The largest island in terms of area. The largest island in the world

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 big islands, which can be compared in area with some countries. What is the most big Island land? 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. total area 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 North 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 on the island settlements: Cambridge Bay and Holmen. Main Feature 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)

In the territory 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 so densely inhabited 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 of having the most big mountain in the world and the most famous symbol of Japan - Mount Fuji.

Island of Great Britain

The UK needs no introduction as it is the largest island they can boast of. British Isles. 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 is wholly owned by Indonesia and is located in the western part of 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 reminds real paradise. This is due to the fact that large territories 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. Simply incredible area 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. Such a small population should not be surprising, because most of The islands are made up of glaciers, which make living on the island almost impossible. The Arctic and Atlantic oceans wash the shores of the island of Greenland.

There are over 500,000 islands in the world today. They have a variety of sizes. Many of these islands are very small. Two people can fit on them, no more. However, there are those islands, the size of which is equal to the whole countries of the world. In this article we will talk about the largest island in the world.

Where is the largest island in the world located?

The largest island in the world is, of course, Greenland. It belongs to Denmark, but it has the right to self-government. This island is located beyond the Arctic Circle. Almost eighty percent of Greenland is covered by a glacier giant size. Despite such unusual features location and topography, numerous travel companies offer a large number of attractive tours to this place. Here, all tourists are promised an unusual pastime and unforgettable vacation surrounded by exotic nature.

This island is attractive for tourists. People come here who are not afraid of harsh climatic conditions. Almost the entire territory remains deserted due to heavy snow cover and harsh climate. rest in this place can be really harsh. You need to be ready for this. Therefore, tourists need determination in order to withstand all the trials that will lie in wait for them while traveling around the island.

Greenland is much larger than Denmark. The territory is about fifty times larger than this state. Self-government was introduced on the island six years ago. Denmark is engaged in the military defense of this territory and resolves all political issues. The island has its own judicial system, which is guided by local laws.

Climatic features of the island of Greenland

The climate in southern and northern Greenland is very different. This is due to the fact that its territory occupies a large area. The climate varies from arctic to subarctic. Surprising is the fact that during the summer, many areas of Greenland can warm up to 21 degrees Celsius. On average, the temperature here at this time of the year does not rise above 0 degrees Celsius. IN winter period The temperature averages minus 27 degrees Celsius. It is not easy for people living in the area coastal zone. This is due to the fact that very strong winds blow here.

It should be noted that the name this island literally translated as green country. This is surprising, because there are practically no green areas that would contribute to the development of agriculture.

What attracts tourists to Greenland?

Tourists love the nature of this island. There are amazingly beautiful places with original landscape features. In addition, such natural phenomena that are available here are not found anywhere else in the world. In summer, the local beauty of nature can be enjoyed even at night when the sun is shining. However, because of it, it is almost impossible to admire the northern lights. That is why best time to observe the natural phenomenon is the middle of spring.

Population of Greenland

The original inhabitants of Greenland are the Eskimos. Their national language is Greenlandic. However, the local population also speaks Danish. IN northern regions Eskimos still build igloos to live in. The population is not engaged in agriculture. The main industries here are fishing and hunting. Salmon, cod and other fish products are exported.

Figuring out the exact number of islands on Earth is difficult. It is believed that there are about 2000 islands in the world. They differ from each other in size, topography, climate, flora and fauna. The largest island in the world is called Greenland.

This autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark is least densely populated area in the world. The population density of the island is 0.028 / km 2, and the number of people living there is 57,728 people. And these, for the most part, are not Europeans, but Greenland Eskimos (kalaallits) or descendants from mixed marriages of Danes with Eskimos. In 2009, the inhabitants of Greenland acquired the status of a separate people, and Denmark was given the protection of Greenland and the management of foreign affairs.

"Sandwiched" between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, Greenland is not a very hospitable land against the backdrop of even harsher waters. However, this island has long attracted the attention of polar explorers and is currently positioned as a place for adventure tourism.

Total area of ​​Greenland

Greenland covers 2,130,800 km². At the same time, 81% of the island area falls on the ice cover. If we imagine that this ice completely melted, then this would lead to a rise in world sea level by 7 meters.

Where did the name "Greenland" come from?

This name, which is more reminiscent of "false advertising", has generated controversy among researchers. Some believe that during the discovery of Greenland local climate was much softer and coastal areas in the southwest, the islands were generously covered with vegetation, and according to others, the name "Greenland" was chosen by the discoverer Eirik the Red in order to attract settlers to the island. The source of the second version is the work of Ari the Wise, an 11th-century Icelandic chronicler. However, the first copy of his work belongs to the 13th century, and it was presumably supplemented by various authors. Therefore, such an explanation of the name "Greenland" can be treated with skepticism.

