Anuninhabited island,desert island,ordeserted island,is anisland,isletoratollwhich lacks permanent human population. Uninhabited islands are often depicted in films or stories aboutshipwreckedpeople, and are also used as stereotypes for the idea of "paradise".Some uninhabited islands are protected asnature reserves,and some are privately owned.Devon Islandin Canada's far north is the largest uninhabited island in the world.[1][2]
Small coralatollsor islands usually have no source offresh water,but occasionally a freshwaterlenscan be reached with a well.
Terminology
editUninhabited islands are sometimes also called "deserted islands" or "desert islands". In the latter, the adjectivedesertconnotes notdesertclimate conditions, but rather "desolate and sparsely occupied or unoccupied". The worddeserthas been "formerly applied more widely to any wild, uninhabited region, including forest-land", and it is this archaic meaning that appears in the phrase "desert island".[3]
The term "desert island" is also commonly used figuratively to refer to objects or behavior in conditions of social isolation and limited material means. Behavior on a desert island is a commonthought experiment,for example, "desert island morality".[3]
Biodiversity
editDesert islands are partly sheltered from humans, making them havens for a number of fragile wildlife species such assea turtlesand ground-nestingseabirds.Many species of seabirds use them as stopovers on their way or especially for nesting, taking advantage of the (supposed) absence of terrestrial predators such ascatsorrats.
However, tons of waste from far away countries accumulate on their beaches from the sea, and the absence of surveillance also makes them desirable spots forpoachersof protected species.[4]
Selected uninhabited islands
edit
- Amatignak Island,southernmost point of Alaska, US
- Appat Island,Greenland
- ʻAta,the southernmost island of theKingdom of Tonga
- Auckland Islandsin the South Pacific, which are part ofNew Zealand
- Astola Island,Pakistan
- A majority of theBarra Isles,theOuter Hebrides,Scotland.The most famous of these isBarra Head.
- Blasket IslandsinCounty Kerry,Ireland
- Ball's Pyramid,a tall volcanic mountain located close to Lord Howe Island in the South Pacific
- Binlang Islet,Taiwan
- Most of theCanadian Arctic Archipelago
- Bouvet Islandin the South Atlantic, the world's most remote island
- Caquorobert,Guernsey
- Clipperton Island,a Pacific island of France
- Coral Sea Islandsoff the northeastern coast ofAustralia
- De Long Islandsin theArctic Ocean,part ofRussia
- Desertas Islands,Portugal
- Devon Island,the largest uninhabited island in the world at 55,247 km2[1][2][5]
- Gotska Sandön,Sweden
- Heard Island and McDonald Islands,Australia
- Manyislandswithin the waters ofHong Kong
- Ilha da Queimada Grande"Snake Island", Brazil
- Isle RoyaleinLake Superior
- Kerosandother small islandsoff the coast ofGreece[6]
- Žutandother islandsoff the coast ofCroatia
- Kermadec Islands,part of New Zealand
- Korzhin IslandinLake Balkhash
- Klein Curaçao,Curaçao
- Lampione,Sicily
- Lítla Dímun,Faroe Islands
- Luci Islandin Xiuyu District,Putian,Fujian,China
- Oeno Island(Pitcairn Islands,British Overseas Territories)
- Ogurchinsky Islandin theCaspian Sea
- Rat Islands,a volcanic island in theAleutian Islands
- Santa Luzia, Cape Verde
- Savage Islands,Portugal
- Severny Island,Russia
- Shag Rocks (South Georgia)
- Surtsey,a volcanic island located south of Iceland
- Tetepare Island,the largest uninhabited island in the South Pacific[7]
- Topo Islet,Azores,Portugal
- Most of theUnited States Minor Outlying Islands,such asJohnston Atoll,Wake IslandandMidway Atoll.Palmyra Atollhas no permanent residents but it has private landholdings that are continuously occupied by temporary residents.
