An archipelago ( ),
Etymology
The word
archipelago is derived from the Italian
arcipelago, used as a proper name for the
Aegean Sea, itself perhaps a deformation of the Greek Αιγαίον Πέλαγος.
[Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. "archipelago (n.), Etymology", July 2023, [1]] 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 ἄρχι-(
arkhi-, "chief") and πέλαγος (
pélagos, "sea"), proposed by Buondelmonti, can still be found.
[Maltézou, Chryssa A., De la mer Égée à l'archipel: quelques remarques sur l'histoire insulaire égéenne In: Mélanges Hélène Ahrweiler Pt. 2 (1998) p. 464-465]
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.[Whittaker R. J. & Fernández-Palacios J. M. (2007) Island Biogeography: Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation. New York, Oxford University Press]
Oceanic islands
Oceanic islands are formed by volcanoes erupting from the ocean floor. The
Hawaiian Islands and Galapagos Islands in the
Pacific Ocean, and Mascarene Islands in the south
Indian Ocean 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 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.
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.
See also
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List of landforms
-
List of archipelagos by number of islands
-
List of archipelagos
-
Archipelagic state
-
List of islands
-
Aquapelago
External links
