Countries located on islands and archipelagos. Large archipelagos

A piece of land surrounded on four sides by water is called an island. The island differs from the mainland in size. There are single islands and the so-called archipelagos. Under the archipelagos, they most often mean a group of islands that are located not far from each other and are considered as one. Most often, the islands of the archipelago have the same origin and the same geological structure. Therefore, there are continental, coral, volcanic, alluvial archipelagos. For example, the mainland islands include the archipelago New Earth, to coral - Marshall Islands - these are islands of volcanic origin. Some of the islands in a large archipelago may have different origins.. There are archipelago states in the world, these are states that may include one or more archipelagos. The islands of the archipelago, the waters connecting them, any other natural formations, are closely interconnected, and make up a single whole from the archipelago in a geographical, political, economic sense, or this may be a historical fact.

Currently, there are more than 30 archipelago states in the world. These are such countries as Indonesia, Fiji, Philippines, Bahamas and others. To connect the most prominent points in the sea of ​​the most remote islands, the archipelago states draw archipelagic lines. When drawing such lines, it is necessary to take into account the ratio between the areas of the water surface and land, and atolls are also included here. This ratio should be in the range from 1:1 to 9:2, and the length of these lines should not exceed 100 nautical miles. From these archipelagic lines the breadth of the territorial sea is measured.
The waters located inside the archipelagic lines are called archipelagic. These waters do not depend on depth or distance from the coast. Archipelagic waters have the sovereignty of the archipelago state. Marine and aircraft have the right to move through the archipelagic waters according to specially approved sea lanes, while not deviating from the axis of the lane lines by more than 25 miles. Movement along the sea corridors makes it possible to exercise the right of normal passage and navigation for the purpose of permanent, free transit from one part of the sea to another, or from one exclusive economic zone to another. All rules applicable to transit passage apply to archipelagic passage. In the modern world, a large number of archipelagos are distinguished, among them the following major archipelagos can be distinguished. The Malay Archipelago is the largest archipelago on Earth, consists of approximately 10,000 islands, with a total area of ​​about 2 million square meters. located between the Asian mainland and Australia. The Malay Archipelago includes the Large and Small Sunda, Philippine, as well as smaller islands. On this largest archipelago, the territories of such countries as Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines are located. Here prevails mountainous relief, there are about 100 . highest point(up to 4101m.) is located on the island of Kalimantan is Mount Kinabalu. This large archipelago has deposits of tin, oil, gas, and various ores. This archipelago is located in the equatorial and subequatorial climatic zone, during the year on the plains the temperature ranges from 23 to 26 degrees Celsius. Great variety of flora and fauna. Tropical farming and fishing predominates.
One of the largest archipelagos, called the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, is located in the Arctic Ocean. Its territory is approximately 1.3 million square meters. meters. Mostly on this archipelago live the Eskimos. Here we can distinguish the following islands: Victoria, Baffin Island, Ellesmere. In the relief of this large archipelago, there are hilly plains, and plateaus, and mountain ranges, and ice shelves. There are deposits of oil, gas, iron ore. They are mainly engaged in fishing and hunting. In the Western Pacific Ocean there is another large archipelago with an area of ​​370 thousand square meters. meters are the Japanese islands. This archipelago includes major islands like Honshu, Shikoku, Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu and many smaller islands. Most of the entire territory of this large archipelago is occupied by mountains, there are many active volcanoes earthquakes and tsunamis often occur. The monsoon and subtropical climate prevails. Coniferous, subtropical and tropical forests grow. They are engaged in fishing, crab fishing.
You can also highlight the next major archipelago located between the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, covering an area of ​​about 325 thousand square meters. meters is British Isles. The British Isles include the islands of Great Britain, Ireland, the Hebrides, Orkney, Shetland Islands, and the smaller single Isles of Man, Skye, Anglesey, Mull, etc. There are two countries on this large archipelago - Great Britain and Ireland. Other large archipelagos should be noted, such as the Tierra del Fuego Archipelago, Philippine Islands, New Zealand, Greater Antilles, Moluccas.

