Windward Islands

Island group, Lesser Antilles, West Indies. Located at the eastern end of the Caribbean Sea, they include Dominica (sometimes classified as part of the Leeward Islands), Martinique, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Grenada, and the chain of small islands known as the Grenadines. Though near the general area, Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados are usually not considered part of the group.

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Japanese Kazan-rettō or Iō-rettō

Group of three small volcanic islands, western Pacific Ocean. Administratively part of Japan, they lie south of the Bonin Islands. After they were visited by Japanese fishermen and sulfur miners in 1887, the three islands of Kita Iō, Iō (Iwo Jima; the largest), and Minami Iō were claimed by Japan in 1891. Iō was the scene of heavy fighting during World War II. After the war Japan retained residual sovereignty over the islands, but the U.S. administered them from 1951 until they were returned to Japan in 1968.

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British overseas territory (pop., 2005 est.: 27,200), West Indies. Part of the Virgin Islands chain, it consists of the islands of Tortola, Anegada, Virgin Gorda, and Jost Van Dyke and 32 smaller, mostly uninhabited islands. The chief town and port is Road Town on Tortola. The majority of British Virgin Islanders are of African or African-European descent. English is the chief language. Religion: Christianity (predominantly Protestant). The islands are generally hilly, and many have lagoons with coral reefs and barrier beaches. Tourism is the mainstay of the economy. The Virgin Islands probably were originally settled by Arawak Indians but were inhabited by Caribs by the time Christopher Columbus visited in 1493. The islands were a haunt for pirates, and Tortola was held by Dutch buccaneers until it was taken by English planters in 1666; it was annexed by the British-administered Leeward Islands in 1672. The British sugar plantations declined after slavery was abolished in the 19th century. The islands were part of the Colony of the Leeward Islands from 1872 until 1956, when the British Virgin Islands became a separate colony. Its status was changed to an overseas territory in 2002.

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Conservation area, St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands. Covering 14,696 acres (5,947 hectares), it has steep mountains, white beaches, and coral reefs. Though most of the tree cover was removed for sugarcane cultivation in the 17th–18th century, the land has reverted to forest. Some 100 species of birds and the only native land mammal, the bat, can be found there. It has remains of Arawak Indian villages.

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British dependency (pop., 2002 est.: 18,738), West Indies. It comprises two small island groups at the southeastern end of The Bahamas. The Turks group includes Grand Turk, Salt Cay, and lesser cays. The Caicos group includes South Caicos, East Caicos, Middle (or Grand) Caicos, North Caicos, Providenciales, West Caicos, and several smaller cays. The seat of government is at Cockburn Town on Grand Turk Island. When Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León visited in 1512, the islands were inhabited by Indians. British colonists from Bermuda arrived in 1678. The islands were at first placed under the government of The Bahamas, but in 1874 they were annexed to the colony of Jamaica. The Turks and Caicos Islands became a crown colony in 1962 and shared a governor with The Bahamas from 1965 to 1973. A new constitution was adopted in 1988. The chief industries are tourism and offshore financial services.

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Group of islands (pop., 2002: 6,386), southern French Polynesia. The southernmost part of French Polynesia (austral is Latin for “south”), the islands form a chain about 800 mi (1,300 km) long. They were sighted by Capt. James Cook in 1769 and 1777. They were taken over by the French in the late 19th century. The inhabited islands are Rimatara, Rurutu, Tubuai, Raevavae, and Rapa.

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Group of about 1,500 small islands extending 80 mi (128 km) in the Saint Lawrence River between New York state, U.S., and Ontario, Canada. Some islands belong to Canada and some to the U.S. The Thousand Islands include summer resort facilities and the Canadian St. Lawrence Islands National Park, which was established in 1904 and covers 988 ac (400 ha). The Thousand Islands International Bridge, which contains five spans linking some of the islands and is 8.5 mi (13.7 km) long, connects New York and Ontario.

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Group of about 30 islands, southeastern Moluccas, Indonesia. It includes the large island of Yamdena, some 70 mi (110 km) long and 30 mi (50 km) wide, and the nearby islands of Larat and Selaru. Though there is a lack of fresh water, the soil supports corn, rice, coconut palms, and fruits. The Dutch claimed the group in 1639 but did not establish rule until 1900. The islands became part of Indonesia in 1949.

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Archipelago extending from the Malay Peninsula to the Moluccas. The islands make up most of the land area of Indonesia, with only northern and northwestern Borneo and the eastern portion of Timor not under Indonesian political control. They include the Greater Sunda Islands (Sumatra, Java, Borneo, Sulawesi, and adjacent smaller islands) and the Lesser Sunda Islands (Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Sumba, Flores, Timor, Alor, and adjacent smaller islands). Most of the islands are part of a geologically unstable and volcanically active island arc. Malay cultures and languages predominate in the area.

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Group of several dozen small islands and reefs, south-central South China Sea. Located about midway between Vietnam and the Philippines, the group is claimed variously by Vietnam, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, and the Philippines. Of the 12 main islets, the largest is the 90-acre (36-hectare) Itu Aba. Turtles and seabirds are the only permanent inhabitants. After World War II, China established a garrison on Itu Aba, which has been maintained by the Chinese government on Taiwan. All other claimants also have small military forces on several of the islands.

