An island is a piece of land that is completely surrounded by water.
Aru Islands
a group of islands in Indonesia , in the SW Moluccas. Area: about 8500 sq km (3300 sq miles)
Sea Islands
a chain of islands in the Atlantic off the coasts of South Carolina , Georgia , and Florida
the Islands
the islands of the South Pacific
Åland Islands
a group of over 6000 islands under Finnish administration , in the Gulf of Bothnia . Capital: Mariehamn. Pop: 26 347 (2003 est)
Aran Islands
a group of three islands in the Atlantic , off the W coast of the Republic of Ireland : Aranmore or Inishmore (the largest), Inishmaan, and Inisheer. Pop: 1280 (2002). Area: 46 sq km (18 sq miles)
Arru Islands
a group of islands in Indonesia , in the SW Moluccas. Area: about 8500 sq km (3300 sq miles)
Batan Islands
a group of islands in the Philippines , north of Luzon . Capital: Basco. Pop: 16 467 (2000). Area: 197 sq km (76 sq miles)
Bonin Islands
a group of 27 volcanic islands in the W Pacific : occupied by the US after World War II; returned to Japan in 1968. Largest island: Chichijima. Area: 103 sq km (40 sq miles)
Cocos Islands
a group of 27 coral islands in the Indian Ocean , southwest of Java : a Territory of Australia since 1955. Pop: 596 (2010). Area: 13 sq km (5 sq miles)
Cook Islands
a group of islands in the SW Pacific , an overseas territory of New Zealand : consists of the Lower Cooks and the Northern Cooks Capital: Avarua, on Rarotonga. Pop: 10 447 (2013 est). Area: 234 sq km (90 sq miles)
Faroe Islands
→ Faeroe Islands
Kuril Islands
a chain of 56 volcanic islands off the NE coast of Asia, extending for 1200 km (750 miles) from the S tip of the Kamchatka Peninsula to NE Hokkaido . Area: 14 990 sq km (6020 sq miles)
Line Islands
a group of coral islands in the central Pacific , including Tabuaeran, Teraina, and Kiritimati: part of Kiribati , with Palmyra and Jarvis administered by the US
Palm Islands
a group of three man-made island systems under construction just off the shore in Dubai , each in the shape of a palm tree
Pelew Islands
→ a former name of (the Republic of) Palau
Samoa Islands
an independent state occupying four inhabited islands and five uninhabited islands in the S Pacific archipelago of the Samoa Islands: established as a League of Nations mandate under New Zealand administration in 1920 and a UN trusteeship in 1946; gained independence as Western Samoa in 1962 as the first fully independent Polynesian state; officially changed its name to Samoa in 1997; a member of the Commonwealth . Languages: Samoan and English. Religion : Christian . Currency : tala . Capital: Apia . Pop: 196 440 (2017 est). Area: 2841 sq km (1097 sq miles)
Spice Islands
the → Moluccas
Sunda Islands
a chain of islands in the Malay Archipelago , consisting of the Greater Sunda Islands ( chiefly Sumatra , Java , Borneo , and Sulawesi ) and Nusa Tenggara (the Lesser Sunda Islands)
Truk Islands
a group of islands in the W Pacific , in the E Caroline Islands: administratively part of the US Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands from 1947; became self-governing in 1979 as part of the Federated States of Micronesia ; consists of 11 chief islands; a major Japanese naval base during World War II. Pop: 53 381 (2006). Area: 130 sq km (50 sq miles)
Aegean Islands
the islands of the Aegean Sea, including the Cyclades, Dodecanese, Euboea , and Sporades. The majority are under Greek administration
Aeolian Islands
a group of volcanic islands under Italian administration off the N coast of Sicily : remains that form a continuous record from Neolithic times. Chief town: Lipari. Pop: 10 554 (2001). Area: 114 sq km (44 sq miles)
Andaman Islands
a group of islands in the E Bay of Bengal , part of the Indian territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Area: 6408 sq km (2474 sq miles). Pop: 314 804 (2001)
Austral Islands
a chain of small islands extending about 1400 km (850 miles) in the S Pacific , in French Polynesia ; discovered by Captain Cook in 1777; annexed by France in 1880. Pop: 1979 (2002). Area: 173 sq km (67 sq miles)
Caicos Islands
a group of islands in the Caribbean : part of the United Kingdom Overseas Territory of the Turks and Caicos Islands
Canary Islands
a group of mountainous islands in the Atlantic off the NW coast of Africa, forming an Autonomous Community of Spain . Capital: Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife . Pop: 1 944 700 (2003 est)
Cayman Islands
three coral islands in the Caribbean Sea northwest of Jamaica : a dependency of Jamaica until 1962, now a UK Overseas Territory . Capital: George Town. Pop: 53 737 (2013 est). Area: about 260 sq km (100 sq miles)
Channel Islands