If you didn’t study geography too hard at school, then the meaning of some geographical terms may remain incomprehensible to you.


For example, not all of our compatriots know exactly what an archipelago is in geography. In the mass consciousness, the phrase of the odious essay by A. Solzhenitsyn “The Gulag Archipelago”, associated with the repressions of the 30s of the 20th century, is tightly fixed. However, in reality, an archipelago is just a group of islands in the sea or ocean.

What is an archipelago?

First, let's remember what an island is - it is a relatively small piece of land, surrounded on all sides by the waters of the sea or ocean. Islands are large, hundreds of square kilometers in area, and very small, with a dozen or two meters in diameter. They differ not only in size, but also in the way of formation.

Some islands are formed as a result, others due to coral growth, and so on. A lonely island in the middle of the sea is just an island and nothing more, but if there are many of them, they are located close to each other and have common origin- then a group of islands can be safely called an archipelago.

So, we found out that an archipelago is a group of islands located close enough to each other, which were formed as a result of similar processes. The last rule has several exceptions: sometimes islands with different origins are included in the archipelago if they are located nearby.

Many archipelagos form island states: the most famous of them are Japan, Great Britain, Indonesia, the Philippines, Denmark, etc. However, most of the archipelagos are part of the mainland states, near the coast of which they are located, or whose citizens were discovered and colonized. In total, today there are about 30 archipelago states, but more than half of them, formally considered independent, are actually under the protectorate of the United States or Great Britain.

Types of archipelagos

The main criterion by which archipelagos are classified in geography is the method of their formation and the geological structure.


In accordance with it, the following types of archipelagos are distinguished.

Mainland groups of islands were once part of the land, but due to tectonic processes of subsidence, parts of the earth's crust were separated from the mainland by a body of water. These are the British Isles, New Zealand, Novaya Zemlya, etc.

Volcanic archipelagos formed as a result of volcanic activity occurring millions of years ago. Each island is the top of a gigantic volcano, the ejection of lava from which was so great that the resulting cone emerged from the water. Volcanic origin has the Hawaiian archipelago, the Kuril archipelago, etc.

coral archipelagos are chains of islands formed as a result of the vital activity of corals. Often such islands form a semicircle or a ring with a lagoon in the middle. The most famous archipelagos of this type are Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean Maldives in the Indian Ocean, etc.

Alluvial archipelagos- groups of islands of artificial origin. These are quite complex and large-scale hydraulic structures located in close proximity to the mainland and used as recreational areas. The most famous alluvial archipelago is Palm Island in the United Arab Emirates, which is a group of small islands that, when viewed from above, resembles a palm tree.

As a rule, the islands of the same archipelago are closely related not only by a common geological origin, but also common history, traditions of the peoples inhabiting them, economic and cultural relations.

The largest archipelagos

There are more than 150 archipelagos of various sizes on our planet. The largest in terms of area are:

Malay archipelago, consisting of a total of more than 10 thousand islands and covering an area of ​​​​about 2 million square kilometers between the Pacific and Indian oceans, on the territory of which there are three island states - the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia;

Canadian Arctic Archipelago, with an area of ​​​​more than 1.4 million square kilometers, located in the waters of the Arctic and partially Atlantic oceans and inhabited for the most part by Eskimo peoples;


Japanese archipelago, covering an area of ​​​​about 350 thousand square kilometers and wholly owned by the state of Japan;

british archipelago, whose area is 315 thousand square kilometers, owned by the UK and partly Ireland.

There is such a thing as an "archipelago country". What does it mean? What states can be attributed to this type? And which country is located on 474 islands? The answers to all these curious questions are in our article!

Archipelago as a geographical concept

If you look at the map of the Pacific Ocean, focusing on its southwestern part, you can see a huge number of islands of different sizes. Very often they are located in groups, forming the so-called archipelagos.

The term itself is of ancient Greek origin and consists of two words: pelages - "sea" and arche - "old, ancient". Initially, this term denoted precisely the group of islands of Ancient Greece.

Islands within the same archipelago, as a rule, have a common genesis and are located on the same plinth (bottom). There are archipelagos of continental, volcanic and coral origin.