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Indonesian Maluku

Island group (pop., 2005 est.: 2,059,200), eastern Indonesia, lying between Celebes (Sulawesi) and New Guinea. The Moluccas comprise three large islands (Halmahera, Ceram, and Buru) and many smaller ones. Their combined area is about 30,066 sq mi (77,870 sq km). They constitute the Indonesian provinces of Maluku and North Maluku; the provincial capitals are, respectively, Ambon and Ternate. The population is ethnically diverse, including Malays and Papuans and people of Dutch, Portuguese, and Javanese descent. Known as the “Spice Islands,” the Moluccas were part of the Asian spice trade before being discovered by the Portuguese in 1511, and they were fought over by the Spanish, English, and Dutch, eventually coming under the Dutch. Occupied by the Japanese during World War II, the islands were afterward incorporated into the state of East Indonesia and then into the Republic of Indonesia in 1949.

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Island group, southern Atlantic Ocean. Located southeast of South America, the South Orkneys are composed of two large islands (Coronation and Laurie) and many smaller islands; they form part of the British Antarctic Territory. Barren and uninhabited, the islands have a total area of 240 sq mi (620 sq km). They were part of the Falkland Islands Dependencies until 1962. Signy Island is used as a base for Antarctic exploration.

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Island country, southwestern South Pacific Ocean. (Another island group named Solomon Islands, which includes Bougainville, is part of Papua New Guinea.) The country includes the islands of Guadalcanal, Malaita, San Cristobal, Choiseul, Santa Isabel, and Rennell; the Russell, Florida, Shortland, Santa Cruz, and New Georgia island groups; and small islands and reefs. Area: 10,954 sq mi (28,370 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 471,000. Capital: Honiara. The population is largely Melanesian. Languages: English (official), Pijin (an English-based pidgin), and more than 60 indigenous Melanesian languages. Religions: Christianity (predominantly Protestant; also Roman Catholic); also traditional beliefs. Currency: Solomon Islands dollar. The Solomons group comprises numerous volcanic islands arranged in two parallel chains that converge in the southeast. They consist mostly of heavily wooded, mountainous terrain drained by short, swift-flowing rivers. The climate is tropical. The economy is based on agriculture, fishing, and lumbering. Tourism is increasing as cruise ships and visitors to World War II battlefields stop at the islands. The country is a constitutional monarchy with one legislative house; its chief of state is the British monarch represented by the governor-general, and the head of government is the prime minister. The Solomon Islands were probably settled circa 2000 BC by Austronesian people. Visited by the Spanish in 1568, they were subsequently explored and charted by the Dutch, French, and British. They were under British protection from 1893 as the British Solomon Islands. The Japanese invasion of 1942 ignited some of the most bitter fighting in the Pacific during the war, particularly on Guadalcanal. The protectorate became self-governing in 1976 and fully independent in 1978. From 1999 ethnic fighting broke out in the Solomons; New Zealand and Australian armed forces helped restore order.

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Archipelago (pop., 2002: 214,445), western French Polynesia, South Pacific Ocean. Its chief island is Tahiti. The Society Islands comprise two groups, the Windward Islands and the Leeward Islands. They are volcanic in origin and mountainous. Claimed for Britain in 1767, the islands were visited in 1769 by Capt. James Cook with a scientific expedition of the Royal Society (hence their name). They were claimed by France in 1786 and became a French protectorate in 1842, a French colony in 1881, and a part of French Oceania in 1903. Their chief products are copra and pearls.

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or Zetland Islands

Island group (pop., 2001: 21,988), Scotland. The Shetlands comprise some 100 islands located 130 mi (210 km) north of the Scottish mainland and about 400 mi (640 km) south of the Arctic Circle. They form the Shetland administrative region; the region's capital is Lerwick. Fewer than 20 of the islands are inhabited. The northernmost part of Britain, the islands have fjordlike coasts and a climate warmed by the North Atlantic Current. The Norse ruled the Shetlands from the 8th to the 15th century. In 1472 the islands, with Orkney, were annexed to the Scottish crown. They are famous for their livestock, which includes the Shetland pony and the Shetland sheep. The latter's fine wool is used in the distinctive Shetland and Fair Isle knitted patterns. The North Sea oil industry has contributed to the economy.

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Island dependencies, United Kingdom. Located in the English Channel 10–30 mi (16–48 km) off the western coast of France, they cover an area of 75 sq mi (194 sq km) and include the islands of Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, and Sark and several islets. They are domestically independent of the British government. Structures, including menhirs, are evidence of prehistoric occupation. A part of Normandy in the 10th century AD, the islands came under British rule at the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066. The islets of Ecrehous and Les Minquiers were disputed between England and France until 1953, when the International Court of Justice confirmed British sovereignty. The dispute revived in the late 20th century because sovereignty determines the rights to the continental shelf's economic development (especially petroleum). The Channel Islands were the only British territory occupied by Germany in World War II. The islands are famous for their cattle breeds, including the Jersey and Guernsey.

