Islands

An island or isle is a piece of subcontinental land surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. A small island off the coast may be called a holm. There are two main types of islands in the sea: continental islands and oceanic islands. There are also artificial islands (man-made islands). There are about 900,000 official islands in the world. This number consists of all the officially reported islands of each country. There are hundreds of thousands of tiny islands that are unknown and uncounted. Interestingly there is no standard of size that distinguishes islands from continents. An island country is a country that is made up of one or more islands, or land that is surrounded completely by water. Island nations are unique because of their locations. The main supply of food is fish, and these countries rely heavily on imports from continental nations. Activities on an island include surfing, yoga, racing, stand-up paddle boarding or other water activities that can be enjoyed in many ways. Java is the world’s most populated island with over 130 million people. Islands are key foundations for coral reef ecosystems. Wherever there is a land mass in the open ocean, ocean circulation patterns change. Nutrients from the deeper, colder water rise to the surface, creating the conditions for sea life to thrive. So not only is it a great addition to the ecosystem but also a great destination to travel to.