| Revision as of 09:22, 14 January 2012 editMps (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users5,120 edits 列島 only refers to a chain of islands, but not a cluster← Previous edit | Revision as of 14:17, 15 January 2012 edit undo202.156.13.11 (talk)No edit summaryTag: references removedNext edit → | ||
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| {{About|a chain of islands}} | |||
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| An '''archipelago''' ({{IPAc-en|icon|ɑr|k|ɨ|ˈ|p|ɛ|l|ə|ɡ|oʊ}} {{respell|ark-i|PEL|ə-goh}}), sometimes called an '''island group''', is a chain or cluster of ]s. The word ''archipelago'' is derived from the ] ''ἄρχι- – arkhi-'' ("chief") and ''πέλαγος – pélagos'' ("sea") through the Italian '''arcipelago'''. In ], possibly following a tradition of ], the '''Arcipelago''' (from ] ]ἀρχιπέλαγος) was the proper name for the ] and, later, usage shifted to refer to the ] (since the sea is remarkable for its large number of islands). It is now used to refer to any island group or, sometimes, to a sea containing a large number of scattered islands such as the Aegean Sea.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/archipelago |title=Archipelago |accessdate=2008-10-02 |year=2008 |publisher=Farlex, Inc. |archiveurl=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/archipelago |archivedate=2008 }}</ref> | |||
| == Types of archipelago == | |||
| ] in ]]] | |||
| ]]] | |||
| Archipelagos may be found isolated in bodies of water or neighboring a large ]. For example, ] has more than 700 islands surrounding its mainland which constitute an archipelago. Archipelagos are often ], forming along ]s generated by ] or ], but may also be the result of ], ] and ]. | |||
| The five largest modern countries that are mainly archipelagos are ], ], the ], ] and the ]. The largest archipelagic state in the world, by area, is Indonesia.<ref>{{cite web | title=Indonesia | publisher=Central Intelligence Agency | work=The World Factbook | date=2008-12-04 | url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/id.html | accessdate=2008-12-07}}</ref> The archipelago with the most islands is the ] in ]. | |||
| == See also == | |||
| {{Portal|Geography}} | |||
| *] | *] | ||
Revision as of 14:17, 15 January 2012
{
- Island arc
- Geography
- Earth science
- Geomorphology
- List of landforms
- Plate tectonics
- Island country
- Earthsea
- The World (archipelago)
- List of archipelagos by number of islands
- Lists of islands: see List of archipelagos and List of islands
References
External links
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Archipelago" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
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