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National preserve, southeastern shore of Hawaii island, U.S. Established in 1916, it occupies an area of 358 sq mi (927 sq km) and includes the active volcanoes Mauna Loa and Kilauea, 25 mi (40 km) apart. Other highlights are Kau Desert, an area of lava formations near Kilauea, and a tree-fern forest that receives nearly 100 in. (2,500 mm) of annual rainfall.

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formerly Sandwich Islands

State (pop., 2006 est.: 1,285,498), U.S., comprising a group of islands in the central Pacific Ocean that covers 6,461 sq mi (16,734 sq km). Its capital, Honolulu, lies 2,397 mi (3,857 km) west of San Francisco. The state's major islands are, from west to east, Niihau, Kauai, Oahu, Molokai, Lanai, Kahoolawe, Maui, and Hawaii; there are 124 islets. The state's active volcanoes include Mauna Loa and Kilauea. The majority of the state's residents live on Oahu. The original Hawaiians were of Polynesian origin and came from the Marquesas Islands circa 300 CE. Capt. James Cook visited the islands in 1778 and called them the Sandwich Islands. At the beginning of the 19th century, Kamehameha I united the group under his rule. American whalers began to stop there; they were followed in 1820 by New England missionaries, and Western influences changed the islands. While Kamehameha III in 1851 placed Hawaii under U.S. protection, a coup fomented by U.S. sugar interests resulted in the monarchy's overthrow and the establishment of a Republic of Hawaii (1893). In 1898 the new republic and the U.S. agreed on annexation, and in 1900 Hawaii became a U.S. territory. The bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese in 1941 led to U.S. involvement in World War II, and Hawaii became a major naval station. Hawaii became the 50th U.S. state on Aug. 21, 1959. Its largest industry is tourism. It is also a world astronomy centre, with telescopes atop Mauna Kea.

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Island chain, extreme southern Japan. It extends in an arc 700 mi (1,100 km) long from the southern Japanese island of Kyushu to the northern tip of Taiwan island. The 55 islands and islets have a total land area of 1,193 sq mi (3,090 sq km). In ancient times it was an independent kingdom, but Chinese and Japanese sovereignty were successively imposed on the archipelago from the 14th to the 19th century. In 1879 the Ryukyus became an integral part of Japan. After Japan's defeat in World War II, the U.S. took control of the islands; it returned them all by 1972. The U.S. maintains military bases on Okinawa. The islands are primarily rural, and agriculture is the dominant occupation; tourism has grown in importance.

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Group of islands, Mexico, in the Pacific Ocean. The islands are located about 300 mi (500 km) south of the Baja California peninsula and about 370 mi (600 km) west of mainland Mexico. Covering a total land area of 320 sq mi (830 sq km), it consists of numerous volcanic islands. The largest, Socorro, reaches an elevation of 3,707 ft (1,130 m). The islands are rich in sulfur, fish, and guano and are administered by Colima state.

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Island group, northern Canada. Part of the Canadian Arctic archipelago, it comprises all the islands north of latitude 74°30' N, including the Parry and Sverdrup island groups. The islands, the largest of which are Ellesmere, Melville, Devon, and Axel Heiberg, have a total land area of over 150,000 sq mi (390,000 sq km). Probably first visited by the Vikings circa AD 1000, they were partially explored (1615–16) by English navigators William Baffin and Robert Bylot. The islands, which are administratively split between the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, were named in 1953 to honour Queen Elizabeth II.

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Group of about 150 islands (pop., 2001: 4,935) off western British Columbia, Canada. They have an area of 3,705 sq mi (9,596 sq km). The two largest islands, Graham and Moresby, are irregular in shape and rise to nearly 4,000 ft (1,200 m). The inhabitants, including Haida Indians, engage in fishing and ranching.

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Group of islands, southeastern Bering Sea, Alaska, U.S. It includes St. Paul, St. George, and three islets, and it lies about 300 mi (500 km) west of the mainland. Control of the islands was transferred from Russia to the U.S. with the Alaska Purchase (1867). The islands are hilly and treeless with no harbours. They are breeding grounds from April to November for most of the world's fur seals. Commercial harvesting of seals was discontinued in 1986. The islands are also home to enormous numbers of birds and both blue and white phases of Arctic foxes. The indigenous population is made up of Aleuts.

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Group of eight small coral atolls, Kiribati. Lying in the west-central Pacific Ocean 1,650 mi (2,650 km) southwest of Hawaii, the low, sandy atolls have a total land area of about 11 sq mi (28 sq km) and were discovered in the 19th century by U.S. whaling ships. Annexed by Britain in 1889, they were joined to the Gilbert and Ellice Islands in 1937. They became part of independent Kiribati in 1979. Kanton is the only inhabited atoll.

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Chinese Xisha Qundao or Hsi-sha Ch'ün-tao Vietnamese Quan Dao Hoang Sa

Group of about 130 small coral islands and reefs, South China Sea, east of central Vietnam and southeast of Hainan Island, China. The low, barren islands, none of which exceeds 1 sq mi (2.5 sq km) in area, lack fresh water, and there are no permanent human residents. In 1932 the islands were claimed by French Indochina, and Japan occupied some of them during World War II. China, Taiwan, and Vietnam all claim them. In 1974 China assumed control, and they have remained a matter of contention.

