Where is the largest island on earth located? The world's largest island
Incredible facts
It is incredibly difficult to calculate the total number of islands on our planet.
Every year new islands appear in the world, but the largest islands still remain in their places.
Here you can learn about the world's largest islands, the largest island states and even the largest lake islands.
NOTE: Australia is still considered more of a continent than an island, but if we consider it an island, then it is the most big Island on Earth, with an area of 7,618,493 sq. km.1. Greenland Island
Greenland is considered the largest island on our planet. Its local name is Kalallit-Nunaat. The area of the island is 2,166,086 square meters. km.
Highest point: Gunbjorn (3,700 meters).
Region: Greenland.
A country: Denmark.
Facts about Greenland
* The capital of Greenland, Nuuk, is the smallest capital city in the world. Its population is only 15,105 people (as of July 2009).
* It is believed that Greenland was inhabited in prehistoric times by various Paleo-Eskimo groups. However, archaeological research shows that the Inuit settled here around 2500 BC.
* The first Europeans arrived here in 985. They were Norwegians and Icelanders. They were called the Norwegian Greenlanders.
The most interesting thing about beautiful island Greenland you can find out just below or by clicking HERE .
2. Island of New Guinea
Area – 785,753 sq. km.
Highest point: 4884 meters.
Population (2010): 9,500,000 people.
Countries: Indonesia, Papua New Guinea.
Facts about New Guinea
Mount Bagan is an active volcano. Height 1730.
* West Side The island of New Guinea is located in Indonesia, and its East End on the territory of the state of Papua New Guinea.
* New Guinea is the largest island divided between countries.
* It is home to 11,000 species of plants, 600 rare species of birds, more than 400 species of amphibians, more than 450 species of butterflies, and approximately 100 species of mammals.
* In ancient times, this island was connected to the Australian continent.
* New Guinea was discovered for Europe in the 16th century by Spanish and Portuguese sailors.
* The island received its name from the Spanish navigator Inigo Ortiz de Retes. When he arrived on the island in 1545, it seemed to him that the local people were very similar to the aborigines who live in African Guinea.
3. Borneo Island
Area - 748,168 sq. km.
Archipelago: Malay Archipelago.
A country: Indonesia, Brunei, Malaysia.
Highest point: Mount Kinabalu, 4095 meters.
Population (2010): 19,800,000 people.
Facts about Borneo Island
* On this island grows the world's largest flower - Rafflesia, the smell of which, according to local residents, is similar to the smell of a decomposing corpse.
* Borneo has a tropical forest that is more than 130 million years old. It is home to many species of rare animals: the Sumatran rhinoceros, Asian elephant, Bornean clouded leopard and others.
4. Madagascar Island
Area - 587,713 sq. km.
A country: Madagascar.
Highest point: 2961 meters.
Population (2008): 20,042,552 people.
Facts about Madagascar
* Millions of years ago, Madagascar was part of the same land, Gondwana, and about 60 million years ago, this island was the first to separate from the mainland and thereby became the first island on our planet.
* The first people came to Madagascar about 2000 years ago.
* The first European to notice this island was the Portuguese navigator Diego Diaz. This happened at the beginning of the 16th century, and after that Madagascar became one of the most important trading points on the way to India.
* Malagasy, French and English are spoken on the island.
* Since the island is rich in iron and aluminum, it was nicknamed the Great Red Island.
* The country of Madagascar ranks first in the cultivation and export of vanilla.
5. Baffin Island
Area - 503,944 sq. km.
A country: Canada.
Region: Nunavut.
Highest point: 2147 meters.
Population (2007): 11,000 people.
Facts about Baffin Island
* Baffin Island is a very cold and virtually uninhabited place.
* Thor Peak, named after the Norse god, can be found here. It is worth noting that Thor Peak is the highest cliff on our planet.
* Baffin Island was named after the famous British explorer William Baffin, who first described the island in 1616. It is believed that Baffin is its discoverer.
