The largest island on earth. The largest islands on our planet

When talking about the largest islands, as a rule, they mean the islands with the largest area. We will not break the tradition and give the top of the largest islands in the world by area.

Recall that the island differs from the mainland in smaller size, but it must be surrounded on all sides by water, and at high tide at least part of it must remain on the surface.

10 Ellesmere

Ellesmere is the tenth largest island in the world. It belongs to Canada and is part of the Queen Elizabeth Islands.

Ellesmere is all cut up by fjords and one-third covered with ice. Living conditions are very harsh: in winter the temperature is up to -59 degrees, and in summer it rarely exceeds +7 (although it can also be +20); the polar day and night last for 5 months, and there is so little precipitation, so 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 hair).

This is another northern island belonging to 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 the high humidity: the whole island is covered with swamps, lakes, streams and rivers. In summer, the temperature is up to +12, in winter - an average of -20 degrees, and the wind is very strong and gusty, which creates extremely uncomfortable living conditions.

Vegetation in Victoria is not rich: grasses, polar tree species, mosses. But the animal world is well represented. On the island you can meet many birds, 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 are also many commercial fish (herring, tuna).

8 Honshu

And here we have a quite densely populated island, the main island of the Japanese archipelago, on which the capital of the Land of the Rising Sun is located and about 75% of its population is concentrated.

It is here that the largest cities of Japan are located: Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Yokohama. The entire island is covered with mountains, volcanoes predominate (for example, Fujiyama, and Asama is an active volcano), and it lies at the junction of the formation plates, which provokes frequent earthquakes.

Devastating typhoons are not uncommon here in autumn. The climate of Honshu is defined as monsoonal: in summer the temperature is about +25, in winter it is rarely below -5. The rainy season starts in June-July. The flora and fauna of the island is very rich. Forests cover more than 2/3 of the area.

In the spring, Honshu is extraordinarily beautiful because of the blooming azaleas, sakura and peonies, and in the autumn the most favorite flowers of the Japanese bloom - chrysanthemums, to which even the traditional festival is dedicated.

The animal world includes many relict and endemic species: white-breasted bear, Japanese crane, giant salamander, big-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 of the 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 UK is located here.

Scientists believe that the first people appeared on the island 800 thousand years ago: this is how the 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 maritime, which ensures mild winters, comfortable temperatures in summer and more than half of the rainy days a year. Although there are areas in which it is 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, mostly not very large mammals survived, but more than 130 species of birds and a lot of fish, as well as seals and whales

6 Sumatra

The hot tropical island, which is the sixth largest in the world, is at the same time the fourth largest in terms of the number of people living on it.

The island is part of the Malay Archipelago and belongs to Indonesia. Sumatra is an extremely humid island. It has a huge number of rivers, streams, lakes. It is here that the largest lake in Southeast Asia, Toba, is located. It is located in the caldera of an ancient volcano and is so large that there is 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 see medieval buildings, go windsurfing or diving, enjoy a beach holiday on the coast, almost everywhere covered with dark (volcanic) sand.

And here you can also walk in the equatorial forests of tree ferns, palm trees and ficuses, 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, the Indian elephant, the pig-tailed macaque and others. There are even 450 species of birds on the island!

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5 Baffin Island

Listing the largest islands in the world, it is impossible to ignore Baffin Land, an island of large area and very bizarre shape, belonging to Canada.
Baffin Island is, in fact, a continuation (geologically) of the Canadian Shield, so the mountains on the island should be considered part of the Andes. And there are many mountains, 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, frosts are not uncommon even in summer.

For a long time it was believed that the island was discovered by Baffin. But the data of the latest 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 development of vegetation, the flora here is poor. Of the animals, there are arctic foxes, polar bears, lemmings, reindeer, polar hares and, of course, walruses and seals. The island also amazes with a large number of birds, including snowy owls.

4 Madagascar

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. At the moment, the independent republic of Madagascar is located on the island, the government in which is replaced every now and then as a result of various upheavals and military coups.

However, the history of Madagascar is also full of such events. There were also attempts to seize the island by force, and various tricks. For some time, Madagascar was even a base for pirates who robbed 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, fossa is a cross between a puma and a mongoose.

There are also such interesting animals in Madagascar as lemurs (there are more than fifty species of them!), bristly hedgehogs, chameleons, viverras, turtles, a huge number of insects, fish (for example, the famous moray eels), birds. It’s a pity that you won’t be able to swim here: the coast is full of sharks.