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Island group (pop., 2001: 19,245), Scotland. Lying north of the Scottish mainland, it comprises more than 70 islands and islets and constitutes the Orkney council area. The Orkney Islands, only 20 of which are inhabited, were the Orcades of ancient Classical literature. There is much evidence of prehistoric inhabitants. Norse raiders arrived in the late 8th century AD and colonized the islands in the 9th century. Thereafter they were ruled by Norway and Denmark until Scotland annexed them in 1472. It is a prosperous agricultural area. Kirkwall is the administrative seat.

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Self-governing commonwealth (pop., 2005 est.: 80,400) in political union with the U.S., in the western Pacific Ocean. Composed of 22 islands north of Guam, the Northern Marianas extend 450 mi (720 km) and have an area of 184 sq mi (477 sq km). The capital, Chalan Kanoa, is on Saipan. Saipan, Tinian, and Rota are the principal inhabited islands. Others include Alamagan and Agrihan; Pagan was evacuated for a time after a 1981 volcanic eruption. The indigenous people are Micronesian; other inhabitants are Chamorro and Filipino. The islands were discovered by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521. They were colonized by Spain in 1668. Sold by Spain to Germany in 1899, they were occupied by Japan in 1914 and became a Japanese mandate from the League of Nations after 1919. They were the scene of fierce fighting in World War II; Tinian was the base for U.S. planes that dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Northern Marianas were granted to the U.S. as a UN trust territory in 1947 and became self-governing in 1978 (when the residents became U.S. citizens). The UN trusteeship ended in 1986.

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Island group, Arctic Ocean, northeastern Russia, north of eastern Siberia. The islands divide the Laptev Sea from the East Siberian Sea. They are separated from the Siberian mainland by Dmitry Laptev Strait. With an area of about 14,500 sq mi (38,000 sq km), they are snow-covered for more than nine months of the year. Arctic fox, northern deer, lemming, and many species of birds inhabit the islands.

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officially Republic of the Marshall Islands

Island country, central Pacific Ocean. It is composed of two parallel chains of low-lying coral atolls: the Ratak, or Sunrise, to the east and the Ralik, or Sunset, to the west. The chains lie 125 mi (200 km) apart and extend some 800 mi (1,290 km) northwest to southeast. The islands and islets number more than 1,200. Area: 70 sq mi (181 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 56,300. Capital: Majuro. The indigenous people are Micronesian. Languages: Marshallese, English (both official). Religion: Christianity (Protestant, Roman Catholic, other Christians). Currency: U.S. dollar. The largest atoll is Kwajalein, consisting of about 90 islets, with a total land area of 6 sq mi (16 sq km). Much of Kwajalein is used as a missile-testing range by the U.S. military, which provides a major source of revenue to the Marshall Islands. Subsistence farming, fishing, and the raising of pigs and poultry are the principal economic activities. The Marshall Islands is a republic with two legislative houses; its head of state and government is the president. The islands were sighted in 1529 by the Spanish navigator Álvaro Saavedra (or de Saavedra). Germany purchased the islands from Spain in 1885 and declared them a protectorate the following year. Japan seized them in 1914 and after 1919 administered them as a League of Nations mandate. During World War II the U.S. seized Kwajalein and Enewetak, and the Marshall Islands were made part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands under U.S. jurisdiction in 1947. Bikini and Enewetak atolls served as testing grounds for U.S. nuclear weapons from 1946 to 1958. The Marshall Islands became an internally self-governing republic in 1979. It signed the compact of free association with the U.S. in 1982 and became fully self-governing in 1986. The compact was amended in 2004.

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Island group (pop., 2002: 8,712), French Polynesia. Located in the central South Pacific Ocean northeast of Tahiti, the Marquesas comprise 10 islands. The southeastern group includes Hiva Oa, the largest and most populous island and the burial place of artist Paul Gauguin; Fatu Hiva and Tahuata; and the uninhabited Motane and Fatu Huku. The northwestern group comprises Nuku Hiva, Ua Pu, Ua Huka, Eiao, and Hatutu. The Spanish explorer Àlvaro de Mendaña de Neira named the islands for the marquesa de Mendoza in 1595. Annexed by France in 1842, the Marquesas form an administrative division of French Polynesia with headquarters at Taiohae on Nuku Hiva.

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formerly Ladrone (or Ladrones) Islands

Island group, western Pacific Ocean. Located east of the Philippines, it comprises 15 islands and is administratively divided into Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands. The population is descended from the pre-Spanish Chamorro people and Spanish, Mexican, German, Philippine, and Japanese settlers. Spanish cultural traditions are strong. After Ferdinand Magellan became the first European to reach them in 1521, they were visited frequently but were not colonized until 1668, at which time Jesuit missionaries changed their name to honor Mariana of Austria, regent of Spain.

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French Îles de la Madeleine

Island group of eastern Quebec, Canada. Located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence between Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland, the group comprises several islands and islets, with a total area of 88 sq mi (228 sq km). The largest include Havre-Aubert (Amherst) and Cap aux Meules (Grindstone). Discovered by Jacques Cartier in 1534, the islands are inhabited mainly by French Canadians.