Archipelago countries (list)

Each country has its own geographical position. Some states are located within the mainland, other countries - on the islands.

Archipelago countries are those states that occupy groups of islands located close to each other. And we are talking about island groups. That is, for example, it is difficult to attribute Croatia to this type, because its main part is located on the mainland.

The following are all archipelago countries (list):

  • Great Britain;
  • New Zealand;
  • Indonesia;
  • Kiribati;
  • Marshall Islands;
  • Solomon islands;
  • Seychelles;
  • Palau;
  • Tuvalu;
  • Tonga;
  • Japan;
  • Philippines;
  • Denmark.

It should be noted that most of the states from this list are located in South-East Asia and Oceania - the most "island" regions of the planet.

Which country is located on 474 islands?

As we can see, in the modern world there are more than a dozen archipelago states. In this list, one country is located on 474 islands. What is it called?

This country is Denmark. It is located in Northern Europe, just between the mainland and the Scandinavian Peninsula. Indeed, this country is located on 474 islands. All of them are characterized by low-lying relief and sandy soils. Only 70 of these islands are inhabited by people. The largest of them are Zeeland, Bornholm, Lolland.

Denmark is one of the oldest powers in Europe. The Kingdom of Denmark was formed in the tenth century. By the way, the national flag of Denmark is also the oldest in the world. A banner with a white cross on a red background has been known since the 13th century.

Modern Denmark is in the top ten of many world rankings. We are talking about the level of education, health care, democracy, human development and GDP per capita. In addition, the Danes have repeatedly been called the happiest nation in the world.

We offer you some more interesting facts about Denmark:

  • located in the Danish capital Copenhagen famous park recreation "Tivoli", which served as a prototype of the famous "Disneyland";
  • Denmark is the first European country to make same-sex marriage legal;
  • The Faroe Islands, as you know, belong to Denmark. However, few people know that the Danish king won them at cards from the Norwegian monarch;
  • Strøget boulevard in the center of Copenhagen is the longest walking street in Europe;
  • it was in Denmark that one of the most famous and recognizable writers on the planet, Hans Christian Andersen, lived and worked;
  • Danes are forced to pay one of the highest personal car taxes in the world;
  • Perhaps the most famous Danish product on the world market is the Lego children's designer.

Finally...

Now you know which country is located on the 474 islands. There are 15 archipelago states in the world, which are located in different parts of the world.

It may seem that in such places you can only lie in a hammock among palm trees. However, here the rest can be very diverse, which will be discussed today.

Archipelago

Flight cost

When is the best time to go

Visa

French polynesia

June‒October

A visa is required, it is issued at the French Embassy

Hawaiian Islands

April‒November

US visa required

May‒November

Visa not needed

April‒August

Visa not needed

Azores

June-September

Need a Schengen visa

Bahamas

December‒April

Visa not needed

Canary Islands

March‒November

Need a Schengen visa

Galapagos Islands

May–December

Visa not needed

Maldives

November–April

Visa issued on arrival

Balearic Islands

May–September

Need a Schengen visa

French polynesia

French Polynesia is a state that includes several archipelagos and more than a hundred islands at once, among which you can swim for months. The islands are located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean in its southern part, which makes them difficult to access from anywhere in the world.

At the same time, there are as many ways to spend a vacation here as there are islands themselves. For example, beaches for every taste, and sometimes even color. At the same time, you can plunge into the many-sided city ​​life in Tahiti, enjoy what many consider to be picture perfect and excellent service on Bora Bora, and experience the unique mountain scenery on Wa Pu.

For whom: for lovers beach holiday, nature, underwater sports

Things to do

The best choice

Go on a trip

Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora, Maupiti, Rangiroa, Tubuai, Mangareva

go diving

Tahiti, Moorea, Bora Bora, Raiatea, Tahaa, Rangiroa, Fakarava, Tikehau, Manihi, Tubuai, Mangareva, Nuku Hiva

surf

Admire the mountains

Tahiti, Moorea, Maupiti, Tubuai, Wa-Pu

Swim with dolphins

Ride on the water (water skiing, kite surfing, etc.)