Iceland, however, was far more unlucky than Greenland. This land, which is washed by the warm Gulf Stream, was called "icy" because the settlers landed on it during severe frosts.

Photos and videos about Greenland

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10 largest islands in the world by area

10. Sulawesi - 180,681 km²

The rating of the largest islands of the Earth is opened by an Indonesian handsome man, who is one of the most popular tourist places. It offers excellent conditions for diving in coral thickets, beckoning clean beaches, exotic fauna and luxurious tropical forests. For those to whom architecture and culture are much more interesting than nature, can visit the Rotterdam Fort, the palace and the tomb of the Govan kings and take part in the magnificent local ceremonies.

The main religion of the island is Islam, therefore locals do not drink or sell alcohol to tourists.

Another feature of Sulawesi is its unusual shape. Four more peninsulas adjoin this island, thanks to which Sulawesi resembles an orchid on the map.

9. Ellesmere - 183,965 km²

Like the other participant in the rating largest islands world (namely Victoria Island), Ellesmere also lies entirely within the Arctic Circle. It is not surprising that it is very sparsely populated - only 146 people. It is also the most mountainous island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and quite inhospitable, so it is hardly worth going here for entertainment.

8. UK - 209331 km²

Is largest island in Europe. It includes England, Scotland and Wales.

The UK is a less impressive island than most of the islands on this list. There are no active volcanoes, exotic flora or ferocious animals on its territory. But there are many hills, rocky coastlines, picturesque villages and the best tea in the world.

7. Victoria - 217,291 km²

The largest island in the world, of those that are entirely within the Arctic Circle. However, despite its size, Victoria Island is remarkably small, with fewer than 2,000 people living there.

Instead of people, Victoria was filled with tens of thousands of caribou and musk oxen, which are both endemic to Canada.

6. Honshu - 225,800 km²

Honshu is the largest of Japan's four main islands. It is also the most populous island in the list of the largest islands in the world. The population of Honshu is 103 million people.

He is the second most densely populated island on Earth after the Indonesian island of Java with its 139 million inhabitants. This is not surprising, given that it is on Honshu that the metropolis of Tokyo, which is home to 38 million Japanese, is located.

The island has excellent conditions for skiing and mountain climbing, because all 30 the highest peaks Japan are located on Honshu (including Fuji).

5. Sumatra - 443,066 km²

Eruptions, earthquakes and tsunamis are typical for Sumatra, but this does not stop tourists who want to join the wild and mysterious nature of the jungle. Orangutans, tigers, rhinos and elephants inhabit the forests of Sumatra, and picturesque beaches give rest to weary travelers. Also in Sumatra are very developed water sports sports including surfing and diving.

4. Baffin Island - 507451 km²

Canada has the longest coastline in the world and an unknown number of islands. The largest of them is Baffin Island. It is characterized by mountainous, harsh and primitively beautiful landscapes. Almost the entire population of the island, which is over 10 thousand people, lives on the coast. IN central part the islands are sent only by scientific expeditions studying nature, which has hardly been touched by human influence.

3. Madagascar - 587713 km²

Madagascar is the fourth largest island in the world and the largest island in Indian Ocean. This incredibly diverse area contains 5% of all known animal and plant species.

2. Borneo - 743,330 km²

The third largest island in the world after Greenland is made up of three countries, although about 73% of Borneo is Indonesian territory. The sovereign state of Brunei is only one 1% of the island, and the remaining territory is Malaysian.

Borneo is home to one of the oldest rainforests in the world. It is also home to many exotic and rare wild animals: proboscis monkeys, gibbons, Malayan bears and saltwater crocodiles that lie in wait in the waters of the South China Sea.

1. New Guinea - 785,753 km²

This island has the most high mountain Oceania and - Jaya.

New Guinea is also a world-famous diving destination with excellent snorkeling conditions for much of the year.

The underwater world is teeming with colorful arrays of corals and colorful fish. And after the Second World War, a large number of shipwrecks remained in the waters near the island.

List of islands by area, comparison table

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).

It's another one north 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 animal world presented excellently. There are many birds on the island, including snowy 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, main island Japanese archipelago, on which the country's capital is located rising sun and about 75% of its population is concentrated.