* More than half of the island's territory is located beyond the Arctic Circle. For this reason, there are polar days and nights here.
6. Sumatra Island
Area - 443,066 sq. km.
A country: Indonesia.
Highest point: 3800 meters.
Population (2010): 50,600,000 people.
Facts about Sumatra
* The island is home to the Toba volcano, which is believed to have caused the last ice age. About 70,000 years ago, this volcano exploded and released thousands of cubic kilometers of ash into the air, obscuring the rays of the Sun for many years. Today, in the caldera of the Toba volcano there is a beautiful lake of the same name, and in its center there is another island - Samosir, inside which there is also a lake - Sidokhni.
* Scientists believe that the eruption of the Krakatoa volcano on the island led to the formation of a strait between the islands of Sumatra and Java. In 1883, the volcano exploded and, together with the island on which it was located, they sank to the bottom of the sea. Today, in its place a new mountain has formed - Anak-Krakatoa ("Child of Krakatoa"), which grows 7 meters every year.
* Batak tribes still live on the island. Before the adoption of Christianity, these tribes were cannibals.
* The most expensive coffee in the world, Kopi Luwak, is grown here in Sumatra. The fact is that there is only one animal on the island - the kopi luwak, which loves coffee berries. Of course, he chooses only the best berries. They are not completely digested by kopi-luwak. Locals they are collected, washed and roasted to create coffee.
7. Honshu Island
Area - 225,800 sq. km.
A country: Japan.
Highest point: 3776 meters.
Population (2010): 100,000,000 people.
Facts about Honshu Island
* On the island of Honshu there is Mount Fuji - the symbol of the country rising sun.
* Earthquakes are common here as Honshu is located at the intersection of 3 formation plates.
* The largest Japanese cities in Japan are also located here - Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Kyoto.
8. UK Island
Area - 229,957 sq. km.
Archipelago: British Isles.
A country: Great Britain.
Regions: England, Scotland, Wales.
Highest point: 1,344 meters.
Population (2011): 61,371,315 people.
Facts about Great Britain
* Great Britain is also called Albion, as it was previously known as the land of albinos. The Romans called the British Isles with the word “Britain” (lat. Britannia), which is where the name of this island came from. But they decided to add “Great” to the word “Britain” so that the country would be listed as a political unit. Today we have the island of Britain and a geopolitical unit called Great Britain.
* The Prime Meridian intersects the axis of the Greenwich Observatory located in London.
* Since the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a single state, then any person living on its territory can be called “British”, even if he is from Scotland or Northern Ireland.
9. Victoria Island
Area - 220,548 sq. km.
A country: Canada
Regions: Nunavut, Northwest Territories
Highest point: 665 meters
Population (2001): 1707 people.
Facts about Victoria Island
* Thomas Simpson was the first to discover this island in 1838. The British explorer decided to name the island in honor of the English Queen Victoria, who was also the Queen of Canada from 1867 to 1901.
* Here is the largest island within an island within an island.
10. Ellesmere Island
Area - 183,965 sq. km.
A country: Canada
Region: Nunavut.
Highest point: 2616 meters
Population (2006): 146 people.
Facts about Ellesmere Island
* Island decorated big mountains and ice fields. Ellesmere is the highest mountain part of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.
* The island has been shrouded in ice since the last ice age, however, only 1/3 of its territory is covered by glaciers.
10 largest island states in the world
1.
Indonesia - 1,912,988 sq. km.
2. Madagascar - 587,041 sq. km.
3. Papua New Guinea - 462,840 sq. km.
4. Japan - 377,837 sq. km.
5. Philippines - 300,000 sq. km.
6. New Zealand- 270,534 sq. km.
7. UK - 242,910 sq. km.
8. Cuba - 110,860 sq. km.
9. Iceland - 103,000 sq. km.
10. Ireland - 70,273 sq. km.
10 largest volcanic islands
These islands were formed as a result of volcanic eruptions at the bottom of the sea.
