Islands & Archipelagos, ABA-BEL
This general category includes a selection of more specific topics.
Islands & Archipelagos Encyclopedia Articles By Title
Abaco, island, The Bahamas, West Indies. It is located about 55 miles (90 km) north of Nassau, the capital, on......
Abaiang Atoll, coral atoll of the Gilbert Islands, part of Kiribati, in the west-central Pacific Ocean. Comprising......
Abemama Atoll, coral atoll of the northern Gilbert Islands, part of Kiribati, in the west-central Pacific Ocean.......
Achill Island, mountainous island off the west coast of Ireland. It is part of County Mayo, joined to the mainland......
Admiralty Islands, islands in Papua New Guinea, southwestern Pacific Ocean, an extension of the Bismarck Archipelago......
Aegean Islands, Greek islands in the Aegean Sea, particularly the Cyclades, Sporades, and Dodecanese groups. The......
Aegina, island, one of the largest in the Saronic group of Greece, about 16 miles (26 km) south-southwest of Piraeus.......
Agalega Islands, two-island dependency of Mauritius, in the western Indian Ocean. It consists of North Island and......
Agrihan, one of the Mariana Islands and part of the Northern Mariana Islands, a commonwealth of the United States.......
Ailsa Craig, granite islet, South Ayrshire council area, Scotland, at the mouth of the Firth of Clyde and 10 miles......
Aitutaki Atoll, one of the southern Cook Islands, a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand in......
Albion, the earliest-known name for the island of Britain. It was used by ancient Greek geographers from the 4th......
Alborán Island, islet, belonging to Spain, in the western Mediterranean Sea. About 2 miles (3 km) long, Alborán......
Alcatraz Island, rocky island in San Francisco Bay, California, U.S. The island occupies an area of 22 acres (9......
Aldabra Islands, atoll, one of the world’s largest, in the Indian Ocean about 600 miles (1,000 km) southwest of......
Alderney, one of the Channel Islands, in the English Channel, separated from the Normandy coast (Cap de la Hague)......
Aleutian Islands, chain of small islands that separate the Bering Sea (north) from the main portion of the Pacific......
Alexander Archipelago, group of about 1,100 islands (actually the tops of a submerged section of the Coast Ranges)......
Alexander Island, large island in the Bellingshausen Sea, separated from the Antarctica mainland by the George......
Alor Islands, group of two major islands and several lesser islets in East Nusa Tenggara propinsi (province), Indonesia.......
Als, island in the Little Belt (strait), Denmark. It is separated from the Sundeved peninsula of southern Jutland......
Amakusa Islands, archipelago off western Kyushu, Japan, in the Amakusa Sea. Administered by Kumamoto ken (prefecture),......
Amami Great Island, largest island in the Amami chain of the northern Ryukyu Islands, in Kagoshima ken (prefecture),......
Ambon, island and municipality of Maluku propinsi (or provinsi; province), Indonesia. It is one of the islands......
Ambrym, volcanic island of Vanuatu, southwestern Pacific Ocean. It has an area of 257 square miles (665 square......
American Samoa, unincorporated territory of the United States consisting of the eastern part of the Samoan archipelago,......
Amirante Isles, group of coral islands in the western Indian Ocean, lying about 200 miles (320 km) southwest of......
Amorgós Island, island trending northeast-southwest in the Cyclades (Modern Greek: Kykládes) group, South Aegean......
Amund Ringnes, one of the Sverdrup Islands in Nunavut, Canada, in the Arctic Ocean, between Axel Heiberg and Ellef......
Anatom, southernmost inhabited island of Vanuatu, in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. Volcanic in origin, it has......
Andaman Islands, island group, Andaman and Nicobar Islands union territory, India, lying in the Indian Ocean about......
Andreanof Islands, one of several smaller groups of islands within the Aleutian Islands, southwestern Alaska, U.S.......
Andros Island, largest island of The Bahamas, West Indies. It lies 25 miles (40 km) west of New Providence Island......
Anegada, one of the British Virgin Islands and the northernmost of the Lesser Antilles, a chain separating the......
Isle of Anglesey, county, northwestern Wales, separated from the North Wales mainland by the Menai Strait. The......
Anguilla, island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, a British overseas territory. It is the most northerly of the Leeward......
Annobón, volcanic island in the South Atlantic Ocean near the Equator; it is part of Equatorial Guinea. Located......
Anticosti Island, island in the Gulf of St. Lawrence at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, part of the Côte-Nord......
Antigua and Barbuda, islands that form an independent state in the Lesser Antilles in the eastern Caribbean Sea,......
Antilles, group of islands located in the Caribbean Sea and comprising all of the West Indies except The Bahamas.......
Antipodes Islands, outlying island group of New Zealand in the South Pacific Ocean, 350 miles (560 km) southeast......
Aoba, volcanic island of Vanuatu, in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, 30 miles (50 km) east of Espiritu Santo. With......
Aran Islands, three limestone islands—Inishmore, Inishmaan, and Inisheer—comprising 18 square miles (47 square......
Arctic Archipelago, Group of Canadian islands, Arctic Ocean. They lie north of the Canadian mainland and have an......
Arguin Island, island off the coast of Mauritania; it lies about 50 miles (80 km) southeast of Cape Blanc, in a......
Arran, largest island in the North Ayrshire council area and the historic county of Buteshire, western Scotland,......
Aru Islands, easternmost island group of the Moluccas, eastern Indonesia, in the Arafura Sea. Administratively......
Aruba, island lying southwest of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean Sea, some 50 miles (80 km) northwest of Curaçao......
Jazīrat Arwād, island in the eastern Mediterranean off the Syrian coastal town of Ṭarṭūs. Originally settled by......