-
-
Desert island fromBaa Atoll -
Bassas da India,Indian Ocean -
Chissioua Bandrélé,Mayotte -
Mtsanga Tsoholé,Mayotte -
Gombé Ndroumé,Mayotte
Largest uninhabited islands
edit| Rank | Area Rank | Island | Area (km2) | Area (sq mi) | Country/Countries | Coordinates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 27 | Devon Island(Tallurutit) | 55,247 | 21,331 | Canada(Nunavut) | 75°08′N 87°51′W |
| 2 | 28 | Alexander Island(Isla Alejandro I) | 49,070 | 18,950 | None (Antarctic territorial claimsbyArgentina,Chile,and theUnited Kingdom) | 71°00′S 70°00′W |
| 3 | 30 | Severny Island(Severnyy Ostrov) | 48,904 | 18,882 | Russia(Arkhangelsk Oblast) | 75°30′N 60°00′E |
| 4 | 31 | Berkner Island(Isla Berkner) | 44,000 | 17,000 | None (Antarctic territorial claimsby Argentina and the United Kingdom) | 79°30′S 47°30′W |
| 5 | 32 | Axel Heiberg Island(Umingmat Nunaat) | 43,178 | 16,671 | Canada (Nunavut) | 79°26′N 90°46′W |
| 6 | 33 | Melville Island(Ilulliq) | 42,149 | 16,274 | Canada (Northwest Territoriesand Nunavut) | 75°30′N 111°30′W |
| 7 | 40 | Prince of Wales Island(Kinngailak) | 33,339 | 12,872 | Canada (Nunavut) | 72°40′N 99°00′W |
| 8 | 46 | Somerset Island(Kuuganajuk) | 24,786 | 9,570 | Canada (Nunavut) | 73°15′N 93°30′W |
| 9 | 47 | Kotelny Island(Olgujdaah Aryy) | 24,000 | 9,300 | Russia (Sakha Republic) | 75°20′N 141°00′E |
| 10 | 54 | Bathurst Island | 16,042 | 6,194 | Canada (Nunavut) | 75°46′N 99°47′W |
| 11 | 55 | Prince Patrick Island | 15,848 | 6,119 | Canada (Northwest Territories) | 76°45′N 119°30′W |
| 12 | 56 | Thurston Island | 15,700 | 6,100 | None | 72°6′S 99°0′W |
| 13 | 57 | Nordaustlandet | 14,467 | 5,586 | Norway(Svalbard) | 79°48′N 22°24′E |
| 14 | 59 | October Revolution Island | 14,170 | 5,470 | Russia (Krasnoyarsk Krai) | 79°30′N 97°00′E |
| 15 | 68 | Ellef Ringnes Island | 11,295 | 4,361 | Canada (Nunavut) | 78°30′N 102°15′W |
| 16 | 69 | Bolshevik Island | 11,270 | 4,350 | Russia (Krasnoyarsk Krai) | 78°63'N 102.48°E |
| 17 | 71 | Bylot Island | 11,067 | 4,273 | Canada (Nunavut) | 73°16′N 78°30′W |
| 18 | 77 | Prince Charles Island | 9,521 | 3,676 | Canada (Nunavut) | 67°47′N 76°12′W |
| 19 | 82 | Komsomolets Island | 9,006 | 3,477 | Russia (Krasnoyarsk Krai) | 80°29′N 94°59′E |
| 20 | 85 | Carney Island | 8,500 | 3,300 | None | 73°57′S 121°00′W |
| 21 | 107 | Coats Island | 5,498 | 2,123 | Canada (Nunavut) | 62°35′N 82°45′W' |
| 22 | 111 | Amund Ringnes Island | 5,255 | 2,029 | Canada (Nunavut) | 78°20′N 96°25′W |
Most of the largest uninhabited islands are many kilometers/miles inside theArcticorAntarcticcircles, indicating that the reason for their desertedness is the freezing climate.