1. Sumatra, Indonesia - 473,481 sq. km.
2.
Honshu, Japan - 225,800 sq. km.
3. Java, Indonesia - 138,794 sq. km.
4. Northern, New Zealand - 111,583 sq. km.
5. Luzon, Philippines – 109,965 sq. km.
6. Iceland – 103,000 sq. km.
7. Mindanao, Philippines – 97,530 sq. km.
8. Hokkaido, Japan – 78,719 sq. km.
9. New Britain, Papua New Guinea – 35,145 sq. km.
10. Halmahera, Indonesia – 18,040 sq. km.
10 largest lake islands
1. Manitoulin, Lake Huron, Canada - 2,766 sq. km.
2.
René-Levasseur, Manicouagan Reservoir, Quebec, Canada – 2,000 sq. km.
3. Olkhon, Lake Baikal, Russia - 730 sq. km.
4. Isle Royale, Lake Superior, Michigan, USA - 541 sq. km.
5. Ukerewe, Lake Victoria, Tanzania - 530 sq. km.
December 28, 2013
Big Islands
There are quite a lot of different islands on our huge planet. The islands, as everyone knows, are surrounded by water on all sides. In fact, there are a lot of islands on Earth, even more than several tens of thousands.
The largest island is a planetary landform or so-called continents, continents.
They can also be located individually, as Sri Lanka is located. If the islands are located very close to each other, then they are called archipelagos. If a piece of land is small, then it is called an island.
Here are some of the largest islands:
Greenland – 2176 thousand kilometers
New Guinea – 829 thousand kilometers
Kalimantan – 734 thousand kilometers
Madagascar – 590 thousand kilometers
Baffin Island – 507 thousand kilometers
Sumatra – 435 thousand kilometers
Honshu – 230 thousand kilometers
Great Britain - 244 thousand kilometers
Victoria - 221 thousand kilometers
Ellesmere - 203 thousand kilometers
Greenland, New Guinea, Kalimantan
Greenland is the largest island on this list. It is located northeast of North America. This is already a territory that is independently governed and is part of Denmark. The length of the island is quite large - 2690 kilometers from north to south, width 1300 kilometers. The area of the entire island is 5.6 thousand square kilometers. In Greenland animal world not rich at all. Animals such as reindeer live here, polar bear, ermine, hare, lemming. It happens that very rarely even wolves can be found. The following animals are found in the water near the island of Greenland: black halibut, striped catfish, cod, flounder and several other species of fish. Shrimp can often be seen. It also happens that you can see some of the species of beluga whale, narwhal and walrus.
New Guinea is an island that is the second largest after Greenland. He is the most unique and beautiful island on Earth, there are more than 1000 indigenous languages.
This island is located in Pacific Ocean, slightly north of Australia and connects Asia and Australia. New Guinea is very large in size, which is divided between countries. This island is inhabited by 5.6 million people. All residents speak English language, and it is official. The vegetation there is very good, there are 11 thousand species, including 2,500 species of unique orchids and 1,200 trees. About 500 species of different birds, 400 amphibians, 180 mammals and 450 butterflies live here, so the animal world is quite diverse.
Kalimantan is the largest of Sunda Islands. Its area occupies approximately 734 thousand square kilometers. Kalimantan is the most ancient island from the Malay Archipelago. There are absolutely no volcanoes on this island, and little of it is a fold of the earth's crust.
Madagascar, Baffin Island, Sumatra, Honshu
Madagascar is another island that ranks among the largest islands. The length from north to south is approximately 1600 kilometers, and from west to east 580 kilometers.
Judging by its size, it will be larger than France, Belgium, Holland and even Luxembourg. Near the northern part of the island there are several more big islands.
Baffin Island - got its name in honor of the ship's navigator. The currency on this island is the Canadian dollar.
Sumatra is one of the largest islands in Indonesia, which is famous for its dark sand and the ruins of ancient temple complexes. The climate on this island is quite hot and humid. It has many attractions: a crocodile farm, the picturesque canals of Palembang, green mountain valleys.
