An archipelago ( ), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster, or collection of islands. An archipelago may be in an ocean, a sea, or a smaller body of water. Example archipelagos include the Aegean Islands (the origin of the term), the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, the Stockholm Archipelago, the Malay Archipelago (which includes the Indonesian and Philippine Archipelagos), the Lucayan (Bahamian) Archipelago, the Japanese archipelago, and the Hawaiian Archipelago.

Etymology

The word ''archipelago'' is derived from the Italian ''arcipelago'', used as a proper name for the

Aegean Sea The Aegean Sea is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea between Europe and Asia. It is located between the Balkans and Anatolia, and covers an area of some . In the north, the Aegean is connected to the Marmara Sea, which in turn con ...

, itself perhaps a deformation of the Greek Αιγαίον Πέλαγος. Later, usage shifted to refer to the Aegean Islands (since the sea has a large number of islands). The erudite paretymology, deriving the word from

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

ἄρχι-(''arkhi-'', "chief") and πέλαγος (''pélagos'', "sea"), proposed by Buondelmonti, can still be found.

Geographic types

Archipelagos may be found isolated in large amounts of water or neighboring a large land mass. For example, Scotland has more than 700 islands surrounding its mainland, which form an archipelago. Depending on their geological origin, islands forming archipelagos can be referred to as ''oceanic islands'', ''continental fragments'', or ''continental islands''.

Oceanic islands

Oceanic islands are formed by volcanoes erupting from the ocean floor. The Hawaiian Islands and Galapagos Islands in the Pacific, and Mascarene Islands in the south

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

are examples.

Continental fragments

Continental fragments are islands that were once part of a continent, and became separated due to natural disasters. The fragments may also be formed by moving glaciers which cut out land, which then fills with water. The Farallon Islands off the coast of California are examples of continental islands.

Continental Islands

Continental islands are islands that were once part of a continent and still sit on the continental shelf, which is the edge of a continent that lies under the ocean. The islands of the Inside Passage off the coast of

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

and the Canadian Arctic Archipelago are examples.

Artificial archipelagos

Artificial archipelagos have been created in various countries for different purposes. Palm Islands and The World Islands in Dubai were or are being created for leisure and tourism purposes. Marker Wadden in the Netherlands is being built as a conservation area for birds and other wildlife.

Superlatives

The largest archipelago in the world by number of islands is the Archipelago Sea, which is part of Finland. There are approximately 40,000 islands, mostly uninhabited. The largest archipelagic state in the world by area, and by population, is Indonesia.

References

External links

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30 Most Incredible Island Archipelagos
{{Authority control Coastal and oceanic landforms Oceanographical terminology