
Boundary Islet, historically known as North East Islet, is a islet in the Hogan Island Group of Bass Strait, at a latitude of 39°12′ S, about east of the southernmost point of mainland Victoria. The islet straddles the maritime border of ...
, Australia
* Bogskär
Bogskär is a small group of Baltic Sea islets off the southernmost tip of Finland. It is Finland's southernmost land and governed by the municipality of Kökar in Åland. The islets are remote: the distance to the nearest large islands in Kökar, ...
, Finland
* Briggs Islet
Briggs Islet is a small granite island, with an area of 3.4 ha, in south-eastern Australia. It is part of Tasmania’s Great Dog Island Group, lying in eastern Bass Strait between Flinders and Cape Barren Islands in the Furneaux Group. I ...
, southeastern Australia
* Bushy Islet (Queensland)
* Capitancillo Islet
Capitancillo (historically Islote de Captitoncillo and variously Capitancillo islet) is a small coral island (about 600 hectares in size) near Bogo, Cebu, Philippines. The island is a protected marine sanctuary, featuring three dive sites and a li ...
, in Bogo City, Cebu, Philippines
* Chão, in the Madeira
)
, anthem = ( en, "Anthem of the Autonomous Region of Madeira")
, song_type = Regional anthem
, image_map=EU-Portugal_with_Madeira_circled.svg
, map_alt=Location of Madeira
, map_caption=Location of Madeira
, subdivision_type=Sovereign st ...
Islands, Portugal
* Cholmondeley Islet (Queensland)
* Clubes Island, Brasília
Brasília (; ) is the federal capital of Brazil and seat of government of the Federal District. The city is located at the top of the Brazilian highlands in the country's Central-West region. It was founded by President Juscelino Kubitsche ...
, Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
* Columbretes Islands
The Columbretes Islands ( ca-valencia, Les Columbretes, or ''Els Columbrets'' (), are a group of small uninhabited islets of volcanic origin, in the Mediterranean Sea, off Orpesa. Administratively they belong to Castellón de la Plana in the Va ...
, Spain
* Cone Islet
Cone Islet is a small granite island, with an area of 4.82 ha, in south-eastern Australia. It is part of Tasmania’s Curtis Group, lying in northern Bass Strait between the Furneaux Group and Wilsons Promontory in Victoria.
Fauna
Recorded breed ...
, southeastern Australia
* Douglas Islet (Queensland)
* Dry Tortugas
Dry Tortugas National Park is a national park located about west of Key West in the Gulf of Mexico. The park preserves Fort Jefferson and the seven Dry Tortugas islands, the westernmost and most isolated of the Florida Keys. The archipelago's c ...
, Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are a coral cay archipelago located off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and e ...
, USA
* Dugay Islet, southeastern Australia
* Edwards Islet, southeastern Australia
* Enekalamur in Majuro, Marshall Islands
* Enemanit in Majuro, Marshall Islands
* Fairway Rock
Fairway Rock ( ik, Ugiiyaq) (Census block 1047, Nome, Alaska) is a small islet with mostly vertical rock faces in the Bering Strait, located southeast of the Diomede Islands and west of Alaska's Cape Prince of Wales. Part of Alaska, a U.S. st ...
, Bering Strait
* Fastnet Rock
Fastnet Lighthouse is a 54m high lighthouse situated on the remote Fastnet Rock in the Atlantic Ocean. It is the most southerly point of Ireland and lies southwest of Cape Clear Island and from County Cork on the Irish mainland. The current l ...
, Ireland
* Filfla
Filfla is a small, mostly barren, uninhabited islet south of Malta, and is the most southerly point of the Maltese Archipelago. ''filflu'' (or ''filfluu''), a small rocky islet some southwest of Filfla, , southern Malta
* Formigas
The Formigas Islets ( pt, Ilhéus das Formigas ; literally, ''Islets of the Ants''), sometimes referred to as the Formigas Bank, are a group of uninhabited rocky outcroppings in the eastern group of the Azores archipelago, an autonomous region ...