3 Kalimantan

The island of Kalimantan, which occupies the third place in the ranking, is often called Borneo - after the name of the state of Brunei, which was once big and powerful, and now occupies only a small part of the island. The rest is divided 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 or another state; in different places and at different times, the British, and Holland, and even Japan were noted here. And only in the period from the middle to the end of the last century, the modern political status of Kalimantan was established.

The equatorial climate and high humidity are favorable for a huge number of 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 and giant flying foxes - you can't list them all!

A huge hot island in the Pacific Ocean is divided between the states of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

The climate is equatorial, there are quite high (up to 4900 m) mountains, and along the coast there is an impenetrable (it can only be overcome by canoeing) strip of mango forests.

In New Guinea, expanse of flora and fauna: there are 11 thousand species of plants (various palm trees, bananas, melon tree, etc.) and more than one and a half thousand animals, including marsupial badgers and birds of paradise. On the island, scientists have found a place that they called the "Garden of Eden": there are many unseen 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 (descending tongues into the sea) form, which give rise to icebergs. In the east of Greenland is the highest mountain in the Arctic - Gunbjorn. Its height is 3700 m.

The climate is not very severe, but changeable: in winter the temperature is up to -11 degrees, in summer - about +20, but it is not uncommon for years when the thermometer does not overcome the zero mark for the whole summer!

Plants can be found in areas free from the glacier. These are mainly meadows, crooked forests, 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).

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Islands are small areas of land that are found in almost every body of water, including rivers. They can have a different origin - there are volcanic hills, which are generated due to the magma released during eruptions, and there are others created from land areas cut off from the coast.

The process of the formation of new islands and their absorption by waters is constantly taking place, every now and then new heights appear and old ones disappear, and this is completely normal. However, the largest objects remain unchanged. Having considered the top largest islands in the world, you can find out which of them are the most stable - they are all inhabited by people who are in no hurry to leave their homes.

Fifth place - Baffin land

An exception is, perhaps, Baffin Island, which is the fifth largest island on the planet, and is located somewhat west of Greenland. The population here is no more than 11 thousand people, and the central part of the territories is still little explored. The reason for this is the harsh climate that distinguishes this place. The area of ​​the island is 508 thousand sq. km, and the name was given in honor of William Baffin, the first person to describe the territories. There is simply amazing nature and fabulous views, and besides, there are places where a person did not have time
visit.

Fourth place - Madagascar

The island of Madagascar is located near Africa, and today it is known even to children, due to the cartoon about animals. On this island there is a separate state of Madagascar, which has sovereignty, and the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthis piece of land, which is not of volcanic origin, is 587040 sq. km. It has its own flora and fauna, formed in isolation, the island is rich in endemic species. And there are many minerals here. By the way, the name Madagascar itself is translated from the local dialect as Boar Island.

Third place - Kalimantan

The same island is known as Borneo. Its area is 737 thousand square meters. km, which allows him to get the third largest size in the world. This island is located at a real sea crossroads, it is washed by 4 seas and 2 straits at once. It is almost completely covered with forests, up to 80 percent of the territory is impenetrable jungle. There are 3 states on the island at once, which receive large profits from the timber industry, and are mainly engaged in this business. But wood, including precious species, is not everything, there is also oil, diamonds, gas, so the subsoil and natural reserves of this place are only pleasing. And its name is translated as Diamond River - it speaks for itself. After all, a recreational resource also brings profit here, tourists and vacationers come here.

Second place - New Guinea

New Guinea rightfully took second place, this island is divided by states: Papua New Guinea and Indonesia. The Portuguese discovered the island, this happened in 1526, and before that the European world did not even think that there was such a competitor to the largest island in the world already known at that time. Papua is the first name of the island, which he received because of the curly hair of the locals.

Papua translates as "curly". This island has an area of ​​​​786 thousand km, is a tropical paradise with an abundance of vegetation, attracting many tourists. And despite the fact that many plants, animals and insects that are unique to this area have already been found here, new discoveries are made here every year and hitherto unknown varieties of inhabitants are discovered. Some things simplify the work of researchers - for example, the animals here are not afraid of humans, they do not need to be watched.

The largest island in the world

The largest island in the world is Greenland. This island is located in the northern latitudes. If you translate the name literally, you get Green Land, which is in no way consistent with the appearance of snow-covered plains and rocks. Ice covers up to 80 percent of the territory, and the island itself is washed by both the Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean. The total area of ​​this land is 2,131,500 sq. km.