Honshu is the largest island of the Japanese archipelago. The climate on this island is monsoonal, temperate in the north and subtropical in the south.
80 percent of Japan's population lives here. There are many different attractions here. This island has many natural parks that amaze with their beauty.
When people talk about the largest islands, they usually mean the islands with the largest area. Let’s not break tradition and give the top list of the largest islands in the world by area.
Let us remember that the island differs from the mainland in its smaller size, but it must be surrounded on all sides by water, and during high tide at least part of it must remain on the surface.
10 Ellesmere
Ellesmere is the tenth largest island on Earth. It belongs to Canada and is one of the Queen Elizabeth Islands.
Ellesmere is all cut up by fjords and a third is covered with ice. Living conditions are very harsh: in winter the temperature reaches -59 degrees, and in summer it rarely exceeds +7 (although sometimes +20); The polar day and night last for 5 months, and there is so little precipitation that in many places there is not even snow, only bare rocks.
The population does not exceed 150 people. The vegetation is exclusively herbaceous; Blooming poppies, saxifrage and other polar flowers form a picturesque carpet in summer. There are many animals on Ellesmere, among them the rare Peary caribou and the Melville Island wolf (smaller, with white or silver fur).
This is another one northern island, owned by Canada. Still, it is not located in such high latitudes, so its nature is more diverse, and its population is larger (about 1,700 people).
The reason for this is high humidity: the entire island is covered with swamps, lakes, streams and rivers. In summer the temperature reaches +12, in winter - on average -20 degrees, and the wind is very strong and gusty, which creates extremely uncomfortable living conditions.
The vegetation on Victoria is sparse: grasses, polar tree species, mosses. But the animal world is well presented. A variety of birds can be found on the island, including polar owls, as well as polar bears and wolves, arctic foxes and musk oxen.
Seals and walruses rest on the coast, and killer whales and whales walk in the waters off the coast of the island. There is also a lot of commercial fish (herring, tuna).
8 Honshu
And here in front of us is a quite densely populated island, main island The Japanese archipelago, on which the capital of the Land of the Rising Sun is located and about 75% of its population is concentrated.
This is where the most big cities Japan: Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Yokohama. The entire island is covered with mountains, dominated by volcanoes (for example, Fuji, and Asama is active volcano), and it itself lies at the junction of formation plates, which provokes frequent earthquakes.
Destructive typhoons are not uncommon here in autumn. The climate of Honshu is defined as monsoon: in summer the temperature is about +25, in winter it is rarely below -5. The rainy season begins in June-July. The flora and fauna of the island are very rich. Forests cover more than 2/3 of the area.
In the spring, Honshu is extremely beautiful because of the blooming azaleas, sakura and peonies, and in the fall, the most favorite flowers of the Japanese bloom - chrysanthemums, to which a traditional festival is even dedicated.
The fauna includes many relict and endemic species: white-breasted bear, Japanese crane, giant salamander, large-billed crow and others. But Honshu is especially rich in fish and seafood, because 700 species of fish and more than 1000 species of shellfish live off the coast.
7 Great Britain is one of the largest islands on Earth
The island of Great Britain is a densely populated island, according to this indicator it ranks third after Java and Honshu. Most of the state of Great Britain is located here.
Scientists believe that the first people appeared on the island 800 thousand years ago: this is how stone tools found on its territory are dated. The ancient Romans mentioned Great Britain in the 3rd century BC.
The climate on the island is marine, which provides mild winters, comfortable temperatures in summer and more than half of the rainy days of the year. Although there are also areas that are much drier.
Forests and large animals in Great Britain, unfortunately, are almost exterminated: magnificent beech and hornbeam groves occupy no more than a tenth of the island.
Of the animals that have survived, mostly not very large mammals, but more than 130 species of birds and a lot of fish, as well as seals and whales
6 Sumatra
Hot tropical island, occupying the sixth largest place in the world, is at the same time the fourth largest in the number of people living on it.
