Archipelago
- For other uses, see Archipelago (disambiguation).
An archipelago is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago literally means "chief sea", from Greek arkhon (arkhi-) ("leader") and pelagos ("sea"). In antiquity, the Archipelago (Greek: Αρхιπέλαγος) was the proper name for the Aegean Sea and, later, usage shifted to refer to the Aegean Islands (since the sea is remarkable for its large number of islands). It is now used to generally refer to any island group or, sometimes, to a sea containing a large number of scattered islands like the Aegean.
Archipelagoes usually occur in the open sea; less commonly, a large land mass may neighbour them. Archipelagoes are often volcanic, forming along mid-ocean ridges or hotspots, but there are many other processes involved in their construction, including erosion and deposition.
List of archipelagoes
- ABC islands
- Aegean Islands
- Aleutian Islands
- Alexander Archipelago
- Andaman Islands
- Azores
- Bahama Islands
- Balearic Islands
- Baltic Sea archipelagoes
- Bermuda Islands
- Bight of Bonny islands
- British Isles
- Canadian Arctic Archipelago
- Chagos Archipelago
- Channel Islands of California
- Chausey
- Chonos Archipelago
- Comoro Islands
- Diego Ramírez Islands
- Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
- Faroe Islands
- Florida Keys
- Fox Islands
- Franz Josef Land
- Frisian Islands (or Wadden Islands)
- Furneaux Group
- Galápagos Islands (Colón)
- Gothenburg archipelago
- Guayaneco Archipelago
- Ionian Islands
- Japanese Archipelago
- Juan Fernández Islands
- Kerguelen Islands
- Kermadec Islands
- Kornati
- Langkawi
- Lakshadweep (Laccadives)
- Lofoten
- Los Roques
- Macaronesia
- Magdalen Islands
- Malay Archipelago (the world's largest)
- Maldives
- Maltese islands
- Mascarene Islands
- Melanesia
- Bismarck Archipelago
- Fiji Islands
- New Caledonia (Kanaky)
- Solomon Islands
- Vanuatu (New Hebrides)
- Mergui Archipelago
- Micronesia
- New Siberian Islands
- Nicobar Islands
- Outer Lands (New England-New York islands)
- Novaya Zemlya islands
- Polynesia
- Cook Islands (Hervey Islands)
- French Polynesia
- Austral Islands
- Gambier Islands
- Marquesas
- Society Islands
- Îles du vent (Windward Islands)
- Îles sous le vent (Leeward Islands)
- Tuamotus
- Hawaiian Islands (Sandwich Islands)
- New Zealand islands (Aotearoa)
- Pitcairn Islands
- Samoan Islands (Navigators' Islands)
- Tonga Islands (Friendly Islands)
- Tokelau (Union Islands)
- Tuvalu (Ellice Islands)
- Wallis and Futuna Islands
- Pontine Islands
- Queen Charlotte Islands (Haida Gwaii)
- Saint Helena islands
- San Juan Islands
- Severnaya Zemlya
- Seychelles
- Solentiname Islands
- South China Sea Islands
- Stockholm Archipelago
- South Orkney Islands
- South Sandwich Islands
- South Shetland Islands
- Svalbard
- Tanzania's Indian Ocean
- Thousand Islands
- Tierra del Fuego
- "The World", an archipelago of artificial islands being constructed off Dubai
- Tuscan Archipelago
- Venice islands
- Virgin Islands
- West Indies (Caribbean)
See also
- List of islands of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean
- List of islands in the Arctic Ocean
- List of islands of Asia
- List of islands in the Atlantic Ocean
- List of islands of Australia
- List of islands in the Baltic Sea
- List of islands of Canada
- List of islands in the Caribbean
- List of islands in the Indian Ocean
- List of islands of New Zealand
- List of islands of North America
- List of islands in the Pacific
- List of islands of South America
- List of islands in the United States
Categories
Archipelagoes | Geography