| Revision as of 19:56, 4 January 2012 editArunsingh16 (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users10,136 editsm Reverted edit(s) by 152.26.228.28 identified as test/vandalism using STiki← Previous edit | Revision as of 09:22, 14 January 2012 edit undoMps (talk | contribs)Extended confirmed users5,120 edits 列島 only refers to a chain of islands, but not a clusterNext edit → | ||
| Line 100: | Line 100: | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | ] | ||
| ] | ] | ||
Revision as of 09:22, 14 January 2012
This article is about a chain of islands. For other uses, see Archipelago (disambiguation).
An archipelago (/ɑːrkˈpɛləɡoʊ/ ark-i-PEL-ə-goh), sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- ("chief") and πέλαγος – pélagos ("sea") through the Italian arcipelago. In Italian, possibly following a tradition of antiquity, the Arcipelago (from medieval Greek *ἀρχιπέλαγος) 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 refer to any island group or, sometimes, to a sea containing a large number of scattered islands such as the Aegean Sea.
Types of archipelago
Archipelagos may be found isolated in bodies of water or neighboring a large land mass. For example, Scotland has more than 700 islands surrounding its mainland which constitute 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.
The five largest modern countries that are mainly archipelagos are Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The largest archipelagic state in the world, by area, is Indonesia. The archipelago with the most islands is the Archipelago Sea in Finland.
See also
- 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
- "Archipelago". Farlex, Inc. 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-02.
{{cite web}}: Check|archiveurl=value (help) - "Indonesia". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. 2008-12-04. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
External links
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Archipelago" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
 | This article about geography terminology is a stub. You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it. |