, in the Azores
)
, motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace")
, anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores")
, image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg
, map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union
, map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
islands
* Gáshólmur
Gáshólmur is a small islet on the southside of Sørvágsfjørður in the Faroe Islands. To the east of the islet lies another islet, Tindhólmur. The islet is uninhabited, and the only living creatures are seabirds and sheep rams, which are pl ...
, Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark.
They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...
* Granite Island (South Australia)
Granite Island, also known by the Ramindjeri people as Nulcoowarra, is a small island next to Victor Harbor, South Australia, about 80 km south of South Australia's capital city, Adelaide.
Although there are no permanent residents, the ...
, Victor Harbor, South Australia.
* Galatasaray Islet
The Galatasaray Islet ( tr, Galatasaray Adası) is a small island on the Bosphorus strait off Kuruçeşme neighbourhood in Istanbul, Turkey, owned by Galatasaray Sports Club.
Being situated just north of the Bosphorus Bridge with its view of the ...
, Istanbul
Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...
, Turkey
* Halfway Islet, Queensland, Australia
* Herald Island, Arctic Ocean
The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...
* Île Vierge
Île Vierge (Breton language: ''Enez-Werc'h'') is a islet lying off the north-west coast of Brittany, opposite the village of Lilia. It is in the Communes of France, commune of Plouguerneau, in the Departments of France, département of Finist ...
, France
* Isles of Scilly
The Isles of Scilly (; kw, Syllan, ', or ) is an archipelago off the southwestern tip of Cornwall, England. One of the islands, St Agnes, is the most southerly point in Britain, being over further south than the most southerly point of the ...
, United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
* Kid Island
Kid, Kids, KIDS, and K.I.D.S. may refer to:
Common meanings
* Colloquial term for a child or other young person
** Also for a parent's offspring regardless of age
* Engage in joking
* Young Goat, goats
* The goat meat of young goats
* Kidskin, ...
, Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
* Islets of Caroline Island, in Kiribati
Kiribati (), officially the Republic of Kiribati ( gil, ibaberikiKiribati),[Kiribati]
''The Wor ...
* Islets of Mauritius
The Islets of Mauritius includes nearly a hundred tiny islets and rocks scattered around the coast of Mauritius as well as Rodrigues.
Île aux Cerfs
Île aux Cerfs (French for ''deer island'') is an island near the east coast of the island of ...
* Isla de Alborán
Alboran Island ( es, Isla de Alborán) is a small islet of Spain ( province of Almería) in the Alboran Sea, part of the western Mediterranean Sea, about north of the Moroccan coast and from the Spanish mainland. The main buildings are an auto ...
, Spain, Western Mediterranean
* Jardine Islet (Queensland)
* Jethou, Bailiwick of Guernsey
The Bailiwick of Guernsey (french: Bailliage de Guernesey; Guernésiais: ''Bailliage dé Guernési'') is an island country off the coast of France as one of the three Crown Dependencies.
Separated from the Duchy of Normandy by and under the t ...
* Keelung Islet
Keelung Islet (, also , in Taiwanese Hokkien: 雞籠杙/Ke-lâng-khit) is a small island in Zhongzheng District, Keelung, Taiwan and away from the Port of Keelung. It has an area of or . It is in length, and in width including the artificial h ...
, off the northern shore of Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
* Klein Bonaire
Klein Bonaire (Dutch for "Little Bonaire") is a small uninhabited islet off the west coast of the Caribbean island of Bonaire, and is part of the Dutch special municipality of Bonaire.
Geography
The Klein Bonaire islet, which sits within th ...
, Netherlands
)
, anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands
, established_title = Before independence
, established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
* Kolbeinsey
Kolbeinsey (; also known as Kolbeinn's Isle, Seagull Rock, Mevenklint, Mevenklip, or Meeuw Steen) is a small islet in the Greenland Sea located off the northern coast of Iceland, north-northwest of the island of Grímsey. It is the northernmos ...
, Iceland
* Liancourt Rocks
The Liancourt Rocks, also known by their Korean name of Dokdo or their Japanese name of Takeshima,; ; . form a group of islets in the Sea of Japan between the Korean peninsula and the Japanese archipelago. The Liancourt Rocks comprise two ...
, South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
* Lihou
Lihou () is a small tidal island located just off the west coast of the island of Guernsey, in the English Channel, between Great Britain and France. Administratively, Lihou forms part of the Parish of St. Peter's in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, ...