Ascension, island in the South Atlantic Ocean, part of the British overseas territory of St. Helena, Ascension......
Ashmore and Cartier Islands, external territory of Australia, in the Indian Ocean. The islands lie 200 miles (320......
Asinara Island, island lying in the Mediterranean Sea off the northwest coast of Sardinia. It has an area of 20......
Assateague Island, barrier island off the Atlantic Ocean coast of southeastern Maryland and eastern Virginia, U.S.......
Astipálaia, island, westernmost of the Greek Dodecanese islands, Aegean Sea, between Amorgós and Cos (Modern Greek:......
Atafu, coral atoll of Tokelau, a territory of New Zealand in the South Pacific Ocean. It comprises 19 islets that......
Atiu, one of the southern Cook Islands, a self-governing state in free association with New Zealand in the South......
Auckland Islands, outlying island group of New Zealand, in the South Pacific Ocean, 290 miles (467 km) south of......
Aunuu Island, volcanic island off the east coast of Tutuila, American Samoa, in the south-central Pacific Ocean.......
Avalon, island to which Britain’s legendary king Arthur was conveyed for the healing of his wounds after his final......
Awaji Island, island, southern Hyōgo ken (prefecture), Japan. The island lies at the eastern end of the Inland......
Azores, archipelago and região autónoma (autonomous region) of Portugal. The chain lies in the North Atlantic Ocean......
Babar Island, island and island group in the Banda Sea, Maluku propinsi (province), Indonesia. Located between......
Babelthuap, largest of the Caroline Islands and largest island within the country of Palau. It has an area of 143......
Babuyan Islands, island group of the Philippines that is a northerly extension of the Philippine archipelago. The......
Bacan, island, North Maluku propinsi (province), Indonesia. One of the northern Moluccas, in the Molucca Sea, it......
Bach Long Vi, island of northern Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin, halfway between the mouth of the Red River (Song......
Baffin Island, island lying between Greenland and the Canadian mainland. With an area of 195,928 square miles (507,451......
The Bahamas, archipelago and country on the northwestern edge of the West Indies. Formerly a British colony, The......
Bahrain, small Arab state situated in a bay on the southwestern coast of the Persian Gulf. It is an archipelago......
Baker Island, unincorporated territory of the United States in the South Pacific Ocean, about 1,650 miles (2,650......
Balabac, island, extreme southwestern Philippines. It is located about 19 miles (30 km) southwest of the southern......
Balearic Islands, archipelago in the western Mediterranean Sea and a comunidad autónoma (autonomous community)......
Bali, island and propinsi (or provinsi; province) in the Lesser Sunda Islands, Indonesia. It is situated 1 mile......
Baltra Island, one of the smaller of the Galápagos Islands, with an area of 8 square miles (21 square km). It lies......
Banaba, coral and phosphate formation, part of Kiribati, in the west-central Pacific Ocean. It is located 250 miles......
Bananal Island, island, Tocantins estado (state), central Brazil. The island is formed by the Araguaia River, which......
Banda Islands, island group, Maluku propinsi (province), Indonesia. The islands lie in the Banda Sea, southeast......
Banggai Islands, archipelago consisting of two major islands and approximately 100 islets in Sulawesi Tengah provinsi......
Bangka, island, Bangka Belitung propinsi (or provinsi; province), Indonesia. The island is situated off the eastern......
Banks Island, westernmost island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, Inuvik region, Northwest Territories; it lies......
Banks Islands, volcanic group in northern Vanuatu, southwestern Pacific Ocean. The group includes the islands of......
Banyak Islands, group of more than 60 small islands, in Aceh semiautonomous province, Indonesia. The largest of......
Barbados, island country in the southeastern Caribbean Sea, situated about 100 miles (160 km) east of Saint Vincent......
Bardsey Island, small island, with an area of 0.7 square mile (1.8 square km), off the tip of the Lleyn Peninsula,......
Barlavento Islands, island group in the Atlantic Ocean off the West African coast and the northern of two island......
Barra, Atlantic island of the Outer Hebrides group, Western Isles council area, historic county of Inverness-shire,......
Barrow Island, Australian island in the Indian Ocean, 30 miles (50 km) off the northwest coast of Western Australia......
Basilan, island and city, southern Philippines, in the Celebes Sea. Basilan island lies 5 miles (8 km) off the......
Bass Rock, small island at the entrance of the Firth of Forth, northeast of the town of North Berwick, East Lothian......
Basse-Terre, island in the eastern Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean Sea. Along with Grande-Terre, its twin to the......
Batan Islands, chain of 14 islands in the Philippines, about 190 miles (310 km) north of Luzon in the Luzon Strait.......
Bathurst Island, island in the Timor Sea, Northern Territory, Australia. It is separated from Melville Island to......
Bathurst Island, one of the Parry Islands in the Baffin region, Nunavut territory, northern Canada, between the......
Batu Islands, group of three major islands and 48 islets off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Administratively,......
Bay Islands, group of small islands of northern Honduras. The main islands are Utila, Roatán, and Guanaja. They......
Bazaruto Island, island, Mozambique. It is situated in the Mozambique Channel of the Indian Ocean, about 15 miles......
Beaver Island, largest of an island group in northeastern Lake Michigan, U.S., about 35 miles (55 km) north-northwest......
Belcher Islands, archipelago in southeastern Hudson Bay, north of the mouth of James Bay, Baffin region, Nunavut......
Belitung, island and kabupaten (regency), Bangka Belitung propinsi (or provinsi; province), Indonesia. With 135......
Bell Island, island in southeastern Newfoundland, Canada; it lies in Conception Bay 3 mi (5 km) off the Avalon......