What is an island? For many it is resort areas like the Maldives, Sicily or Crete. For others, pictures from action-packed adventure films pop up before their eyes. Indeed, the islands of the world are full of secrets and mysteries, and scientists do not get tired of publishing unusual facts about these small pieces of land surrounded by water on all sides.
So the youngest island not so long ago came of age. He is 21 years old. He was born in July 92 after a volcanic eruption near the island of Bogoslov of the archipelago of the Aleutian Islands in the Pacific Ocean. It is 400 meters long and 90 meters high.
TOP 10: the largest islands in the world
However, it is not always possible to measure an island in hundreds of meters. There are quite a few on the world map that represent entire maritime states.
Let's talk about the latter. . By tradition, let's start with the last line of the hit parade.
10th place - Ellesmere Island
10th place is occupied by the Canadian island Ellesmere. This piece of land with an area of 203 thousand square meters is located in the Arctic Ocean.
9th place - Victoria Island
On the 9th place is another Canadian island with beautiful name Victoria. Its area is slightly larger than the previous one - 213 thousand square meters. It is located in the neighborhood, in the ice of the same Arctic.
8th place - the island of Great Britain
8th place rightfully given to the island Great Britain. It is located on the territory of 230 thousand square kilometers. Washed by the Atlantic Ocean. Of the unusual facts, it is worth noting that a huge number of people live on this island. More than 60 million islanders are listed on the territory of the island of Great Britain.
7th place - Honshu Island
7th place on the list is a Japanese island Honshu. It has an area of just under 230,000 square kilometers in the Pacific Ocean. The largest Japanese cities are located on the island of Honshu: Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima, etc. According to the latest data, the population on it exceeds the British one. About 100 million people.
6th place - Sumatra island
By the way, Indonesia is called the “land of a thousand islands”. Scientists have counted more than 13,500 islands on the territory of the state. 12,000 of them are uninhabited. In addition, most of these small pieces of land do not even have place names.
5th place - Baffin Island
5th place was taken by another Canadian island - baffin land. It is located on an area of 507 thousand square kilometers in the Arctic Ocean.
4th place - the island of Madagascar
In 4th place, the island, which became especially famous after the animated film of the same name Madagascar. It occupies a little less than 600 thousand square kilometers in Indian Ocean.
Ahead - the most interesting. Let's move on to the top three. Who is on the list of the three largest islands in the world?
3rd place - Kalimantan Island
3rd place goes to the island of Kalimantan or otherwise Borneo. It is also located in the Indian Ocean and belongs to three states at once: Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. Its area is 743 thousand square kilometers.
2nd place - the island of New Guinea
New Guinea is the silver medalist. It occupies 786 thousand square kilometers in the Pacific Ocean. By the way, from the point of view of the residential territory of a geographical object, this island could also claim the first place. Two countries have spread their possessions on this piece of land: Papua New Guinea and Indonesia.
1st place - Greenland
The title of "The world's largest island" goes to amazing country— Greenland . Its area is 2 million 131 thousand square kilometers. The island is located off the northeastern coast of America. It is separated from Canada by the Smith and Robson Straits in the northwest, the Baffin Sea and Davis Strait in the west, and the Labrador Sea in the southwest. On the north side, Greenland is washed by the Arctic Ocean, or more precisely, by the Lincoln Sea. In the northeast of the island is the Greenland Sea, in the southeast the Danish Strait. The Atlantic is on the south side.
Climate
The climate in Greenland is different: maritime, subarctic, arctic and even continental arctic. The cyclone is the most frequent guest on the island. This means that there are constantly strong winds, a sharp change in weather and precipitation.
The average temperature on the coast in winter is from -7 to -37 degrees Celsius. In the depths of the island, conditions are completely harsh: up to -47. In summer, the temperature does not rise above +10 on the entire coast, and in the depths it remains below zero.
Flora and fauna
Plants here can only be found in places free from glaciers. Birch, willow, mountain ash, alder and even juniper are found on these meager pieces of the island. As for the animals, they are exclusively northern on the island. No surprises: polar bears, bowhead whales and seals, walruses, polar wolves and reindeer.