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Island group (pop., 2001 prelim.: 242,603) and autonomous region of Portugal, in the North Atlantic Ocean. Madeira, the largest of the Madeira Islands, is the site of the region's capital, Funchal. Madeira Island is 34 mi (55 km) long and 14 mi (22 km) wide and has deep ravines and rugged mountains. Possibly known to ancient Phoenicians, it was rediscovered by the Portuguese navigator João Gonçalves Zarco, who founded Funchal in 1421. It allegedly had the world's first sugarcane plantation. Its Madeira wine has been an important export since the 17th century. Tourism is also important.

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or Lipari Islands

Volcanic island group, Tyrrhenian Sea, in the west-central Mediterranean Sea. Located off the northern coast of Sicily, the seven major islands and several islets have a total land area of 34 sq mi (88 sq km). The major islands are Alicudi, Eilcudi, Lipari, Panarea, Salina, Stromboli, and Vulcano. Vulcano and Stromboli are active volcanoes. The Greeks believed the islands to be the home of the god Aeolus, king of the winds. They have been inhabited since the Neolithic Period and were held successively by the Greeks, Carthaginians, Romans, Saracens, Normans, Angevins, and Aragonese.

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Chain of islands, central Pacific Ocean, south of the Hawaiian Islands. The Line Islands extend 1,600 mi (2,600 km) and have a land area of 193 sq mi (500 sq km). Of the northern group, Teraina (Washington) Island and the Tabuaeran (Fanning) and Kiritimati (Christmas) atolls belong to the Republic of Kiribati, while Kingman Reef, Palmyra Atoll, and Jarvis Island are U.S. territories. Kiribati also holds the central group (Malden and Starbuck islands) and the southern group (Vostok and Flint islands and Caroline Atoll).

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Arc of West Indian islands that constitute the most westerly and northerly of the Lesser Antilles, northeastern Caribbean Sea. The major islands are, from north to south, the Virgin Islands of the U.S. and the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, St. Martin, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Antigua and Barbuda, Montserrat, and Guadeloupe. Just south of this chain is Dominica, sometimes classified as part of the Leeward Islands but usually designated as part of the Windward Islands.

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Union territory (pop., 2001: 60,650) of India. Located in the Arabian Sea off India's southwestern coast, it includes 27 islands (10 of which are inhabited), with a total land area of 12 sq mi (32 sq km). The capital is Kavaratti. Once ruled by the Hindu Kulashekhara dynasty, it became part of an Islamic dominion in the 12th century. Britain gained sovereignty over it in the 18th century and assumed direct administration in 1908. It passed to India in 1947 and became the country's smallest union territory in 1956. Coconut palms are the agricultural mainstay, and fishing and tourism are also important.

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Archipelago, eastern Russia. It extends for some 750 mi (1,200 km) from the southern tip of Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula to the northeastern coast of Japan's Hokkaido island. The 56 islands occupy 6,000 sq mi (15,600 sq km) and together with Sakhalin Island form an administrative region (pop., 2006 est.: 526,235) of Russia. The Kurils were originally settled by the Russians in the 17th–18th century. Japan seized the southern islands and in 1875 obtained the entire chain. After World War II they were ceded to the Soviet Union, and the Japanese population was repatriated and replaced by Soviets. Japan still claims historical rights to the southernmost islands.

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Volcanic island group, South Pacific Ocean. Located northeast of Auckland, N.Z., it includes Raoul, Macauley, and Curtis islands and l'Esperance Rock, and it has a total land area of 13 sq mi (34 sq km). Explored in the late 18th century by the British and the French, the islands were annexed to New Zealand in 1887. A meteorological communications station was built on Raoul, the largest island, in 1937, but permanent settlement is discouraged.

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or Keeling Islands

Territory (pop., 2006: 571) of Australia. Lying in the eastern Indian Ocean about 580 mi (930 km) southwest of Java, it consists of two isolated atolls and 27 small coral islets and has a total land area of 5.6 sq mi (14.4 sq km). They were discovered in 1609 by William Keeling and first settled in 1826. Declared a British possession in 1857, the Cocos at times came under the government of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) but ultimately passed to Australia in 1955. In 1984 the residents voted to merge with Australia.

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ancient Heptanesos

Group of seven Greek islands (pop., 2001: 214,274) in the Ionian Sea. They include Corfu, Cephalonia, Zacynthus, Leucas, Ithaca, Cythera, and Paxos and have a combined land area of 891 sq mi (2,307 sq km). Controlled by Venice in the 15th and 16th centuries, they were taken by Russian and Turkish forces in 1799. In 1815 the Treaty of Paris placed them under the control of Britain; the British ceded them to Greece in 1864.

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Japanese Gotō-rettō

Archipelago, East China Sea, part of Nagasaki prefecture, Japan. Lying off the western coast of Japan, the chain comprises more than 100 islands, of which 34 are inhabited. The five main ones are Fukue, Hisaka, Naru, Uku, and Nakadori; the capital is Fukue, on Fukue Island. They have a total area of 266 sq mi (689 sq km), stretching about 60 mi (100 km) from northeast to southwest. The islands were a gateway to Japan for the introduction of Chinese culture. Fishing is the major activity in the northern islands; agriculture predominates in the southern islands.