Moorea, Bora Bora

Watch the birds

Tetiaroa

Tetiaroa, Wa-Pu

Meet the Polynesians

Raiatea, Tahaa, Maupiti, Fakarava, Manihi, Rurutu, Mangareva, Ua-Pu

Visit vanilla plantations

Visit pearl farms

Manihi, Mangareva

Be a little Robinson Crusoe

Watch the whales

Hawaiian Islands

Located also in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, only about 4000 km north of French Polynesia are the main resort state of the United States, which is directly related to the popularity of these islands. During the season, many beaches are overcrowded, although if you wish, you can find quite secluded places.

The archipelago is based on six big islands, which are surrounded by dozens of small islets and atolls. It is worth coming here to see erupting volcanoes, amazing mountains, touch the tragedy of Pearl Harbor and get to know the Hawaiians - the most friendly of the peoples of America, as they call themselves.

For whom: lovers of beach holidays, nature, underwater sports, surfers

Things to do

The best choice

See fellow Grand Canyon

Go on a river cruise

Admire the mountains

Kauai, Oahu, Lanai, Maui, island of Hawaii

See whales, sea turtles

Kauai, Maui

go diving

Kauai, Oahu

Immerse yourself in the city's cultural life

surf

Get to know the Hawaiians

Visit natural reserves

Oahu, Maui

Escape from the crowds of tourists

Go on an SUV tour

Visit a coffee plantation

island of hawaii

Fly over an erupting volcano

island of hawaii

Fiji

This archipelago is only a three to four hour flight from the east coast and is billed as one of the best places on earth to start your family life and is affordable for all budgets.

Most of the tourists and life is located on the huge islands of Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, where the main resorts and the benefits of civilization are concentrated. In total, there are more than 300 islands in the archipelago, some of which can only be visited with special permission from the authorities.

For whom: for lovers of beach holidays, nature, underwater sports, for those who want to retire, honeymooners

Things to do

The best choice

Go Hiking

Yasawa Islands, Viti Levu, Vanua Levu

Be alone with nature

Yasawa Islands

Swim in a kayak

Yasawa Islands

go diving

Viti Levu, Vanua Levu, Yasawa Islands, Mamanuca Islands

Go on a great road trip

Viti Levu

Live in a village with the locals

Viti Levu

Ride the train through the jungle

Viti Levu

Watch the birds

Vanua Levu

Get to know the local tribes

Vanua Levu

Relax in thermal springs

Vanua Levu

See turtle beaches

Lau Islands, Mamanuca Islands

Go down to the caves

Lau Islands

Visit sugarcane plantations

Vanua Levu

Walk through the mini desert

Viti Levu

Vanuatu

Just 1000 km west of Fiji is one of the most exotic archipelago states of Vanuatu. Tourism began to develop actively here only in the last two decades, so the country can offer almost untouched nature, more than 100 original peoples and one of the best places in the world for diving.

Diving here is especially interesting for a number of reasons: the transparency of the water in most places is kept at the level of 50 meters, it is here that the largest underwater cemetery is located. military equipment World War II and the largest sunken a cruise ship"President Coolidge", available to scuba divers. The theme of diving is so popular that it is here that an underwater post office was opened: a diver serves it.

For whom: for fans of diving, nature lovers, beach holidays, honeymooners

Azores

This archipelago, consisting of 9 groups of islands, is located in the Atlantic Ocean at a distance of 1500 km west of Portugal. Many people who have visited the islands like to say that they have been to the best place on the planet, but at the same time, there is no question of any palm trees sprinkled with white sand. In terms of beach holidays, they are very mediocre, but nature lovers will come off here to the fullest.

Tropical forests, volcanoes, mountain lakes, deserts, caves, waterfalls, valleys, bays and mesmerizing panoramas provide countless options for trekking. At the same time, the weather is rarely very hot and is ideal for walking and hiking. Clear water and rich undersea world create excellent conditions for underwater sports.

For whom: for lovers of nature, hiking, diving

Bahamas

The Bahamas are more than 700 islands that have nothing to do with the violent volcanic activity in this region. This means flat relief and postcard format from the purest water and sand for all the islands.

