island, relatively small body of land surrounded entirely by water. (As the oceans form a continuous mass of water on the earth's surface, all continents are islands in the strict sense of the word.) The largest islands on earth are, in descending order of size, Greenland Greenland, Green. Kalaallit Nunaat, Dan. Grønland, the largest island in the world (2005 est. pop. 56,000), 836,109 sq mi (2,166,086 sq km), self-governing overseas administrative division of Denmark, lying largely within the Arctic Circle.
..... Click the link for more information. , New Guinea New Guinea (gĭn`ē), island, c.
..... Click the link for more information. , Borneo Borneo (bôr`nēō'), island (1990 pop. 9,102,906), c.
..... Click the link for more information. , Madagascar Madagascar (măd'əgăs`cär), officially Democratic Republic of Madagascar, republic (2005 est. pop.
..... Click the link for more information. , Baffin Island Baffin Island, 183,810 sq mi (476,068 sq km), c.1,000 mi (1,610 km) long and from 130 to 450 mi (210–720 km) wide, in the Arctic Ocean, Nunavut Territory, Canada. It is the fifth largest island in the world and the easternmost member of the Arctic Archipelago .
..... Click the link for more information. , Sumatra Sumatra (s
mä`trə), island (1990 pop. 36,471,731), c.
..... Click the link for more information. , Honshu Honshu (hōn`sh
), island (1990 pop. 98,352,000), c.
..... Click the link for more information. (largest of the islands of Japan), and Great Britain Great Britain, officially United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, constitutional monarchy (2005 est. pop. 60,441,000), 94,226 sq mi (244,044 sq km), on the British Isles, off W Europe. The country is often referred to simply as Britain.
..... Click the link for more information. . Depending on their origin, islands are either continental or oceanic. Continental islands are created by rise in sea level where only the summits of coastal highlands remain above water; or by the sea breaking through an isthmus or peninsula and cutting the land from the mainland. Typical continental islands are Great Britain and Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard (vĭn`yərd), island (1990 est. pop. 8,900), c.100 sq mi (260 sq km), SE Mass.
..... Click the link for more information. . Other islands emerge along coasts as barrier islands, such as the Outer Banks Outer Banks or the Banks, chain of sand barrier islands and peninsulas, c.175 mi (280 km), along the Atlantic coast of SE Va. and E N.C.
..... Click the link for more information. , off North Carolina. Oceanic islands can result from volcanic islands rising above the water, especially on or near a mid-ocean ridge, as when the island of Surtsey Surtsey, volcanic island, c.1.25 sq mi (3.2 sq km), S of Iceland in Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands). The island was formed by the eruption (Nov., 1963) of Sutur, an underwater volcano named for a giant of Icelandic legend.
..... Click the link for more information. appeared along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge S of Iceland in 1963. Island arcs, such as the Aleutian Islands Aleutian Islands (əl
..... Click the link for more information. , result from magmatic activity associated with the convergence of lithospheric plates (see plate tectonics plate tectonics, theory that unifies many of the features and characteristics of continental drift and seafloor spreading into a coherent model and has revolutionized geologists' understanding of continents, ocean basins, mountains, and earth history.
..... Click the link for more information. ). Oceanic islands may also be the emergent tips of volcanoes (seamounts) formed by hotspots. Oceanic islands that result from coral growth on the summit of seamounts are called coral islands or atolls (see coral reefs coral reefs, limestone formations produced by living organisms, found in shallow, tropical marine waters. In most reefs, the predominant organisms are stony corals , colonial cnidarians that secrete an exoskeleton of calcium carbonate (limestone).
..... Click the link for more information. ). These low islands only occur in tropical ocean areas. Oceanic islands are generally characterized by low faunal diversity, consisting of a few sea birds and insects. Vegetation is usually more abundant, as seeds are carried from remote lands by wind, water currents, and birds.
island
..... Click the link for more information. , New Guinea New Guinea (gĭn`ē), island, c.