In literature and popular culture
editThe first knownnovelsto be set on a desert island wereHayy ibn Yaqdhanwritten byIbn Tufail(1105–1185), followed byTheologus Autodidactuswritten byIbn al-Nafis(1213–1288). Theprotagonistsin both (Hayy inHayy ibn Yaqdhanand Kamil inTheologus Autodidactus) areferal childrenliving in seclusion on a deserted island, until they eventually come in contact withcastawaysfrom the outside world who are stranded on the island. The story ofTheologus Autodidactus,however, extends beyond the deserted island setting when the castaways take Kamil back tocivilizationwith them.[8]
William Shakespeare's 1610–11 play,The Tempest,uses the idea of being stranded on a desert island as a pretext for the action of the play.Prosperoand his daughterMirandaare set adrift by Prospero's treacherous brother Antonio, seeking to becomeDuke of Milan,and Prospero in turn shipwrecks his brother and other men of sin onto the island.
ALatintranslation of Ibn Tufail'sHayy ibn Yaqdhanappeared in 1671, prepared byEdward Pocockethe Younger,[9][10]followed by anEnglishtranslation bySimon Ockleyin 1708,[11]as well asGermanandDutchtranslations.[12]In the late 17th century,Hayy ibn YaqdhaninspiredRobert Boyle,an acquaintance of Pococke, to write his own philosophical novel set on a deserted island,The Aspiring Naturalist.[13]Ibn al-Nafis'Theologus Autodidactuswas also eventually translated into English in the early 20th century.
Published in 1719,Daniel Defoe's novelRobinson Crusoe,about a castaway on a desert island, has spawned so many imitations in film, television and radio that its name was used to define a genre,Robinsonade.[14][15]The novel featuresMan Friday,Crusoe's personal assistant. It is likely that Defoe took inspiration for Crusoe from aScottishsailor namedAlexander Selkirk,who was rescued in 1709 after four years on the otherwise uninhabitedJuan Fernández Islands;Defoe usually made use of current events for his plots. It is also likely that he was inspired by the Latin or English translations of Ibn Tufail'sHayy ibn Yaqdhan.[9][12][16][17]
Noel Paul Stookeysang a song about living on a desert island called "On a Desert Island (With You in My Dreams)" onPeter, Paul & Mary's 1965 album: "See What Tomorrow Brings".
Tom Nealewas a New Zealander who voluntarily spent 16 years in three sessions in the 1950s and 1960s living alone on the island ofSuwarrowin theNorthern Cook Islandsgroup. His time there is documented in his autobiography,An Island To Oneself.[18]
In the popular conception, such islands are often located in thePacific,tropical,uninhabited and usually uncharted.[19]They are remote locales that offer escape and force people marooned or stranded ascastawaysto become self-sufficient and essentially create a new society. This society can either beutopian,based on an ingenious re-creation of society's comforts (as inSwiss Family Robinsonand, in a humorous form,Gilligan's Island) or a regression into savagery (the major theme of bothLord of the FliesandThe Beach).
Desert island jokesare also a hugely popular image forgag cartoons,the island being conventionally depicted as just a few yards across with a single palm tree (probably due to the visual constraints of the medium). 17 such cartoons appeared inThe New Yorkerin 1957 alone.[20]
A special variation of the desert island theme appears in H.G.Wells'sThe War in the Air.As part of the cataclysmic global war depicted, the bridges linkingGoat Islandin the middle of theNiagara Fallsto the mainland are cut, and with civilization fast breaking down a few survivors stranded on the island cannot expect rescue and must rely on their own resources - embarking on a grim life-and-death struggle.
The top "dream vacation" for heterosexual men surveyed byPsychology Todaywas "marooned on a tropical island with several members of the opposite sex".[21]
Historical castaways
editEssex
editIn 1820, the crew of the BritishwhalerEssexspent time on uninhabited BritishHenderson Island.There they gorged on birds, fish, and vegetation and found a small freshwater spring. After one week, they had depleted the island's resources and most of the crew left on threewhaleboats,while three of the men decided to remain on the island and survived there for four months until their rescue.[22]
Strathmore
editSurvivors of the BritishStrathmoresurvived for 7 months at a small island of the FrenchCrozet Islandsfrom 1875 to 1876. They survived from eating eggs and flesh of geese, albatrosses and other seabirds. The also ate root vegetables and fish.[23]The survival was the input for among others the bookSurvival on the Crozet Islands: The Wreck of the Strathmore in 1875.[24]
See also
edit
- List of uninhabited regions
- List of islands by population
- Bonin Islands,whose name derives from the Japanese for 'desert island'
- Shipwreck,Marooning,Exile,&Castaway
- Castaway depot
- Desert Island Discs
References
edit- ^abLew, Josh (April 23, 2018)."10 (almost) deserted islands".MNN Galleries.