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Group of 16 coral atolls (pop., 2005 prelim.: 83,683), part of the island country of Kiribati, western Pacific Ocean. The islands, including Tarawa, the largest, occupy a total land area of 105 sq mi (272 sq km). The British visited them in the 18th and 19th centuries, and in 1892 they became a British protectorate. In 1916 they became part of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands crown colony. They were occupied by Japanese forces from 1941 to 1943 and saw heavy fighting. Made a separate territory in 1976, they became part of Kiribati in 1979.

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Island group, French Polynesia. It is the southeasternmost extension of the Tuamotu Archipelago. The largest island, Mangareva, is 5 mi (8 km) long and encircled by a barrier reef 40 mi (64 km) in circumference. Mangareva rises to about 1,444 ft (440 m) in the peaks Duff and Mokoto; the chief village, Rikitea, is on Mangareva's eastern side. The Gambier Islands were annexed by the French in 1881. Their economy is based on subsistence agriculture; pearl harvesting is also of economic importance.

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Chain of islands, North Sea. They extend 3 to 20 mi (5 to 32 km) off the northern European mainland, along the Dutch and German coasts and the southern part of Denmark's Jutland peninsula. Although they form a single physical feature, it is customary to subdivide them into the West Frisian Islands (held by The Netherlands), East Frisian Islands (Germany), and North Frisian Islands (Germany and Denmark). After the North Sea established a southwestern outlet to the Atlantic about 7,000–5,000 BC, its southeasterly shore probably coincided with the present curve of the Frisians. Periodic subsidence, storms, and flooding have since produced this long chain of islands separated from the mainland by a narrow belt of shallow waters and tidal mud flats. The Dutch and German governments have spent large sums to protect the islands' seaward coasts and reclaim the land for farming. The beaches and resorts attract many tourists.

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officially Kingdom of Tonga

Island country, South Pacific Ocean. Area: 290 sq mi (750 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 98,600. Capital: Nuku'alofa. The people are of Polynesian ancestry. Languages: Tongan, English (both official). Religions: Christianity (mostly Protestant; also Roman Catholic, other Christians); also Bahāhamzahī. Currency: pa'anga. Tonga comprises an archipelago of some 170 islands that extends north-south in two parallel chains for roughly 500 mi (800 km). The eastern islands are low and formed of coral limestone; those in the west are mountainous and of volcanic origin, and four of the western islands are active volcanoes. The country has a developing free-market economy based mainly on agriculture. Chief products include fish, coconuts, sweet potatoes, and bananas. Tourism also is important. Tonga is a constitutional monarchy with one legislative house; the head of state and government is the king, assisted by the privy council. Tonga was inhabited at least 3,000 years ago by people of the Lapita culture. The Tongans developed a stratified social system headed by a paramount ruler whose dominion by the 13th century extended as far as the Hawaiian Islands. The Dutch visited in the 17th century, but effective European contact dates from 1773, when Capt. James Cook arrived and named the archipelago the Friendly Islands. The modern kingdom was established during the reign (1845–93) of King George Tupou I. It became a British protectorate in 1900. This was dissolved in 1970 when Tonga, the only ancient kingdom surviving from the pre-European period in Polynesia, achieved complete independence within the Commonwealth. Tonga was at the centre of a financial scandal in the early 21st century when money in a government trust fund was lost while under the management of an American investor. This added to the country's ongoing financial problems.

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or Faeroe Islands

Group of islands in the Atlantic Ocean that form a self-governing region of Denmark. Area: 540 sq mi (1,399 sq km). Population: (2002 est.) 47,400. Lying north of the British Isles, the islands are politically situated within the kingdom of Denmark. There are 17 inhabited islands and many islets and reefs. The largest, Strømø, holds the capital of Tórshavn. The islands are high and rugged, with coasts that are deeply indented with fjords. The economy is based on fishing and sheep raising. First settled by Irish monks (circa 700), the islands were colonized by the Vikings (circa 800) and were ruled by Norway from the 11th century until 1380, when they passed to Denmark. They unsuccessfully sought independence in 1946 but received self-government in 1948. In the early 21st century they continued discussions with Denmark on full independence.

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Spanish Islas Malvinas

British overseas territory (pop., 2001: 2,491), in the southwestern South Atlantic Ocean. Located about 300 mi (480 km) northeast of the southern tip of South America, the Falklands are made up of two main islands, East Falkland and West Falkland, and about 200 smaller islands. The islands are spread out over some 4,700 sq mi (12,200 sq km). The capital is Stanley, on East Falkland. The population is English-speaking and of British descent. The economy is based on sheep raising. The French founded the islands' first settlement, on East Falkland in 1764, and the British settled West Falkland in 1765. In 1770 the Spanish purchased the French settlement and expelled the British, but the latter's settlement was restored in 1771. In 1820 Argentina proclaimed its sovereignty over the Falklands, but the British took them back in 1833. Argentina invaded in 1982, and the British reclaimed the islands after a brief conflict (see Falkland Islands War).