, Bailiwick of Guernsey
The Bailiwick of Guernsey (french: Bailliage de Guernesey; Guernésiais: ''Bailliage dé Guernési'') is an island country off the coast of France as one of the three Crown Dependencies.
Separated from the Duchy of Normandy by and under the t ...
* Magra Islet (Queensland)
* Mañagaha, Saipan
Saipan ( ch, Sa’ipan, cal, Seipél, formerly in es, Saipán, and in ja, 彩帆島, Saipan-tō) is the largest island of the Northern Mariana Islands, a Commonwealth (U.S. insular area), commonwealth of the United States in the western Pa ...
* Martin Islet (New South Wales)
Martin Islet () is a small island lying just off Red Point, Port Kembla in New South Wales, Australia.
William Martin
The Five Islands, of which Martin Islet is one, were named Martins Isles by Matthew Flinders and George Bass after Bass's n ...
* Mid Woody Islet
Mid Woody Islet is a small island, with an area of 0.66 ha, in south-eastern Australia. It is part of Tasmania’s Tin Kettle Island Group, lying in eastern Bass Strait between Flinders and Cape Barren Islands in the Furneaux Group. The island ...
, southeastern Australia
* Milman Islet (Queensland)
* Monchique Islet
Monchique Islet ( pt, Ilhéu do Monchique) is a small uninhabited islet off the coast of the island of Flores, west of the village of Fajã Grande, in the western part of the Portuguese archipelago of the Azores. It is the westernmost point of P ...
, Europe's westernmost point, in the Azores
)
, motto =( en, "Rather die free than subjected in peace")
, anthem= ( en, "Anthem of the Azores")
, image_map=Locator_map_of_Azores_in_EU.svg
, map_alt=Location of the Azores within the European Union
, map_caption=Location of the Azores wi ...
, Portugal
* Noorderhaaks
Noorderhaaks (), also called ''Razende Bol'' (''Raging sandbank'' in Dutch; in modern Dutch ''Bol'' means sphere, but in this context the old Dutch meaning of sandbank is meant), is an uninhabited Netherlands, Dutch islandZandplaat De Razende Bol ...
, off the coast of the Netherlands
* Oodaaq
Oodaaq or Oodap Qeqertaa is a bank of gravel and silt northeast of Greenland that has been considered by some to be the northernmost point of land on Earth, though a number of other places have also been given that title since its discovery. I ...
, Greenland
* Parece Vela, West Pacific
* Perejil Island
Perejil Island ( es, Isla de Perejil, ber, Tura or , ar, تورة, translit=Tūra), also known as Parsley Island, is a small, uninhabited rocky islet located off the coast of Morocco. It is administered by Spain as one of the '' plazas de ...
, Strait of Gibraltar
* Penguin Islet (Tasmania)
Penguin Islet is a small island nature reserve with an area of 3.46 hectare, ha in Bass Strait, south-eastern Australia. It is part of Tasmania’s Hunter Island Group which lies between north-west Tasmania and King Island (Tasmania), King Islan ...
* Pigeon Island, Sri Lanka
* Pokonji Dol
Pokonji Dol is an islet in the Croatian part of the Adriatic Sea, which is situated 500 meters south from Hvar. Pokonji Dol is one of the Paklinski islands. The lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structu ...
, Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
* Velika Sestrica, Croatia
, image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg
, anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland")
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, capit ...
* Rockall
Rockall () is an uninhabitable granite islet situated in the North Atlantic Ocean. The United Kingdom claims that Rockall lies within its exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and is part of its territory, but this claim is not recognised by Ireland. ...
, North Atlantic
* Saint Peter and Saint Paul rocks
The Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago ( pt, Arquipélago de São Pedro e São Paulo ) is a group of 15 small islets and rocks in the central equatorial Atlantic Ocean. , equatorial Atlantic
* Salas y Gómez
Salas, from Spanish ''salas'' (rooms, halls), is a Spanish surname and a common family name in the Hispanic-speaking world. It is ranked amongst the most common surnames found in Costa Rica and in Mexico.
People
* Ada Salas (born 1965), Spanis ...