Interested in

It is here that the most big cities Japan: Tokyo, Hiroshima, Kyoto, Yokohama. The whole island is covered with mountains, volcanoes predominate (for example, Fujiyama, and Asama is active volcano), and he himself 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 temperature summer and more than half of the rainy days of the 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. This is where the most big lake South-East Asia- Toba. It is located in the caldera ancient volcano and so great that there is an island on it, on which there is also 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, windsurf or dive, enjoy 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!

5 Baffin Island

Listing the largest islands in the world, it is impossible to ignore Baffin Island, the island large area and very bizarre outlines, owned by 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 latest data archaeological sites allow us to assert 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. hits the island and big amount 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 present, the island is independent republic Madagascar, 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, which belongs to three states at once.

Over the centuries, various parts of the island passed under the rule of one or another state; V different places and in different time 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!

Huge hot island pacific ocean 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 bear, polar deer, seagull, shark and dozens of unique endemic beetles (700 species of insects in total).

The largest island on Earth is Greenland. The population of Greenland consists of the Greenland Eskimos and emigrated Norwegians, Danes. The native inhabitants of the island are called Inuit. Their main language is Greenlandic, Danish is popular among emigrants. The Inuit living in the north of the island still maintain a long tradition of building igloos.

Islands of the world

What is the largest island on earth? There are a lot of islands on our planet, but only four of them are really amazing in their size:

1. Greenland. Greenland is the largest island in Europe and the world. It is located in the northeast North America and is washed by two oceans. Greenland is an autonomous entity subordinate to Denmark.
2. New Guinea. The main advantage of Guinea is not considered to be nature and rich fauna, but the culture of various tribes living on the island.
3. Kalimantan. The island is divided between three states.
4. Madagascar. Madagascar, island country, known worldwide for its unique animals and rich flora. A third of the entire territory is occupied by highlands. There are many on the island extinct volcanoes sometimes earthquakes happen.

The largest island on Earth and the first settler

Eric the Red is a simple Norwegian Viking. Despite the severity attributed to the Scandinavians, he was a docile and peaceful person. As the legend goes, Eric saw that his friend had ruined the path that ran in front of his house. For this, the Viking killed a neighbor with a shovel. The act did not go unpunished. Eric was expelled from Norway to a foreign and deserted island beyond the polar circle.

One to live on huge island Eric did not want to, so he decided to bring here more people. For this he named the island green earth, or Greenland. As soon as Erik's term of exile came to an end, he returned to Norway and began to actively invite people to the island with him. He described Greenland to everyone as the most a nice place on the planet.

independent republic

Until the end of the 13th century, Greenland was an independent territory, but soon the population recognized the king of Norway as their overlord. For this, the crown promised to supply the island with products and materials that the inhabitants could not obtain or produce on their own. Despite the vassalage, the island had its own orders and laws that differed from European ones.

After some time, Denmark began to claim the largest island. Territorial claims were fully justified, since not all Norwegians were able to adapt to the difficult climate, so many Danes came to the island. In 1536, Norway and Denmark united into one country, and Greenland was legally assigned to Denmark.

Greenland is the largest island in the world

The area of ​​Greenland is 2,130,800 km². Due to the large extent of the island, the climate of one part is radically different from the climate of the other. It is not cold everywhere in Greenland: in some places in summer time the temperature rises above +20 °C, although on average it rarely exceeds 0 °C. IN winter time temperature falls below -20°C. Very cold winds blow near the coast, and in summer it is covered with fog.

Despite the fact that the island is called Green Land, there is nowhere to develop agriculture here. Basically people do fishing or hunting for animals, and here they live: a polar bear, an arctic fox, a reindeer. The island exports:

1. Cod.
2. Shrimp.
3. Salmon.

Greenland is the largest island on Earth, rich in minerals. Mined on the island:

1. Lead.
2. Tin.
3. Coal.
4. Copper.

The colorful expanses of Greenland attract tourists from all over the world. Enjoy amazing landscapes and the beauties of the island can be at any time of the day. One of the most famous natural phenomena - northern lights. It is best observed from early autumn to mid-spring.

Flora and fauna of the island

The largest island of the Earth by area has a rather meager variety of vegetation. But the animal world is impressive: it is rich and unique. The area of ​​Greenland is huge, but there is no railway, and the length of all highways is 150 km. For local population It is best to use dog sleds.

The largest island on Earth can hardly be called a favorable land for life, travel or exploration, but the beauty of the Arctic nature will not leave anyone indifferent. It helps to survive all the hardships harsh life on the island and not quite suitable conditions for recreation.