For whom: for lovers of night city life, architecture, beach holidays, hiking

Photo: thinkstockphotos.com, flickr.com

Archipelagos - full list archipelago countries and archipelagos belonging to different states, broken down by oceans and parts of the world.

What is an archipelago and what are they

Archipelago it is a complex of islands located close to each other. The geological structure of the archipelagos are similar to each other. According to their origin, they are all:

  • Mainland

This is the name of the archipelagos, which were originally part of the mainland, but as a result of the movement of tectonic plates, they separated from the land and formed a complex of islands. The most striking example of a mainland archipelago is the British Isles. Also, they include Novaya Zemlya, New Zealand.

  • Volcanic

These island complexes were formed as a result of volcanic activity, or they themselves are volcanoes. Most often, in this case, the island is the top of a huge underground volcano, which looks out from under the water. The brightest representatives of the volcanic archipelagos are the Hawaiian Islands.

  • coral

A complex of islands that arose as a result of the growth and death of underwater corals. Islands can be in the form of a ring or a semicircle - they are called atolls. Most of the coral archipelagos are located in Pacific Ocean. The most famous coral archipelago is the Marshall Islands.

  • alluvial

The complex of islands is not of natural origin. They are complex hydraulic structures that are installed in water areas. Alluvial islands formally do not have the status of archipelagos and islands, since they are not natural objects. The most famous man-made archipelago is Palm Island located in the Emirates.

Of course, they are not deserted and many have small states. The islands that make up the territory are in contact with each other and have a geographical and political unity.

On this moment in the world there are about 30 state-tv located on the archipelagos. They include the Philippines, Indonesia, Fiji. Archipelagic lines are used for contact between the islands. All body of water within these lines belongs to the archipelago-state.

The largest archipelagos

There are a huge number of archipelagos on our planet. The largest of them are

  • Malay
  • Japanese Islands
  • British Isles.

The Malay Archipelago is considered the best and largest in the world. Its area is 2 million square kilometers, and it includes more than 10,000 islands. Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines are located on the lands of this giant. On the Malay archipelago, there are many volcanoes and mountains, as well as many gas and oil fields. Fishing and agriculture predominate among the population.

The second largest archipelago in the world is the Canadian Arctic. He is in Arctic Ocean. The area of ​​this archipelago is approximately 1.3 million sq. km. The main population is the Eskimos. This complex includes the islands of Ellesmere, Victoria, Baffin Island. The relief of the archipelago is made up of various trains, mountains and plateaus.

The next major archipelago is known to everyone - these are the very Japanese islands. They include many small islands, each of which is interconnected. Most of them are occupied by mountains and volcanoes, as well as coniferous forests. The very geological situation there is extremely unstable - there are earthquakes, tsunamis. The bulk of the population is located directly Japanese island. The marine industry is highly developed - the extraction of fish and crabs.

And last but not least, the archipelago is the British Isles. Its area is approximately 320 sq. km, the archipelago includes Great Britain, Ireland and many other small cities. Great Britain and Ireland are two states that are located on this territory.

List of archipelagos

IN this list all existing archipelagos of the world are given. For our convenience, I divided them on a territorial basis - the oceans where they are located, as well as into territorial subgroups of islands. Each listing is in alphabetical order for your convenience. If there is a state on the territory of the archipelago, this will be noted in the list. You can find every archipelago on the planet, learn about it and maybe consider it as a holiday destination.