The island is part of the Malay Archipelago and belongs to Indonesia. Sumatra is an extremely wet island. It has a huge number of rivers, streams, and lakes. This is where the most big lake South-East Asia- Toba. It is located in a caldera ancient volcano and so large that there lies an island on it, which also has a lake.
Sumatra is very rich in volcanoes: there are many of them, and a good dozen of them are active. However, this does not frighten numerous tourists who want to explore medieval buildings, go windsurfing or diving, and enjoy beach holiday on the coast, almost everywhere covered with dark (volcanic) sand.
And here you can walk in the equatorial forests of tree ferns, palms and ficus trees, marveling at the richness of the Sumatran fauna. There are many endemic species here. For example, the Sumatran tiger and rhinoceros, as well as the rare woolly wing, Indian elephant, pig-tailed macaque and others. There are even 450 species of birds on the island!
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5 Baffin Island
When listing the largest islands in the world, it is impossible to ignore Baffin Island, an island of large area and very bizarre outlines that belongs to Canada.
Baffin Island is essentially an extension (geologically) of the Canadian Shield, so the mountains on the island should be considered part of the Andes. And there are a lot of mountains here, including quite high ones.
The island is not rich in population: the climate here is harsh, a significant part of the island is located beyond the Arctic Circle, and frosts are common even in summer.
For a long time it was believed that Baffin discovered the island. But the latest data archaeological excavations suggest that the island was known to the ancient Vikings and is mentioned in their sagas under the name Helluland.
The harsh climate does not allow much vegetation to develop; the flora here is poor. Animals include arctic foxes, polar bears, lemmings, reindeer, polar hares and, of course, walruses and seals. The island is also affected by a large number of birds, including snowy owls.
4 Madagascar
When talking about which island is the largest in the world, it is impossible to ignore Madagascar, located near Africa and only recently emerged from the protectorate of France. Currently, the independent republic of Madagascar is located on the island, the government of which is constantly changing as a result of various shocks and military coups.
However, the history of Madagascar is also full of such events. There were attempts to seize the island by force, and various tricks. For some time, Madagascar was even a base for pirates robbing the ships of merchants hurrying to India.
The climate in Madagascar is tropical and monsoonal, which allows many plants to flourish, including many endemics. And the most famous is the fire tree (Royal Delonix) - a ten-meter tree of extraordinary beauty, strewn with bright scarlet flowers.
Among the animals there are also many endemic ones, for example the fossa - something between a puma and a mongoose.
Madagascar is also home to such interesting animals as lemurs (there are more than fifty species of them here!), bristly hedgehogs, chameleons, civets, turtles, a huge number of insects, fish (for example, the famous moray eels), and birds. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to swim here: the coast is full of sharks.
3 Kalimantan
The island of Kalimantan, which occupies third place in the ranking, is often called Borneo - after the name of the state of Brunei, which was once large and powerful, but now occupies only a small part of the island. The rest is shared between Indonesia and Malaya - Kalimantan is the only island on Earth that belongs to three states at once.
Over the centuries, various parts of the island passed under the rule of one state or another; V different places and at different times the British, Holland, and even Japan made their mark here. It was only in the period from the middle to the end of the last century that the modern political status of Kalimantan was established.
The equatorial climate and high humidity are favorable for huge number plants and animals, many of which are endemic and have not yet been properly studied. Orchids and carnivorous plants, king cobra and reticulated python, proboscis monkeys and giant flying foxes - you can’t list them all!
A huge hot island in the Pacific Ocean is shared between the states of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.
The climate is equatorial, there are quite high mountains (up to 4900 m), and an impenetrable strip of mango forests stretches along the coast (it can only be crossed by canoeing).
