The
largest island
The largest island in the world is Greenland. Australia is
considered a continent because it has unique plant and animal life. Antarctica
also is a continent – larger than Europe and Australia. Greenland, although
quite big, shares the habitat features of Northern America.
The
smallest island
The smallest island in the world – according to the Guinness
Book of Records – is Bishop Rock. It lays at the most south-westerly part of
the United Kingdom. It is one of 1040 islands around Britain and only has a
lighthouse on it. In 1861, the British government set out the parameters for
classifying an island. It was decided that if it was inhabited, the size was
immaterial. However, if it was uninhabited, it had to be “the summer’s
pasturage of at least one sheep” – which is about two acres.
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| Bishop Rock |
The
remotest uninhabited island
The remotest uninhabited island is Bouvet Island in the South
Atlantic. Bouvet Island is a volcanic island constituting the top of a volcano
located as the southern end of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in the South Atlantic
Ocean. The islands measures 9.5 by 7 kilometers (5.9 by 4.3 mi) and covers an
area of 49 square kilometers (19 sq mi), including a number of small
rocks and skerries and one sizable island. It is located in the Sub Antarctic,
south of the Antarctic Convergence, which by some
definitions would place the island in the Southern Ocean. Bouvet Island is the most
remote island in the world. The closest land is Queen Maud Land of Antarctica,
which is 1,700 kilometers (1,100 mi) to the south, and Gough Island, 1,600 kilometers (990 mi)
to the north. Bouvet Island has reasons for being this isolated: 93% of its
surface is covered by glaciers. The island was part of one of James Cook’s
quests in 1772, when he left South Africa on a mission to find it. Oddly
enough, a flash of light was recorded by a satellite in 1979 likely caused by a
nuclear bomb explosion or a meteor. The island also was the setting for the
2004 movie Alien vs. Predator.
The
remotest inhabited island
The remotest inhabited
island in the world is Tristan da Cunha. It is in the South Atlantic, 2575 km
(1600 miles) south of St Helena, which is an island a few hundred kilometers
(miles) off the coast of South Africa. Tristan da Cunha has no TV but it has
one radio station. The population totals 242 and they only have 7 surnames
(last names) between them, so they are all related. Tristan da Cunha does have
a capital, called Edinburgh of the South Seas.
Smallest independent
island country
The smallest independent island country is the Pacific island
of Nauru. It measures 21,28 sq. km (8.2 sq. mi). (Only the Vatican City and
Monaco are smaller countries.) On the downside, people from Nauru are among the
most obese people in the world, with 90% of adults overweight.
Newest island
New islands are islands which have been created
recently, whether by means of vulcanism, erosion, glacial retreat, or other
mechanisms. One of the most famous new volcanic islands is the small island of Surtsey,
located in the Atlantic Ocean south of Iceland. It first emerged from the ocean
surface only in 1963. In 1965, it was declared a nature reserve for the study
of ecological succession; plants, insects, birds, seals, and other forms of
life have since established themselves on the island.
Another noted new
island is Anak Krakatau (the so-called "child of Krakatoa", which
formed in the flooded caldera of that notorious volcano in Indonesia), which
only emerged in 1930. Ample rainforests have grown there, though they are often
destroyed by frequent eruptions. A population of many wild animals, including
insects, birds, human borne rats, and even monitor lizards, have also settled
there.
Uunartoq Qeqertoq is an
island off the east coast of Greenland that appeared to have split from the
mainland due to glacial retreat between 2002 and 2005; however, it is believed
to have been a true island, with or without glacial covering, for many
thousands of years.
The most famous lost
continent is Atlantis. Atlantis, like Hyperborea and Thule, is ultimately
derived from ancient Greek geographic speculation.
Famous
Island
The Palm Islands are
artificial islands in Dubai, famous for their amazing shape. The islands are
The Palm Jumeirah, The Palm Jebel Ali and The Palm Deira. They were
commissioned by the Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum to boost the
country’s tourism industry, adding 520 km of beaches to the city of Dubai.
Construction is believed to be finished in the next 10-15 years.
Least
populated island
Located in the southern
Pacific Ocean, the Pitcairn Islands are famous for being home to the descendants
of the Bounty mutineers and the Tahitians that accompanied them. Today, the
Pitcairn Islands are home to only 50 inhabitants (9 families), being the least
populated island and jurisdiction of the world.
References:
http://www.hotelclub.com/blog/7-miracles-of-the-world-most-famous-and-remote-locations/
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