, Northeast from Easter Island
Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its nearl ...
* Saunders Islet (Queensland)
* Seacrow Islet
Seacrow Islet is a small island with an area of , in south-eastern Australia. It is part of Tasmania’s Trefoil Island Group, lying close to Cape Grim, Tasmania's most north-westerly point, in Bass Strait.
Fauna
Breeding seabird and shoreb ...
, southeastern Australia
* Shag Rocks, South Atlantic
* Silver Islet, Ontario
Silver Islet refers to both a small rocky island and a small community located at the tip of the Sibley Peninsula in northwestern Ontario, Canada.
A rich vein of pure silver was discovered on this small island in 1868 by the Montreal Mining C ...
* Sinclair Islet (Queensland)
* Skull Islet
Skull Islet is a small islet just off the shore of South Pender Island in British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has ...
, in British Columbia, Canada
* Star Keys/Motuhope
The Star Keys ( mi, Motuhope; Moriori: ''Motchu Hopo'') are group of five rocky islets in the Chatham Archipelago, about east of Pitt Island They are called ''Motuhope'' in Moriori
The Moriori are the native Polynesian people of the C ...
, New Zealand
* Saltholm
Saltholm (; ''Salt Islet'') is a Danish island in the Øresund, the strait that separates Denmark and Sweden. It is located to the east of the Danish island of Amager in Tårnby municipality and lies just to the west of the sea border between D ...
, small Islet in Oresund west of Copenhagen
* Sue Islet (Queensland)
Sue Islet (or Sue Island), also known as Warraber, is the middle islet of The Three Sisters, Torres Strait, Queensland, Australia. This island is one of the Torres Strait Islands and is within the locality of Warraber Islet in the Torres Str ...
* Sumbiarholmur, Faroe Islands
* Sunday Islet (Queensland)
Sunday Islet is a small island in far north Queensland, Australia 2.5 km north of Cape Grenville Peninsula in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Queensland, Australia.
On Sunday 31 May 1789, after the mutiny on the ''Bounty'', Captain B ...
* Taprobane Island
Taprobane Island, originally called "Galduwa" ("Rock Island" in Sinhalese), is a private island with one villa, located just off the southern coast of Sri Lanka opposite the village of Weligama. The island was renamed after the old Greek word for ...
, Sri Lanka
* Thomson Islet (Queensland)
* Tindhólmur
Tindhólmur is an islet on the southside of Sørvágsfjørður, west of Vágar in the Faroe Islands. It has its name from the five peaks, which are named ''Ytsti, Arni, Lítli, Breiði, Bogni'' (Farthest, Eagle, Small, Broad, Bent). The islet is ...
, Faroe Islands
* Vilkitsky Island, Arctic Ocean
* Wallace Islet (Queensland)
* Wachusett Reef
Wachusett Reef was a phantom reef in the Antarctic Ocean.
Captain Lambert of the ship ''Wachusett'' reported that on June 4, 1899 he passed over a reef which appeared to be of coral formation in approximately latitude . The reef appeared to be ...
, Ernest Legouve Reef
The Ernest Legouve Reef is a phantom reef supposed to be located in the South Pacific, south of French Tuamotu Islands and east of New Zealand. Krauth reports that it is situated at .
According to a statement of the International Hydrographic Bu ...
, and Maria Theresa Reef
The Maria Theresa Reef is a supposed reef in the South Pacific (south of the French Tuamotu islands and east of New Zealand); it appears to be a phantom reef. It is also known as Tabor Island or Tabor Reef on French maps.
Reports
Bernhard Kraut ...
, South Pacific Ocean
* Westward Islet, in the Pitcairn Islands
The Pitcairn Islands (; Pitkern: '), officially the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, is a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean that form the sole British Overseas Territory in the Pacific Ocean. The four isl ...
* Ynys Lawd
South Stack ( cy, Ynys Lawd) is an island situated just off Holy Island on the northwest coast of Anglesey, Wales.
Geology
South Stack is an island known as a sea stack. It was formed by the wave erosion of sedimentary rocks that once conn ...
, Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
Notes
References
*
{{coastal geography
Coastal and oceanic landforms
Coastal geography
Islands by type