New Guinea is rich in flora and fauna: there are 11 thousand species of plants (various palm trees, bananas, melon trees, etc.) and more than one and a half thousand animals, including marsupial badgers and birds of paradise. On the island, scientists found a place they called the “Garden of Eden”: there are many unprecedented creatures that are not at all afraid of humans.
1 The largest island is Greenland
Which country owns the largest island in the world? Answer: Denmark. Greenland is its autonomy.
More than 80% of the island is covered by glaciers; From the west and east, outlet glaciers form (descending tongues into the sea), which give rise to icebergs. In the east of Greenland there is also the most high mountain Arctic - Gunbjorn. Its height is 3700 m.
The climate is not very harsh, but changeable: in winter the temperature can reach -11 degrees, in summer – about +20, but it is not uncommon for years when the thermometer never crosses zero during the entire summer!
Plants can be found in glacier-free areas. These are mainly meadows, crooked forests, and junipers. But polar animals, fish and insects are quite widely represented: walruses, whales, seals, polar bears, polar deer, seagulls, sharks and dozens of unique endemic beetles (700 species of insects in total).
In the seas and oceans of the planet there are about 500 thousand islands, of which no more than two percent are inhabited. In terms of area, such land formations can accommodate entire states, or they can barely accommodate even one person. Tectonic processes cause the emergence of new islands and the flooding of old ones, and areas of land surrounded by sea water are also formed due to human activity creating artificial territories.
1. Greenland
The largest island on the planet is Greenland, its area exceeds 2.130 million km 2. The territory is washed by the waters of the Arctic and Atlantic oceans. The island belongs to Denmark and represents an autonomous administrative unit with a population of 57.7 thousand people, most of whom are Greenlandic Eskimos. The capital of Greenland is Nuuk, with a population of 16,583 people and an area of 6.9 km2. The island is located in the northeastern part of North America. The climate of the territory is heterogeneous and changeable; the mildest weather conditions are observed on the southwestern coast.
2. New Guinea
The second largest island on the planet is New Guinea, with an area of 786 thousand square meters. The territory is located in the Pacific Ocean, north of Australia. The southern part of the island is washed by the waters of the Coral and Arafura Seas. The main land area belongs to the state of Papua New Guinea, its western part belongs to Indonesia. The length of the island is 2000 km and its width is more than 700 km. Being a landmass with an equatorial and subequatorial climate, the island has rich wildlife and vegetable world, as well as excellent conditions for beach tourism.
3. Kalimantan
New Guinea is slightly inferior in area to the island of Kalimantan, which has the third largest area in the world and an area of 734 thousand km 2. The most common name is Borneo; on planet Earth it is the only island whose territory is divided between three states. Kalimantan is under the jurisdiction of countries such as Malaysia, Brunei, and Indonesia. In total, 19.8 million people live on the island. The territory is washed by the waters of the Javanese and South China Seas, as well as the seas of Sulu and Sulawesi, and others.
4. Madagascar
The fourth island in the world is Madagascar, whose territory exceeds 584 km 2. Located at eastern shores Africa, washed by waters Indian Ocean, separated from the mainland by the Mozambique Channel. It is 1600 km long and 600 km wide. The island is home to a state of the same name, the capital of which is Antananarivo. Madagascar's climate is predominantly tropical. In the central part of the island there is the high mountain plateau of Anjafi, on the land there are five mountain ranges. World-famous lemurs live only in Madagascar.
5. Baffin Island
Baffin Island ranks fifth in the world in terms of territory, with an indicator of 507.4 thousand km 2. Belongs to Canada and is part of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. It is located in the north of the mainland and is washed by the waters of the Arctic Ocean. The island has numerous freshwater lakes, the largest of which, Nettilling, covers an area of 5542 km 2. A little over 11 thousand people live on Baffin Island. More significant settlement is hampered by harsh climatic conditions.