Why is the island called "green"? some of the scientists say that this is how immigrants were lured here, others indicate that the climate in this Danish territory was once different. However, it doesn't matter. Today, the Eskimos live here, here you can see enough of the northern lights, plunge into the darkness of the polar night. And on this island there are plenty of minerals, mainly gas, oil. Fishing is an important local craft, because there are also plenty of fish in the surrounding waters.

This is a list of the largest islands that are stable and do not change for centuries. But who knows what this list will be in the future, because sometimes the face of the planet changes quite suddenly.

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There are approximately 500 thousand islands of various sizes in the world. Among them there are absolutely miniature islands, on which two people can hardly fit. But there are also very large islands that can be compared in area with some countries. What is the largest island on earth? Find out about it in this fascinating article.

The largest islands in the world

Ellesmere (Canada)

Canada's third largest island, second only to Victoria Island and Baffin Island. But despite this, this does not prevent Ellesmere from remaining in the top ten largest islands on earth. The total area of ​​the island is 196 thousand square meters. kilometers. It is hard to imagine that only 170 people live on such a vast territory. From all sides, the island is washed by the Arctic Ocean and is included in the honorary list of islands owned by Queen Elizabeth.

Victoria (Canada)

Another Canadian "giant", which is also among the top ten most-most. The total area of ​​Victoria Island is much larger than that of Ellesmere Island and is 217 thousand square meters. kilometers. This island is already much more inhabited, 1701 people live on it, but still it is still very small for an area of ​​this size. There are only two settlements on the island: Cambridge Bay and Holmen. The main feature of the island is a small number of hills. The mountains on the island are certainly present, but they are rather small and not at all remarkable.

Honshu (Japan)

On the territory of the Japanese archipelago, this island is considered the largest. The area of ​​this Japanese giant is 228 thousand square meters. kilometers. The most striking thing is that Honshu is slightly larger than Victoria Island, but it is inhabited by 103 million people. By the way, the island of Honshu occupies most of the territory of all of Japan, and such densely populated lands is the norm for the Land of the Rising Sun. There are a lot of volcanoes on the territory of the island, and this is not strange, because mountainous relief prevails on Honshu. The island also boasts the largest mountain in the world and the most famous symbol of Japan - Mount Fuji.

Island of Great Britain

Great Britain needs no introduction as it is the largest island that the British Isles can boast of. The total area of ​​the island of Great Britain is 230 thousand square meters. kilometers. At the same time, the island is inhabited by 60 million people. The island of Great Britain managed to shelter in its vast territories the main part of the United Kingdom - England, Wales, Scotland.

Sumatra (Indonesia)

This island belongs entirely to Indonesia and is located in the western part of the Malay Archipelago. Sumatra is divided by the equator into two identical parts. The total area of ​​the island is 473 thousand square meters. kilometers. Only 50 million people live on such a vast territory. The coast of the island is famous for its beautiful coral reefs, which attract vacationers from all over the world to stare.

Madagascar (Africa)

This island, known to everyone, is located in eastern Africa. The total area of ​​Madagascar is very large - 587 thousand km2. square. The nature of the island resembles a real paradise. This is due to the fact that such large territories are inhabited by only 20 million people. Therefore, a large area of ​​Madagascar is absolutely free and untouched by man. There are a lot of different living creatures on the island. Its most popular settlers are wild boars. That's why the locals call Madagascar "the island of wild boars".

Kalimantan (Asia)

The island of Kalimantan or as it is also called Malay Borneo. Finding Kalimantan on the map is quite easy, because it is located in the very center of the Malay Archipelago, in Southeast Asia. On the simply incredible area of ​​Kalimantan, which is 743 thousand square meters. kilometers, home to only 16 million inhabitants. This is despite the fact that the entire land area has long been divided into three small states - Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.

New Guinea

This island occupies an honorable second place among the largest islands on earth. Its area is 786 thousand square meters. kilometers. New Guinea is home to just 7.5 million people. This island is located right in the middle of Asia and Australia, in the Pacific Ocean. Only the Torres Strait separates New Guinea from Australia. The territories of the island equally went to Indonesia and Papua New Guinea.

Greenland

We finally made it to Greenland. This is the largest island on earth. Its dimensions have reached the record high - 2 million 131 thousand square meters. kilometers. At the same time, not a record number of people live on the island - only 57 thousand. You should not be surprised at such a small population, because most of the island consists of glaciers, because of which living on the island is almost impossible. The Arctic and Atlantic oceans wash the shores of the island of Greenland.