Archipelagos of the Arctic Ocean

a complex of northern islands located close to the Arctic. Cold climate and low population density :

  • Franz Josef Land
  • Canadian Arctic Archipelago
  • New Siberian Islands
  • Belcher Islands
  • Severnaya Zemlya
  • New Earth
  • Svalbard
  • Queen Elizabeth Islands

Archipelagos of the Atlantic Ocean

a vast complex of clusters of islands scattered in the Atlantic Ocean. This includes a number of European and African archipelagos, as well as the island complexes of North and South America. This includes the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, and of the British Isles:

archipelagos along the coast of Europe

  • British Isles
  • Inner Hebrides
  • Outer Hebrides
  • hebrides
  • channel islands
  • Isles of Scilly St Kilda
  • Faroe islands
  • Shetland

Archipelagos along the African coast

  • Bay of beautiful islands
  • Archipelago dos Bihagos
  • Bajuni Islands
  • Saint Helena
  • Saad al-Din
  • Sao Tome
  • Tristan da Cuna

  • Bermuda
  • Outlands
  • Canadian Arctic Archipelago
  • Turks and Caicos Islands
  • Tierra del Fuego
  • Magdalena Islands
  • St. Peter and Paul Rocks
  • Fernando de Noronha
  • South Sandwich Islands
  • islands

Macarenesian archipelagos -

  • Åland Islands
  • Azores
  • wild islands
  • Canary Islands
  • Madeira Islands

Archipelagos of the Baltic Sea

  • Ostergetland archipelago
  • Södermanland Archipelago
  • Småland archipelago
  • Calix Archipelago
  • Turku Archipelago
  • Pitea Archipelago
  • Lulea Archipelago
  • Skellefteo archipelago
  • Haparanda archipelago
  • Heregrande archipelago
  • Sea of ​​the archipelago
  • Western Estonian archipelago
  • Stockholm archipelago
  • Swedish east coast archlag

Archipelagos of the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean

  • Archipelago of Los Roques
  • Greater Antilles
  • West Indies
  • Virgin Islands
  • islands
  • Lesser Antilles
  • windward islands
  • ABC Islands
  • Leeward Antilles
  • Puerto Rican Islands
  • Leeward Islands
  • Florida Keys

The archipelagos of the Mediterranean

  • Campanian archipelago
  • Maddalena archipelago
  • Balearic Islands
  • Venetian lagoon
  • Dodecanese
  • ionian islands
  • Cyclades
  • sporades
  • Tuscan archipelago

Archipelagos of the North Sea

  • Frisian Islands

Archipelagos of the Indian Ocean

The complex of archipelagos located on the territory Indian Ocean. They have a tropical climate and hot weather. The archipelagos here consist of a large number of small islands. One of the brightest representatives is the artificial World Archipelago :

  • Andaman Islands
  • Archipelago Bonaparte
  • Pirate archipelago
  • Chagos Archipelago
  • archipelago research
  • Mergui archipelago
  • Zanzibar archipelago
  • Amirant Islands
  • Cocos (Keeling) Islands
  • Comoros
  • Langkawi
  • Lakshadweep
  • Kerguelen Islands
  • Mascarene Islands
  • World Archipelago
  • Nicobar Islands
  • Mozambique Channel Islands
  • Socotra
  • Houtman Abrolhos

Archipelagos of the Red Sea

  • Hurghada archipelago
  • Farasan Islands
  • Dahlak Archipelago

archipelagos of the pacific ocean

this is the most large complex archipelagos. This includes a huge number of islands and all the world's largest archipelagos. Of particular interest are the Asian archipelagos - the number of islands that make them up is the largest in the world. This complex includes both the archipelagos of the Americas and the aforementioned Asian ones, as well as the archipelagos of the circumtropical countries. The climate varies from temperate to tropical:

Archipelagos along the coast of the Americas

  • Andreyanovsky Islands
  • Aleutian Islands
  • Alexandra Archipelago
  • Chiloe archipelago
  • Archipelago Guatecas
  • Guayaneco archipelago
  • Chonos Archipelago
  • Peytagonic Archipelago
  • Wellington archipelago
  • Queen Adelaide Archipelago
  • Fox Islands
  • Channel Islands California
  • Islands of the Four Mountains

archipelagos along the coast of Asia

  • Ryukyu archipelago
  • Asian islands
  • Gorong Archipelago
  • Rio archipelago
  • Tambelan Archipelago
  • Tadjuh archipelago
  • Watubela Archipelago
  • Cuyo archipelago
  • Sulu archipelago
  • Chumphon archipelago
  • Solor archipelago
  • Big Islands of Sunda (Sunda)
  • Arc Gang