How could this place get a name that literally translates as "green land"?
History legends
Vikings discovered the island of Greenland. They came here in the 10th century. There are even several legends about how the name came about. Some believe that in medieval times the island had a completely different climate, warm. Blooming greens gave this name to their land. Others express an opinion about the cunning of the first settlers. Allegedly, they gave the island such a fabulous name to lie down here for people.
Since 1536, Greenland has been considered Danish territory. This was due to the fact that Norway was under the yoke of the Danes, and the countries were united into a single state. However, in 1905 Norway gained independence and claimed the island for itself. But Denmark was not going to give up Greenland without a fight. The issue was resolved through the Permanent Court of International Justice. She made a decision: to leave Greenland as a Danish colony.
The largest island in the world, Greenland, belongs to Denmark to this day. 84% of the territory is solid ice. But, despite this, there are settlements on the island. The largest is Nuuk, the capital of Greenland. The city is located on the west coast. A little over 15 thousand people live in it.
Good day, dear readers of the site "I and the World"! Today we want to tell you about the islands and we will definitely highlight the largest island in the world. Even the largest of them differ from the continents in their size - they are smaller than the continents and are surrounded on all sides by water. But even during high tides, they are not sinkable, because. are above sea level.
We present you the top 10 largest islands, and which is the largest and what is the name, you will find out by reading the article to the end.
In 10th place - Ellesmere - 196,236 sq. km
Snow, eternal glaciers, the remains of prehistoric animals - this is how Ellesmere Island can be described. The map shows that this is the northern island of Canada with a population of only 150 people.
It was discovered by the English sailor and traveler William Baffin in the 17th century. It is difficult to live here because of the very harsh climate.
The nearest Canadian city can hardly be reached - 3578 km. Even the North Pole is much closer - 817 km, but local residents, for sure, there is no need.
The next on the list is Victoria Island - 217,290 sq. km
English navigators were very brave, since they discovered many territories. Victoria was also discovered by the Englishman Thomas Simpson in the early 19th century and named after his queen.
At first, only meteorologists lived here, and only by the end of the 20th century, the Eskimos began to move here, engaging in fishing activities.
On the area of the island, for example, a small country of Belarus can fit.
8th place - Honshu - 227,970 sq. km
According to legend, in the old days the Gods decided to divide the ocean and cut the water with a huge sword. And when the sword was raised, 4 drops slowly fell down and formed islands. The largest turned into an island, which was named Honshu. It is a pity that the drops fell on seismically unstable places, because earthquakes are frequent on the island.
The famous Mount Fuji rises here. Currently, about 103 million people live on the island and they are not crowded anywhere.
It is here that major cities are located: Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima - and all this is Japan.
7th place - Great Britain - 229,848 sq. km
Great Britain is also an island, and in Europe it is the largest.
The beginning of the history of the island is considered to be 43 BC. e. Since ancient times, the people of Noto lived here, later modern people began to inhabit the territory. A chain of white chalk cliffs stretches along the island. It is said that because of the white color, Great Britain began to be called the Roman word Albion (white).
The territory is densely populated and more than 61 million people live here.
In 6th place is Sumatra - 471,066 sq. km
Located in one part of Indonesia. The equator crosses the territory almost in the middle, so Sumatra is located in two hemispheres at once.
There are quite often tsunamis and earthquakes here, but you can see 50 million people living here, this is not too disturbing.
73,000 years ago, the Toba volcano exploded here, which led to 1,800 years of ice age.
There are many minerals in the lands of Sumatra: gold, nickel, tin, iron, coal, oil, but all these riches belong to Indonesia. Go on a trip to the shores of Sumatra, fly better by plane: pirates are angry on the waters.
5th place - Baffin Island - 507,451 sq. km
And we are back in Canada! And again the English discoverer is William Baffin. In the 17th century, he was looking for a way to the shores of fabulous India. Well, before reaching the destination, he accidentally discovered the island and the nearby sea.
Everything was named after a sailor. What is good in the land of polar cold?
