Archipelago

"Island chain" redirects here. For the strategy, seeIsland chain strategy.For other uses, seeArchipelago (disambiguation).

Not to be confused witharpeggioora cappella.

Anarchipelago(/ˌɑːrkəˈpɛləɡoʊ/AR-kə-PEL-ə-goh),sometimes called anisland grouporisland chain,is a chain, cluster, or collection ofislands,or sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.

TheIndonesian Archipelago,located inAsiaandOceania,is the largest archipelago in the world.

TheAegean Seawith its large number of islands is the origin of the termarchipelago.

TheMergui ArchipelagoinMyanmar

Examples of archipelagos include: theIndonesian Archipelago,theAleutian Islands,theLakshadweepIslands, theGalápagos Islands,theJapanese archipelago,thePhilippine Archipelago,theMaldives,theBalearic Islands,theÅland Islands,The Bahamas,theAegean Islands,theHawaiian Islands,theCanary Islands,Malta,theAzores,theCanadian Arctic Archipelago,theBritish Isles,the islands of theArchipelago Sea,andShetland.Archipelagos are sometimes defined by political boundaries. For example, while they are geopolitically divided, theSan Juan IslandsandGulf Islandsgeologically form part of a larger Gulf Archipelago.

Etymology

The wordarchipelagois derived from theAncient Greekἄρχι-(arkhi-,"chief" ) and πέλαγος (pélagos,"sea" ) through the Italianarcipelago.Inantiquity,"Archipelago" (fromMedieval Greek*ἀρχιπέλαγος andLatinarchipelagus) was the proper name for theAegean Sea.Later, usage shifted to refer to theAegean Islands(since the sea has a large number of islands).

Geographic types

Archipelagos may be found isolated in large amounts of water or neighbouring a large land mass. For example,Scotlandhas more than 700 islands surrounding its mainland, which form an archipelago.

Archipelagos are often volcanic, forming alongisland arcsgenerated bysubductionzones orhotspots,but may also be the result oferosion,deposition,andland elevation.Depending on their geological origin, islands forming archipelagos can be referred to asoceanic islands,continental fragments,orcontinental islands.

Oceanic islands

Oceanic islands are mainly of volcanic origin, and widely separated from any adjacent continent. TheHawaiian IslandsandGalapagos Islandsin thePacific,andMascarene Islandsin the southIndian Oceanare examples.

Continental fragments

Continental fragments correspond to land masses that have separated from a continental mass due totectonicdisplacement. TheFarallon Islandsoff the coast ofCaliforniaare an example.

Continental archipelagos

TheArchipelago Seawith many islands in southwestern Finland

Sets of islands formed close to the coast of a continent are considered continental archipelagos when they form part of the same continental shelf, when those islands are above-water extensions of the shelf. The islands of theInside Passageoff the coast ofBritish Columbiaand theCanadian Arctic Archipelagoare examples.

Artificial archipelagos

Artificial archipelagos have been created in various countries for different purposes.Palm IslandsandThe World Islandsoff Dubai were or are being created for leisure and tourism purposes.Marker Waddenin 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 theArchipelago Sea,which is part ofFinland.There are approximately 40,000, mostly uninhabited, islands

The largest archipelagic state in the world by area, and by population, isIndonesia.

See also

• Island arc
• List of landforms
• List of archipelagos by number of islands
• List of archipelagos
• Archipelagic state
• List of islands
• Aquapelago

External links

• Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911)."Archipelago".Encyclopædia Britannica(11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
• 30 Most Incredible Island Archipelagos