6. Sumatra
Situated in the western part of the Malay Archipelago, the island of Sumatra is the sixth largest in the world. Its territories occupy 473 thousand km 2 with a length of 1.8 thousand km and a width of 435 km. The island is located in both hemispheres of the planet, divided almost in half by the equator. Sumatra is part of Indonesia; the island territory is home to 50.6 million people. On land there is Lake Toby, located in a huge caldera, it covers an area of 1103 km 2, and the 120-meter Sipiso-piso waterfall, the source of which is an underground river.
7. UK
Great Britain is recognized as the seventh largest island in the world by area, the territory of which is occupied by the state of the same name, including England, Wales and Scotland, with its capital in London. The area of the island occupies 229.9 thousand km 2, with a length of 1440 km and a width of up to 660 km. The territory is home to 63 million people, making the island the third largest in the world in terms of population. Great Britain is washed by waters Atlantic Ocean. The island is home to Loch Lomond, which has an area of 71 km2. Located Island state in a northwesterly direction from continental Europe.
8. Honshu
The second most populous island in the world, Honshu is the eighth largest island on the planet. The territory of 227.9 thousand km 2 is slightly smaller than Great Britain. The island is home to more than 100 million people and is the largest in the Japanese archipelago. The length of Honshu is 1300 km, and the width does not exceed 230 km. The island's area makes up 60 percent of Japan's total area. Washed by the waters of the Pacific Ocean, length coastline 5450 km. Honshu is home to Mount Fuji, a symbol and active stratovolcano of Japan.
9. Victoria
Victoria Island, which is part of the Canadian Arctic archipelago, has an area of 217.2 thousand km 2, occupying ninth position in the ranking. Island territory washed by the waters of the Arctic Ocean and belongs to Canada. The harsh climate does not allow the settlement of this landmass, which is home to 1,700 people. The maximum length is 500 km, with the greatest width being 600 km. There are numerous lakes on the island, the largest of which, Ferguson, occupies 588 km 2. Victoria is part of the North American Polar Tundra ecological region.
10. Ellesmere
Another island, part of the Canadian Arctic archipelago, ranks tenth in the ranking. The area of the territory is 196.2 thousand km 2, in its eastern part there is the border of Canada and Greenland, 146 people live on the island, the climate is polar arctic. Here is the northernmost settlement in the world, Alert, which is home to only five people. There are three settlements in total on Ellesmere.
About a third of the area is covered by glaciers. The polar night can last up to five months. Winter temperatures reach -50 °C. The highest point of the island is Barbeau Peak with a height of 2616 meters.
12/1/2015 at 00:40 · Pavlofox · 27 620
Top 10 largest islands in the world
An island is a piece of land separated from other continents. There are more than half a million such land areas on planet Earth. Moreover, some may disappear, others may appear. So the youngest island appeared in 1992 as a result of a volcanic eruption. But some of them are striking in their scale. In the ranking largest islands in the world the 10 most impressive positions in .
10. Ellesmere | 196 thousand sq. km
Opens ten largest islands on the planet. Its territory belongs to Canada. It is the third largest island of this state with an area of just over 196 thousand sq. km. This piece of land is located north of all the Canadian islands. Due to the harsh climatic conditions, it is sparsely populated by people (the average number of inhabitants is 200 people), but is of great value to archaeologists, since the remains of ancient animals are constantly found there. The land has remained covered in ice since the Ice Age.9. Victoria | 217 thousand sq. km
Ninth place among largest islands on earth takes . Like Ellesmere, Victoria belongs to the Canadian Islands. It got its name from Queen Victoria. The land area is 217 thousand sq. km. and is washed by the waters of the Arctic Ocean. The island is famous for its numerous lakes fresh water. The surface of the entire island has virtually no elevations. And only two settlements settled on its territory. The population density is very low, as just over 1,700 people live in this zone.
8. Honshu | 28 thousand sq. km
Eighth in the ranking largest islands located, belonging to the Japanese archipelago. It covers an area of 228 thousand sq. km. The largest Japanese cities, including the capital of the state, are located on this island. The highest mountain, which is the symbol of the country, Fuji, is also located on Honshu. The island is covered with mountains and has many volcanoes, including active ones. Due to the mountainous terrain, the climate on the island is very changeable.
