Archipelago
From open-encyclopedia.com - the free encyclopedia.
An archipelago is a landform which consists of a chain or cluster of islands. Archipelagoes usually occur in the open sea; less commonly a large land mass may neighbour them. Archipelagos are often volcanic, forming along ocean ridges or hot spots, but there are many other processes involved in their construction, including erosion and deposition.
The word comes from the Aegean Sea (Italian Arcipelago), which literally means "chief sea", from Greek arkhi (leader) and pelagos (sea). The Aegean Sea is located between Greece in the west and Turkey in the east. The Venetian Dukes of Arcipelago ruled from Naxos, 1210 - 1566.
List of archipelagoes
- Aegean islands (the original use of the term)
- Aleutian Islands
- Alexander Archipelago, Alaska, United States
- American Samoa
- Andaman Islands
- Antilles
- Arctic islands, Canada
- Azores
- Bahamas
- Balearic Islands
- The almost continuous archipelagoes in the northern Baltic Sea:
- Stockholm archipelago, Sweden
- Åland Islands, autonomous (under Finnish sovereignty)
- Turku archipelago, Finland
- British Isles
- Canary Islands
- Cape Verde Islands
- Caroline Islands (Micronesia)
- Cook Islands
- Cyclades
- Falkland Islands
- Faroe Islands
- Florida Keys, USA
- Fox Islands, USA
- French Polynesia
- Austral Islands
- Gambier Islands
- Marquises
- Society Islands
- Iles du Vent (Windward Islands)
- Iles sous du Vent (Leeward Islands)
- Tuamotus
- The Frisian or Wadden Islands (divided into the West, East, and North Frisian Islands groups)
- Furneaux Group
- Galapagos Islands
- Gothenburg archipelago, Sweden
- Hawaiian Islands
- Haida Gwaii
- Hebrides
- Indonesia
- Japan
- Juan Fernandez
- Kerguelen Islands
- Kermadec Islands
- Line Islands
- Lofoten
- Maldives
- Maltese archipelago (Malta, Gozo, Comino, Filfla,St Paul's Island and several smaller islets]
- Marianas Islands
- Marshall Islands
- Micronesia (Caroline Islands)
- New Hebrides
- New Siberian Islands
- New Zealand
- Nicobar Islands
- Orkneys
- Papua New Guinea
- Philippines
- Pitcairn Islands
- Queen Charlotte Islands
- Samoa
- Shetlands
- Solomon Islands
- Solentiname Islands
- South Orkney Islands
- South Shetland Islands
- Tierra del Fuego
- Tonga
See also
Lists of islands:
- 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 Caribbean
- List of islands in the Indian Ocean
- 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
de:Archipel es:Archipiélago fr:Archipel he:ארכיפלג nl:Archipel ja:列島 pl:Archipelag pt:Arquipélago ru:Архипелаг sv:Skärgård tl:Kapuluan