..... Click the link for more information. , Borneo Borneo (bôr`nēō'), island (1990 pop. 9,102,906), c.
..... Click the link for more information. , Madagascar Madagascar (măd'əgăs`cär), officially Democratic Republic of Madagascar, republic (2005 est. pop.
..... Click the link for more information. , Baffin Island Baffin Island, 183,810 sq mi (476,068 sq km), c.1,000 mi (1,610 km) long and from 130 to 450 mi (210–720 km) wide, in the Arctic Ocean, Nunavut Territory, Canada. It is the fifth largest island in the world and the easternmost member of the Arctic Archipelago .
..... Click the link for more information. , Sumatra Sumatra (s
mä`trə), island (1990 pop. 36,471,731), c...... Click the link for more information. , Honshu Honshu (hōn`sh
), island (1990 pop. 98,352,000), c...... Click the link for more information. (largest of the islands of Japan), and Great Britain Great Britain, officially United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, constitutional monarchy (2005 est. pop. 60,441,000), 94,226 sq mi (244,044 sq km), on the British Isles, off W Europe. The country is often referred to simply as Britain.
..... Click the link for more information. . Depending on their origin, islands are either continental or oceanic. Continental islands are created by rise in sea level where only the summits of coastal highlands remain above water; or by the sea breaking through an isthmus or peninsula and cutting the land from the mainland. Typical continental islands are Great Britain and Martha's Vineyard Martha's Vineyard (vĭn`yərd), island (1990 est. pop. 8,900), c.100 sq mi (260 sq km), SE Mass.
..... Click the link for more information. . Other islands emerge along coasts as barrier islands, such as the Outer Banks Outer Banks or the Banks, chain of sand barrier islands and peninsulas, c.175 mi (280 km), along the Atlantic coast of SE Va. and E N.C.
..... Click the link for more information. , off North Carolina. Oceanic islands can result from volcanic islands rising above the water, especially on or near a mid-ocean ridge, as when the island of Surtsey Surtsey, volcanic island, c.1.25 sq mi (3.2 sq km), S of Iceland in Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands). The island was formed by the eruption (Nov., 1963) of Sutur, an underwater volcano named for a giant of Icelandic legend.
..... Click the link for more information. appeared along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge S of Iceland in 1963. Island arcs, such as the Aleutian Islands Aleutian Islands (əl
..... Click the link for more information. , result from magmatic activity associated with the convergence of lithospheric plates (see plate tectonics plate tectonics, theory that unifies many of the features and characteristics of continental drift and seafloor spreading into a coherent model and has revolutionized geologists' understanding of continents, ocean basins, mountains, and earth history.
..... Click the link for more information. ). Oceanic islands may also be the emergent tips of volcanoes (seamounts) formed by hotspots. Oceanic islands that result from coral growth on the summit of seamounts are called coral islands or atolls (see coral reefs coral reefs, limestone formations produced by living organisms, found in shallow, tropical marine waters. In most reefs, the predominant organisms are stony corals , colonial cnidarians that secrete an exoskeleton of calcium carbonate (limestone).
..... Click the link for more information. ). These low islands only occur in tropical ocean areas. Oceanic islands are generally characterized by low faunal diversity, consisting of a few sea birds and insects. Vegetation is usually more abundant, as seeds are carried from remote lands by wind, water currents, and birds.
island
Any area of land smaller than a continent and entirely surrounded by water. Islands may occur in oceans, seas, lakes, or rivers. A group of islands is called an archipelago. Continental islands are simply unsubmerged parts of a continental mass that are entirely surrounded by water; Greenland, the world's largest island, is of the continental type. Oceanic islands are produced by volcanic activity, when lava accumulates to enormous thickness until it finally protrudes above the ocean surface. The piles of lava that form Hawaii rise as high as 32,000 ft (9,700 m) above the ocean floor.
island
1. a mass of land that is surrounded by water and is smaller than a continent
2. See traffic island
3. Anatomy a part, structure, or group of cells distinct in constitution from its immediate surroundings
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