The area is densely populated. According to the latest data, the population is about 100 million people. This factor puts Honshu in second place among the islands in terms of population.
7. UK | 230 thousand sq. km
, ranked seventh on the list largest islands in the world by area, is also the largest among the British Isles and in Europe as a whole. Its territory occupies 230 thousand sq. km., where 63 million people live. Great Britain owns the bulk of the United Kingdom. The high population makes Great Britain the third largest island in the world in terms of population. And this is the most densely populated region in Europe. The capital of the Kingdom, London, is also located on the island. The climate is more temperate than in other lands in this natural area. This is due to the warm Gulf Stream current.
6. Sumatra | 43 thousand sq. km
settled in sixth position in the ranking largest islands on the planet. The equator divides Summata into two almost equal halves, so it is located in two hemispheres at once. The island's area is more than 443 thousand sq. km., where more than 50 million people live. The island belongs to Indonesia and is part of the Malay Archipelago. Sumatra is surrounded by tropical vegetation and washed by the warm waters of the Indian Ocean. He's in the zone frequent earthquakes and tsunami. Sumatra has large deposits of precious metals.
5. Baffin Island | 500 thousand sq. km
Opens the top five largest islands. This is also the largest island in Canada, whose territory exceeds 500 thousand sq. km. It is covered with numerous lakes, but is only half populated by people. The population of the island is only about 11 thousand people. This is due to severe climatic conditions Arctic. The average annual temperature remains at -8 degrees. Here the weather is dictated by the waters of the Arctic Ocean. Baffin Island is cut off from the mainland. The only way to get to the island is by air.
4. Madagascar | 587 thousand sq. km
Next on the list the most impressive islands in terms of area - Madagascar. The island is located east of Africa, it was once part of the Hindustan Peninsula. They are separated from the mainland by the Mozambique Channel. The area of the site and the state of the same name Madagascar is more than 587 thousand sq. km. with a population of 20 million. Locals call Madagascar the red island (the color of the island's soil) and the wild boar island (due to its large wild boar population). More than half of the animals found in Madagascar cannot be found on the mainland, and 90% of the plants are found only in this geographic area.
3. Kalimantan | 748 thousand sq. km
Third level of rating largest islands in the world occupied with an area of 748 thousand sq. km. and with 16 million inhabitants. This island has another common name - Borneo. Kalimantan occupies the center of the Malay archipelago and belongs to three states at once: Indonesia (most of it), Malaysia and Brunei. Borneo is washed by four seas and covered with dense tropical forests which are considered the oldest in the world. The most important attraction of Borneo is high point Southeast Asia - Mount Kinabalu with a height of 4 thousand meters. The island is rich natural resources in particular, diamonds, which gave it its name. Kalimantan means diamond river in the local language.
2. New Guinea | 786 thousand sq. km
- second place on the list largest islands in the world. 786 thousand sq. km. located in the Pacific Ocean between Australia and Asia. Scientists believe that the island was once part of Australia. The population is approaching 8 million people. New Guinea is divided between Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. The name of the island was given by the Portuguese. "Papua", which translates to curly, refers to the curly hair of the local Aboriginal people. There are still places in New Guinea where no man has ever been. This place attracts flora and fauna researchers, as they can meet here the rarest species of animals and.
1. Greenland | 2130 thousand sq. km
The largest island in the world is Greenland.. Its area exceeds the area of many European countries and amounts to 2130 thousand sq. km. Greenland is part of Denmark, and several dozen times larger than the mainland of this state. Green, as this island is also called, is washed by the Atlantic and Arctic oceans. Because of weather conditions most of it is uninhabited (about 57 thousand people live) and is covered with ice. Glaciers contain huge reserves of fresh water. In terms of the number of glaciers, it is second only to Antarctica. Greenlandic national park considered the northernmost and largest in the world.
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