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Island country, west-central South Pacific Ocean. Area: 9.9 sq mi (25.6 sq km). Population (2005 est.): 9,700. Capital: Vaiaku, Fongafale islet (of Funafuti atoll). The majority of the people are Polynesian. Languages: Tuvaluan; English is widely used. Religion: Christianity (predominantly Protestant). Currency: Tuvalu dollar (equivalent to the Australian dollar). Tuvalu is an island group comprising five atolls and four coral islands, all of them low-lying, with maximum elevations below 20 ft (6 m), and covered mainly with coconut palms, breadfruit trees, and grasses. The economy is based on subsistence agriculture and livestock raising. Tuvalu is a constitutional monarchy with one legislative house; its chief of state is the British monarch represented by the governor-general, and the head of government is the prime minister. The original Polynesian settlers probably came mainly from Samoa or Tonga. The islands were sighted by the Spanish in the 16th century. Europeans settled there in the 19th century and intermarried with Tuvaluans. During this period Peruvian slave traders known as “blackbirders” decimated the population. In 1856 the U.S. claimed the four southern islands for guano mining. Missionaries from Europe arrived in 1865 and rapidly converted the islanders to Christianity. In 1892 Tuvalu, then known as the Ellice Islands, joined the British Gilbert Islands, a protectorate that became the Gilbert and Ellice Islands colony in 1916. Tuvaluans voted in 1974 for separation from the Gilberts (now Kiribati), whose people are Micronesian. Tuvalu gained independence in 1978, and in 1979 the U.S. relinquished its claims. Elections were held in 1981, and a revised constitution was adopted in 1986. The government subsequently has tried to improve Tuvalu's economy, including finding overseas job opportunities for its citizens.

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Chain of small islands, southeastern Massachusetts, U.S. Extending southwest for 16 mi (26 km) from the southwestern tip of Cape Cod, the group lies between Buzzards Bay and Vineyard Sound. The islands were visited in 1602 by the English navigator Bartholomew Gosnold, who established a short-lived (three-week) colony on the westernmost island of Cuttyhunk 18 years before the arrival of the Mayflower at Plymouth. Naushon, the largest island, was a British naval base during the War of 1812. The islands, covering an area of about 14 sq mi (36 sq km), are mostly privately owned. Cuttyhunk is a popular base for sportfishing.

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Two islands in the Bering Strait. Lying about 2.5 mi (4 km) apart, they are separated by the U.S.-Russian boundary, which coincides with the International Date Line. The larger island, Big Diomede (Russian Ratmanov), belongs to Russia and is the site of an important weather station. To the east lies Little Diomede Island, a part of Alaska.

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Island group, Papua New Guinea. Located in the South Pacific Ocean, the group includes Normanby, Fergusson, and Goodenough islands and many islets, atolls, and reefs. Most are volcanic, precipitous, and forested. They have a combined land area of 1,213 sq mi (3,142 sq km). They were named by the French navigator Bruni d'Entrecasteaux in 1793. The chief settlement is Dobu, located on an islet between Normanby and Fergusson.

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Island group (pop., 2005 est.: 13,900), southern Pacific Ocean. Located roughly 2,000 mi (3,000 km) northeast of New Zealand, the 15 islands, scattered from north to south over some 900 mi (1,450 km) of ocean, are divided into a southern group of nine islands, including Raratonga (the seat of government), and a northern group of six. All in the northern group are true atolls; most in the southern group have volcanic interiors. They were probably settled by Polynesians from Tonga and Samoa; there is evidence of a highly organized society circa AD 1100. Capt. James Cook explored many of them during the 1770s. Established as a British protectorate in 1888, they were annexed by New Zealand in 1901. Self-government in free association with New Zealand was achieved in 1965.

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British overseas territory (pop., 2005 est.: 47,000), Caribbean Sea. Located about 180 mi (290 km) northwest of Jamaica, it has a total land area of 118 sq mi (306 sq km). The islands include Grand Cayman (the largest and the location of the capital, George Town), Little Cayman, and Cayman Brac. Though discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1503, the islands were never occupied by the Spanish. Ceded to the British in 1670, they were subsequently settled by the English arriving from Jamaica. The islands were administered as a dependency of Jamaica until Jamaican independence in 1962; a constitution was enacted in 1972. The governor of the Cayman Islands is appointed by the British crown. The islands are a popular tourist area and a financial centre.

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Archipelago, western Pacific Ocean. Lying south of the Philippines, the islands cover a land area of about 460 sq mi (1,190 sq km). Formerly part of the U.S.-administered Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the group consists of several larger islands, including Yap, Pohnpei, Chuuk (Truk), Kosrae, and Babelthuap, as well as many small coral islets and reefs. Though explored by the Spanish in the 16th century, they were rarely visited until Germany took them in 1899. Granted as a mandate to Japan after World War I, they were placed under U.S. trusteeship in 1947. The islands became the Federated States of Micronesia in 1986, with the exception of Palau (Babelthuap and associated islands), which became independent in 1994.

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Spanish Islas Canarias

Island group and autonomous community (pop., 2005 est.: 1,968,280) of Spain located in the Atlantic Ocean 67 mi (108 km) off the northwestern coast of Africa. The islands comprise two provinces, Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Las Palmas, with an area of 2,876 sq mi (7,447 sq km). The capital is Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Known in ancient times as the “Fortunate Islands,” they were written about by both Plutarch and Pliny the Elder. Believed to be the western limit of the world, they were visited in the Middle Ages by Arabs, Genoese, Majorcans, Portuguese, and French. They were taken by Castile (see Castile-León) in 1404, and their indigenous inhabitants, the Guanche and Canario, were gradually conquered during the 15th century. The islands became a stop on the usual route for Spanish trading vessels with the New World. Today agriculture is an economic mainstay, as is an expanding tourist trade.

