Archipelago

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"Island chain" redirects here. For the strategy, see Island Chain Strategy. For
other uses, see Archipelago (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with arpeggio or a cappella.

The Aegean Sea with its large number of islands is the origin of the term archipelago.

The Mergui Archipelago in Myanmar

An archipelago (/ˌɑːrkɪˈpɛləɡoʊ/ ( listen) ARK-ih-PEL-ə-goh), sometimes called

an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster or collection of islands, or
sometimes a sea containing a small number of scattered islands.
 Indonesia, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the Galápagos Islands, Japan,
the Philippines, Maldives, the Balearic Isles, the Bahamas, the Aegean
Islands, Hawaii, the Canary Islands, Malta, the Azores, Canadian Arctic
Archipelago, Archipelago Sea(Finland) and the Shetland Islands are all
examples of well-known archipelagos.

Contents

 1Etymology
 2Geographic types
o 2.1Oceanic islands
o 2.2Continental fragments
o 2.3Continental archipelagos
 3Further examples
 4See also
 5References
 6External links

Etymology[edit]
The word archipelago is derived from the Ancient Greek ἄρχι-(arkhi-, "chief")
and πέλαγος (pélagos, "sea") through the Italian arcipelago. In Italian, possibly
following a tradition of antiquity, "Archipelago" (from medieval
Greek *ἀρχιπέλαγος and Latinarchipelagus) was the proper name for
the Aegean Sea. Later, usage shifted to refer to the Aegean Islands (since the
sea is remarkable for its large number of islands).

Geographic types[edit]
Archipelagos may be found isolated in large amounts of water or neighbouring a
large land mass. For example, Scotland has more than 700 islands surrounding
its mainland which form an archipelago
Archipelagos are often volcanic, forming along island arcs generated by
subduction zones or hotspots, but may also be the result of erosion, deposition,
and land elevation. Depending on their geological origin, islands forming
archipelagos can be referred to as oceanic islands, continental fragments,
and continental islands.[1]
Oceanic islands[edit]
Oceanic islands are mainly of volcanic origin, and widely separated from any
adjacent continent. The Hawaiian Islands and Easter Island in the Pacific,
and Île Amsterdam in the south Indian Ocean are examples.
Continental fragments[edit]
Continental fragments correspond to land masses that have separated from a
continental mass due to tectonic displacement. The Farallon Islands off the
coast of California are an example.
Continental archipelagos[edit]
 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
the Inside Passage off the coast of British Columbia and the Canadian Arctic
Archipelago are examples.

Further examples[edit]
The largest archipelagic state in the world by area, and by population,
is Indonesia.[2]

See also[edit]

 Geography portal

 Islands portal

 Island arc
 List of landforms
 List of archipelagos by number of islands
 List of archipelagos
 Archipelagic state
 List of islands

References[edit]
1. ^ Whittaker R. J. & Fernández-Palacios J. M. (2007) Island Biogeography: Ecology,
Evolution, and Conservation. New York, Oxford University Press
2. ^ Indonesia.  The World Factbook. Washington, DC:  Central Intelligence Agency  of
the United States. 4 December 2008.  Archived  from the original on 10 December 2008.
Retrieved  7 December  2008.

External links