- ^ab"Mars Researchers Rendezvous on Remote Arctic Island".Langley Research Center,Atmospheric Science Data Center, NASA. Archived fromthe originalon April 29, 2017.RetrievedJuly 8,2019.
- ^ab"desert island".Oxford English Dictionary(Online ed.).Oxford University Press.Retrieved11 June2019.(Subscription orparticipating institution membershiprequired.)
- ^Frédéric Ducarme."Les aires protégées à l'épreuve de la réalité".Société Française d'Ecologie.
- ^kuschk (3 May 2012)."Devon Island: The Largest Uninhabited Island on Earth".Basement Geographer.Archived fromthe originalon 2016-03-04.Retrieved27 February2014.
- ^"German MPs suggest cash-strapped Greece should sell islands".The Local. March 4, 2010.
- ^"About Tetepare Island".Tetepare.org.RetrievedJuly 8,2019.
- ^Dr. Abu Shadi Al-Roubi (1982), "Ibn Al-Nafis as a philosopher",Symposium on Ibn al-Nafis,Second International Conference on Islamic Medicine: Islamic Medical Organization, Kuwait (cf.Ibnul-Nafees As a PhilosopherArchivedFebruary 6, 2008, at theWayback Machine,Encyclopedia of Islamic World).
- ^abAmber Haque (2004), "Psychology from Islamic Perspective: Contributions of Early Muslim Scholars and Challenges to Contemporary Muslim Psychologists",Journal of Religion and Health43(4): 357–377 [369].
- ^Kalin, Brahim (March 10, 2018)."'Hayy ibn Yaqdhan' and the European Enlightenment ".Daily Sabah.RetrievedApril 14,2020.
- ^Simon Ockley(1708),The Improvement of Human Reason: Exhibited in the Life of Hai Ebn Yokdhan,Oxford University.
- ^abMartin Wainwright,Desert island scripts,The Guardian,22 March 2003.
- ^G. J. Toomer(1996),Eastern Wisedome and Learning: The Study of Arabic in Seventeenth-Century England,p. 222,Oxford University Press,ISBN0-19-820291-1.
- ^Steampunkanthology, 2008, ed.Ann VanderMeer&Jeff VanderMeer,ISBN978-1-892391-75-9
- ^Empire Islands: Castaways, Cannibals, And Fantasies of Conquest,by Rebecca Weaver-Hightower, University of Minnesota P, 2007,ISBN978-0816648634
- ^Nawal Muhammad Hassan (1980),Hayy bin Yaqzan and Robinson Crusoe: A study of an early Arabic impact on English literature,Al-Rashid House for Publication.
- ^Cyril Glasse (2001),NewEncyclopedia of Islam,p. 202, Rowman Altamira,ISBN0-7591-0190-6.
- ^Good Reads,An Island to Oneself
- ^Leadbeater, Chris (20 October 2017)."The 30 most idyllic islands on Earth".The Telegraph.Archivedfrom the original on 2022-01-12.
- ^Bruce Handy (May 25, 2012)."A Guy, a Palm Tree, and a Desert Island: The Cartoon Genre That Just Won't Die".Vanity Fair.RetrievedFebruary 2,2016.
- ^Clarke, Thurston(2001).Searching for Crusoe.New York: Ballantine.ISBN9780345411433.
- ^"Lloyd's list. 1821".HathiTrust.Retrieved2017-10-26.
- ^"Varia".Algemeene visscherij-courant(in Dutch). 2 April 1876 – viaDelpher.
- ^[1]
External links
edit