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Japanese Ogasawara-shotō

Island group, western Pacific Ocean. Administratively part of Japan and located about 600 mi (950 km) south of Tokyo, the group consists of islands with a total area of about 40 sq mi (100 sq km). The Bonins include some 30 mountainous Chichi (the largest), Haha, Muko, and Yome islands. They were colonized in 1830 by a group of Europeans and Hawaiians. The islands were formally annexed by Japan in 1876; they were administered by the U.S. in 1945–68.

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Spanish Islas Baleares

Archipelago (pop., 2001: 841,669), western Mediterranean Sea, constituting an autonomous community and province of Spain. It occupies an area of 1,927 sq mi (4,992 sq km); its capital is Palma. The most important islands are Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza, Formentera, and Cabrera. Long inhabited, the islands were ruled by Carthage in the 6th century BC, by Rome from circa 120 BC, and by the Byzantine Empire from AD 534. Raided by the Arabs, the area was conquered in the 10th century by the Umayyad dynasty at Córdoba. It was reconquered by the Spanish and united with the kingdom of Aragon in 1349. After territorial challenges in the 18th century by the British, the islands came under Spanish rule in 1802. The present-day economy is fueled by tourism.

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Island group, eastern Indonesia. The easternmost island group of the Moluccas, located off southwestern New Guinea, it stretches north-south about 110 mi (180 km) and extends some 50 mi (80 km) east-west. The group consists of six main islands (Warilau, Kola, Wokam, Kobroor, Maikoor, and Trangan), which are separated by narrow channels, and dozens of smaller islands. Dobo, on Wamar Island, is the principal harbour. The islands became part of Indonesia in 1949.

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Islands (pop., 2001: 543), Galway Bay, western Ireland. The group of small islands, totaling about 18 sq mi (47 sq km), includes Inishmore (or Aranmore), Inishmaan, and Inisheer. Their main town is Kilronan on Inishmore. The islands contain impressive prehistoric and early Christian forts. Novelist Liam O'Flaherty was born on Inishmore.

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Group of the Aleutian Islands, southwestern Alaska, U.S. Lying between the Pacific Ocean and the Bering Sea, the islands extend east to west about 270 mi (430 km) between the Fox and Rat island groups. They were strategically important in World War II, when U.S. military bases were developed, especially on Adak Island. Other islands in the group include Atka, Tanaga, and Kanaga.

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Union territory (pop., 2001: 356,152), India. It consists of two groups of islands in the Bay of Bengal about 800 mi (1,300 km) east of the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka; the total area is 3,185 sq mi (8,249 sq km). The chief islands are North Andaman, Middle Andaman, and South Andaman (known collectively as Great Andaman), and Little Andaman. The Nicobar group includes Car Nicobar, Camorta (Kamorta) and Nancowry, and Great Nicobar. Most of the population lives in the Andaman group. Port Blair on South Andaman, established by the British in 1858, is the territorial capital.

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Chain of small islands, Alaska, U.S. They form a border of the Bering Sea, extending in an arc about 1,100 mi (1,800 km) west from the tip of the Alaska Peninsula to Attu Island. The major island groups, from east to west, are the Fox Islands (including Unimak and Unalaska), Islands of the Four Mountains, Andreanof Islands (including Adak), and Near Islands (including Attu). The main settlements are on Unalaska and Adak. Originally inhabited by Aleuts, the islands were explored by Russian-sponsored ships in 1741. As Siberian fur hunters moved eastward through the islands, the Russians gained a foothold in North America but nearly caused the extinction of the Aleuts. Russia sold the islands, with the rest of Alaska, to the U.S. in 1867.

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Island group, Papua New Guinea. An extension of the Bismarck Archipelago comprising about 40 islands, the Admiralty Islands lie about 190 mi (300 km) north of the mainland of Papua New Guinea in the South Pacific Ocean. Most of the land area of the islands is contained in Manus Island, which is the site of Lorengau, the islands' principal settlement. First sighted by the Dutch explorer Willem Schouten in 1616, it was named by the British captain Philip Carteret in 1767. Subsequently ruled by the Germans, Australians, and Japanese, the islands were made part of the UN Trust Territory of New Guinea in 1946. When Papua New Guinea attained independence in 1975, the islands became part of that country.

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Three Brothers is a group of three islands 20 km East of Eagle Islands along the central western rim of the Great Chagos Bank, which is the world's largest coral atoll structure, located in the Chagos Archipelago. There is also a tiny unexplored islet. The islands are:

• Île Du Nord
• Île Du Milieu
• Île Du Sud
• rocky, unnamed islet

The Resurgent islands are a group of three islands located just north of the Three Brothers and are, geologically and politically, part of the Three Brothers group. Here are the islands that make up the Resurgent Islands:

• Ile Aigle
• Ile Aux Vaches
• Ile De La Terre