a group of islands in the English Channel , off the NW coast of France, consisting of Jersey , Guernsey , Alderney , Brechou or Brecqhou, Sark , Herm , Jethou, and Lihou (all between them representing the British Kingdom Crown Dependencies of the Bailiwick of Jersey and the Bailiwick of Guernsey) – the only part of the duchy of Normandy remaining to Britain – and the Roches Douvres and the Îles Chausey (which belong to France). Pop: 149 878 (2001). Area: 194 sq km (75 sq miles)
Chatham Islands
a group of islands in the S Pacific Ocean , forming a county of South Island, New Zealand : consists of the main islands of Chatham , Pitt , and several rocky islets . Chief settlement : Waitangi. Pop: 609 (2006 est). Area: 963 sq km (372 sq miles)
Diaoyu Islands
a group of uninhabited islets in the East China Sea; claimed by China and Japan
Diomede Islands
two small islands in the Bering Strait , separated by the international date line and by the boundary line between the US and Russia
Ellice Islands
group of islands in the WC Pacific , north of Fiji : under British control , 1892-1978; name changed to → Tuvalu in 1976 and as such became independent in 1978
Faeroe Islands
group of Danish islands in the N Atlantic, between Iceland & the Shetland Islands: 540 sq mi (1,399 sq km); pop. 44,000
Frisian Islands
a chain of islands in the North Sea along the coasts of the Netherlands , Germany , and Denmark : separated from the mainland by shallows
Gambier Islands
a group of islands in the S Pacific Ocean , in French Polynesia . Chief settlement : Rikitéa. Pop: 1097 (2002). Area: 30 sq km (11 sq miles)
Gilbert Islands
a group of islands in the W Pacific : with Banaba , the Phoenix Islands, and three of the Line Islands they constitute the independent state of Kiribati ; until 1975 they formed part of the British colony of Gilbert and Ellice Islands; achieved full independence in 1979. Pop: 82 902 (2005). Area: 295 sq km (114 sq miles)
Ionian Islands
a group of Greek islands in the Ionian Sea, consisting of Corfu , Cephalonia, Zante, Levkas, Ithaca , Cythera, and Paxos: ceded to Greece in 1864. Pop: 212 984 (2001). Area: 2307 sq km (891 sq miles)
islands council
(in Scotland since 1975) any of the three divisions (Orkney, Shetland , and the Western Isles ) into which the Scottish islands are divided for purposes of local government
Keeling Islands
→ Cocos Islands
Ladrone Islands
a chain of volcanic and coral islands in the W Pacific , east of the Philippines and north of New Guinea : divided politically into Guam (a US unincorporated territory ) and the islands north of Guam constituting the Northern Mariana Islands (a US commonwealth territory). Area: 1018 sq km (393 sq miles)
Lagoon Islands
a country in the SW Pacific , comprising a group of nine coral islands: established as a British protectorate in 1892. From 1915 until 1975 the islands formed part of the British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands; achieved full independence in 1978; a member of the Commonwealth (formerly a special member not represented at all meetings , until 2000). Languages: English and Tuvaluan . Religion : Christian majority . Currency : Australian dollar ; Tuvalu dollars are also used. Capital: Funafuti. Pop: 11 192 (2017 est). Area: 26 sq km (10 sq miles)
Leeward Islands
a group of islands in the Caribbean , in the N Lesser Antilles between Puerto Rico and Martinique
Lipari Islands
a group of volcanic islands under Italian administration off the N coast of Sicily : remains that form a continuous record from Neolithic times. Chief town: Lipari. Pop: 10 554 (2001). Area: 114 sq km (44 sq miles)
Lofoten Islands
group of Norwegian islands within the Arctic Circle , off the NW coast of Norway : c. 550 sq mi (1,424 sq km)
Maldive Islands
→ the Maldive Islands
Mariana Islands
a chain of volcanic and coral islands in the W Pacific , east of the Philippines and north of New Guinea : divided politically into Guam (a US unincorporated territory ) and the islands north of Guam constituting the Northern Mariana Islands (a US commonwealth territory). Area: 1018 sq km (393 sq miles)
Midway Islands
an atoll in the central Pacific, about 2100 km (1300 miles) northwest of Honolulu : annexed by the US in 1867: scene of a decisive battle ( June , 1942), in which the US combined fleets destroyed Japan's carrier fleet. Pop: 40 (2013 est). Area: 5 sq km (2 sq miles)
Nicobar Islands
a group of 19 islands in the Indian Ocean , south of the Andaman Islands, with which they form a territory of India. Area: 1645 sq km (635 sq miles)
Orkney Islands
group of islands north of Scotland , constituting an administrative division of Scotland: 377 sq mi (976 sq km); pop. 20,000