Of course, the rich world of animals: deer, polar bears, polar owls, white wolves, arctic foxes. Well, as many as 11 thousand people! Many do not like the polar cold and frost even in July.
Madagascar is in 4th place - 587,713 sq. km
This is both a state and an island, the shores of which are washed by the waters of the Indian Ocean and more than 24 million people live.
Madagascar has recently become known to the whole world for the cartoon of the same name. Look, it's very funny!
Scientists believe that the island broke away from Africa on one side, and from India on the other, so there is a very rare flora and fauna here. And there are a huge number of different spices, for example, cylanindimilakhi pepper.
3rd place belongs to the island of Kalimantan - 748,168 sq. km
It was divided by three states at once: Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. How many countries, so many preferences. Some call it Borneo, others - Kalimantan - translates as "diamond river", because there is a huge amount of diamonds here. Of course, this is not a private island of one of the states. They just have an influence.
The first people settled here about 40,000 years ago and now the population has increased to 20 million people.
The territory is also called the river, because here the longest river flows from the island rivers - the Kapuas River (1143 km).
Residents of one of the cities walk here every day along the equator, as if along a boulevard, because the city is located just on the equator line. Beautiful sand beach attracts many tourists.
2nd place is occupied by New Guinea - 786,000 sq. km
There are few continents in the world, and although Australia is its smallest continent, it claims many nearby territories. So New Guinea belonged to this country until the middle of the 20th century, but then it nevertheless granted independence. Until now, there is an uninhabited corner that attracts researchers with rare specimens of plants and animals.
In some places in New Guinea, primitive life has been preserved. These lands were discovered not by an Englishman, but by a navigator from Portugal in the 16th century. According to legend, he looked at the curly hair of the natives and called new land Papua - "curly". The current population is 9.5 million people.
And finally, 1st place - Greenland - 2,130,800 sq. km
The green island - Greenland, belongs to Denmark - the largest of the world's islands.
Why green is not clear, because there is a lot of ice around. History is silent on this. About 57,000 people live in Greenland, but most of it is covered by glaciers and therefore uninhabited.
Local Eskimos have been fishing since ancient times. But the first Europeans settled here in 875.
Greenland passed from Denmark to Norway several times. You ask: what country does it belong to now? Little Denmark. And if to its 43,000 sq. km to annex Greenland, then Denmark will be the 13th largest in the world. Now the local population is engaged not only in fishing, but also breeds deer and sheep, and also extracts oil.
Tourism is well developed here - every year about 20,000 tourists come here. It is high time to recognize Greenland as a mainland, because it is only three times smaller than Australia.
I would like to tell you more about the Greek island of Crete
Here legends and myths live side by side with modern reality. Every year up to 4 million tourists visit these Beautiful places.
And many people want to become owners of local real estate, and the quality of these houses is excellent. They say: "Greece has everything", but Crete also has everything - a wonderful climate, a huge number of attractions, calm beaches and, of course, shopping.
We talked about the largest in area and amazing islands planets. The list of wonderful places can be increased, but we will focus on ten. These are picturesque corners of nature. But there is a concept artificial island created by man. That's about it in the following articles. Follow our publications and advise your friends to read. In the meantime, we say goodbye, until we meet again!
This article lists the largest islands on Earth, some of which, in terms of area and population, could well pass for an entire continent. Most of the islands in this ranking are well-known, but there are some that you might not have heard of. The islands on this list are distinguished by their unique flora and fauna, which attracts tourists from all over the world and allows them to be considered honeymoon destinations.
10. Ellesmere Island, Arctic Ocean
With an area of 122,000 sq. km:
- the tenth largest island in the world,
- third in Canada
- the northernmost island of the Arctic archipelago.
Most of Ellesmere Island is covered by the famous Cordillera mountain range. Second by size national park Canada is located on this island.
9. Victoria Island, Arctic Ocean
This island is located in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Victoria Island has an area of 135,000 sq. km and is the second largest in Canada. It is named after Queen Victoria and is amazing in its beauty. The island boasts a mild climate and offers tourists a break from the busy world in the wild.
