10/5/2019 Archipelago - Wikipedia

Archipelago
An archipelago (/ˌɑːrkɪˈpɛləɡoʊ/ ( listen) ARK-ih-PEL-ə-
goh), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a
chain, cluster or collection of islands, or sometimes a sea
containing a small number of scattered islands.

Indonesia, the Galapagos, Japan, the Philippines, Maldives, the

Balearic Isles, the Bahamas, the Aegean Islands, Hawaii, The
Canary Islands, Azores, and Chile are all examples of well-
known archipelagos.

Contents
Etymology
Geographic types
Oceanic islands
Continental fragments
Continental archipelagos
Further examples The Aegean Sea with its large number of
See also islands is the origin of the term archipelago.

References
External links

Etymology
The word archipelago is derived from the Ancient Greek ἄρχι- (arkhi-,
"chief") and πέλαγος (pélagos, "sea") through the Italian arcipelago. In
Italian, possibly following a tradition of antiquity, "Archipelago" (from
medieval Greek *ἀρχιπέλαγος and Latin archipelagus) was the proper
name for the Aegean Sea. Later, usage shifted to refer to the Aegean Islands
(since the sea is remarkable for its large number of islands).

Geographic types
Archipelagos may be found isolated in large amounts of water or
neighbouring a large land mass. For example, Scotland has more than
700 islands surrounding its mainland which form 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. Depending on their geological origin,
islands forming archipelagos can be referred to as oceanic islands, The Mergui Archipelago in Myanmar
continental fragments, and continental islands.[1]

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10/5/2019 Archipelago - Wikipedia

Oceanic islands
Oceanic islands are mainly of volcanic origin, and widely separated from any adjacent continent. The Hawai'ian Islands
and Easter Island in the Pacific, and Île Amsterdam in the south Indian Ocean are examples.

Continental fragments
Continental fragments correspond to land masses that have separated from a continental mass due to tectonic
displacement. The Farallon Islands off the coast of California are an example.

Continental archipelagos
Sets of islands formed close to the coast of a continent are considered continental archipelagos when they form part of
the same continental shelf, when those islands are above-water extensions of the shelf. The islands of the Inland
passage off the coast of British Columbia are an example.

Further examples
The largest archipelagic state in the world by area, and by population, is Indonesia.[2]

See also
Island arc
List of landforms
List of archipelagos by number of islands
List of archipelagos
Archipelagic state
List of islands

References
1. Whittaker R. J. & Fernández-Palacios J. M. (2007) Island Biogeography: Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation.
New York, Oxford University Press
2. Indonesia (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/id.html). The World Factbook.
Washington, DC: Central Intelligence Agency of the United States. 4 December 2008. Archived (https://web.archiv
e.org/web/20081210041527/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/id.html) from the
original on 10 December 2008. Retrieved 7 December 2008.

External links
Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Archipelago"  (https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/
Archipelago). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
30 Most Incredible Island Archipelagos (https://web.archive.org/web/20090130062925/http://www.environmentalgr
affiti.com/featured/island-archipelagos/3612)

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