8. Great Britain, the coast of North-Western Europe
The largest island in the British Isles, it covers an area of 143,000 sq. km. The UK had about 61 million people in 2011, making it the third most populous island after Java and Honshu. It is surrounded by 1000 small islands and is famous for its history, magnificent architectural monuments and excellent ecology.
7. Honshu, Japan Sea Pacific
Honshu is the most populous island in Japan. Pay attention to . It includes the largest cities in Japan:
- Kyoto,
- tokyo,
- Osaka.
It is the second most populated island after Java. According to 2005 estimates, the population was 103 million. The island is almost 1,300 km long and 50 to 230 km wide, with a total area of 143,500 sq km, about 60% of the total area of Japan.
6. Sumatra, Northeast Indian Ocean
This island, located in Western Indonesia, is part of the Sunda Islands. The area of Sumatra is 294,283 sq km, and the population is over 50 million people. Medan - The largest city islands, has 4,300,000 inhabitants. His landscapes are overshadowed by two geographic regions: the swampy plains in the east and the Barisan mountains in the west.
The wild and mountainous island has great natural wealth. The main attraction of Sumatra is natural beauty: volcanoes, lakes and jungles.
5. Baffin Island, North Atlantic Ocean
The largest Canadian island that lies in Nunavut. Its area is 315,312 sq km, the population in 2007 was about 11,000 people. Alpine mountains are different high peaks and ridges, however, plateaus are also present. The Barnes and Penny Ice Caps are the largest on the island. Baffin Island is an awe-inspiring wilderness, breathtaking home of the Eskimos, and arctic land open to the adventurous and the adventurous.
4. Madagascar, Indian Ocean
This island is an island nation in the Indian Ocean, officially known as the Republic of Madagascar ( formerly Malagasy Republic). It covers an area of 434,500 sq km, making it the 47th largest country in the world and the fourth largest island.
Due to its long isolation from the adjacent continents, it is home to animals and plants that do not exist anywhere else. Various ecosystems of the island are threatened with extinction due to the emergence of environmental hazards.
3. Borneo, West Central Pacific
It is not only the third largest island in the world, but also the largest in Asia. It is divided between three countries:
- indonesia,
- Malaysia,
- Brunei.
Almost 73% of the island is the territory of Indonesia. This island is home to one of the world's oldest rainforest species (about 140 million years old). Borneo has an area of 462,365 square kilometers, which is 1% of the world's land, but contains almost 6% of the world's biodiversity. An amazing land that looks like an island in the clouds.
2. New Guinea, Southwest Pacific
The second largest island, located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, covers an area of 138,500 square meters. km. The population of the island is 11,306,940 people. The land on it contains an uninterrupted chain of mountains with peaks over 4,000 meters, which are crowned with ice caps.
The country's climate is mostly tropical, with average annual maximum temperatures between 30 and 32 degrees in the lowlands. While daytime temperatures in the highlands tend to be above 22 degrees all year round. The island is distinguished by its enormous biodiversity, it contains more than 5% of the total number of species inhabiting our planet.
1. Greenland, North Atlantic
Greenland is the largest non-continental island in the world. Located within the Arctic belt. The island has an area of 3,500,000 sq. km, but is the least densely populated country with a population of 56,452 people. Greenland is an independent country within the Kingdom of Denmark.. More than three-quarters of the island is covered by the only modern ice sheet outside of Antarctica.
The island is considered a piece of land, of natural origin. As a rule, the island is surrounded by the ocean on all sides, and constantly rises above the surface of the water, even during high tide. The island is smaller than the mainland. Today in the list you will see the 10 largest islands in the world.
The island is located near North America. It is washed by the Atlantic Arctic Ocean. Its area is 2,130,800 sq. km. The southern part of the island has a mild climate. Vegetation is found throughout the island.
The island is located in the western part of the Pacific Ocean. Its area is 786 thousand square meters. km. The island has an equatorial and subequatorial climate. Tropical forests grow on the island, many species of butterflies live.
It is the only island that lies between Trunei, Indonesia and Malaysia. Its area is 743,330 sq. km. The island was discovered in 1521. There is only an equatorial climate here. On the island, the temperature is +26 degrees.
The island is located in the Indian Ocean. Here the climate is tropical, and in the southern part - subtropical. The length of the island is 1600 km, and the width is more than 600 km. The area of the island is 587,040 sq. km.
This island is part of Canada. Its area is 507,451 sq. km. 11 thousand people live on it. Bears, deer, wolves live here.
Its area is 30 thousand square meters. km. It is part of Indonesia. Max- high point Kerinci Volcano.
Part of the Japanese archipelago. Its length is 1300 km, and its width is 230 km. The area of the island is 227,969 sq. km. There are many volcanoes on the island.
The biggest European island with a population of 63 million people. The island is part of the British Isles, and the area is 229,946 sq. km.
The island is part of Canada. Its area is 217,291 sq. km. It has many lakes.
This is the northern island of Canada. In the east it borders on Greenland. Its area is 196,236 sq. km. The highest point is Barbo.
Video: 10 largest islands in the world
Every year new islands appear in the world, but the largest ones still remain in their places. Below is a list of the ten largest islands in the world by area.
Ellesmere - 196,236 km. sq.
Ellesmere is the northernmost Canadian island, with a total area of 196,236 km2. sq. It is the third largest island in Canada and the tenth largest in the world. Despite the vast territory, according to 2006 data, only 146 permanent residents live on the island, in three settlements - Gries Fjord, Alert and Eureka.
Victoria Island - 217,291 km. sq.
Victoria is the second largest island in Canada and the ninth in the world (according to various sources, it is the eighth or ninth). It is located in the Arctic Ocean and is located in the southwestern part of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The island was named after Queen Victoria of England in 1839. It has a total population of 1707 people (2001).
Honshu - 227,970 km. sq.
Honshu is the largest island in Japan (approximately 60% of the entire country). Located south of Hokkaido. The population of Honshu in 2010 is about 100 million people, which makes it the second most populous island in the world (after the Indonesian island of Java).
Great Britain - 229,848 km. sq.
Great Britain is the largest British Isles, extending northwest of mainland Europe. 95% of its entire territory is divided between England, Scotland and Wales, which are part of the United Kingdom. It has a population of about 63 million people and ranks third in the world in terms of population after the islands of Java and Honshu.
Sumatra - 480,848 km. sq.
Sumatra is the sixth largest island in the world. It is wholly part of Indonesia. The number of inhabitants living on the island as of 2010 is more than 50 million people, which makes it the fourth island in the world in terms of population.
Baffin Island - 507,451 km. sq.
Baffin Island is an island that is part of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. It is the largest island in Canada and the fifth largest in the world. It is home to a little over 11,000 people (as of 2007) in eight settlements, the largest of which is Iqaluit.
Madagascar - 587,713 km. sq.
Madagascar is a large island located in the Indian Ocean, off the east coast of Africa. Although Madagascar is not far from Africa, the flora and fauna of the island is unique - it contains 5% of all species of flora and fauna of the world, 80% of which exist only on this island.
Kalimantan (Borneo) - 748,168 km sq.
Kalimantan or Borneo is the third largest island in the world and the largest island in Asia. Located in the center of the Malay Archipelago in Southeast Asia. Divided between Indonesia (73%), Malaysia (26%) and Brunei (about 1%). The island has one of the oldest rainforests in the world. It has 19,800,000 inhabitants (as of 2010), most of whom live in coastal cities. The population density in Borneo is 26 people per square kilometer.
New Guinea - 785,753 sq. km.
New Guinea is the second largest island on earth, located in the western Pacific Ocean north of Australia. Divided approximately equally between Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. The current population of the island is about eleven million (2015). It has large natural reserves of oil, gold, copper and other ores.
Greenland - 2,130,800 sq. km.
Greenland is the largest island on Earth. It is located in the northeast of North America and is washed by the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. It is part of Denmark as an autonomous unit. The population of the island as of July 2010 is 57,600 people.