The largest island in the world. The largest island on earth
Before talking about which big Island Earth, one should understand what an island is in general. Some, when they hear this word, draw images in their imagination resort areas, for example, Crete, Maldives, Sicily, for others, pictures from action-adventure films immediately pop up before their eyes.
small and big islands the world and the truth keep many mysteries and secrets, and new ones are still being discovered Interesting Facts about these pieces of land, surrounded on all sides by water.
The largest island on earth. Name
In total, there are over 500 thousand islands on our planet. They all have different sizes: there are tiny ones, and just huge ones. Do you know which is the largest island in the world? Many mistakenly believe that this is Australia. It would seem that everything is correct - this piece of land has an area of \u200b\u200b7600 thousand square meters. km and is surrounded by water on all sides. But still, Australia is considered to be and not actually an island. Then what is Greenland, which is three times smaller than Australia, but larger than most modern countries. Below we will tell about it in more detail.
Greenland - the largest island on Earth (+ photo)
The area of this part of the land is 2130.8 thousand sq. km. The geographical miracle belongs to Denmark and could significantly increase the area of the specified country, but this is hindered by the relief and climate: more than 80 percent of the earth's surface is covered by an ice sheet. And this is not surprising, because Greenland is located in close proximity to the North Pole, and it is washed by the waters of the Arctic and partially Atlantic Oceans. All this makes Greenland one of the most unusual, vibrant, majestic and beautiful places on our planet. The landscapes of the island are so beautiful that only few people can live there, because even in summer the air warms up to a temperature slightly above zero degrees. What can we say about winter, when frosts down to -50 Celsius are considered normal!
Still harsh weather do not stop tourists, and many come to the island to see with their own eyes majestic ice, to observe the unique wildlife of the harsh, but so beautiful Greenland. Recommended to visit in summer time when, in addition to everything, you can also admire the white nights.
Here it is - the largest island in the world. But on our planet there are many other significant areas of land surrounded by water. They are also interesting, so we will continue to consider the largest islands of the Earth.
New Guinea
This is the second largest island (786 thousand square kilometers) in the world. Unlike Greenland, it is located entirely in pacific ocean, in its western part. Accordingly, the climate here is completely different. Tropics, rich and diverse nature, warm and gentle sea - this is what travelers can offer New Guinea. Interestingly, this island ended up being divided by two countries, which is rare. One site belongs to Papua New Guinea and the other belongs to Indonesia.
Of course, each state would like to have the entire island at its disposal, but even half is not bad! Scientists consider New Guinea to be one of the last places on the planet that has not yet been fully explored. Not so long ago, an area later called New Eden was discovered on the island, with dozens of unknown or thought to be extinct plants and animals. And, most surprisingly, the inhabitants of the "Garden of Eden" were not at all afraid of people.
kalimantan
Of course, when describing the largest islands of the Earth, one cannot ignore this part of the land. Kalimantan has an area of 743.33 thousand square kilometers and, like New Guinea, is distinguished by the richness of nature and the beauty of landscapes. The island belongs to three states at once: Indonesia controls more than 70% of the territory, Malaysia owns almost the rest, and only a small area went to Brunei.
Since Kalimantan crosses the equator, the climate here is appropriate: hot and humid. Most of the area (over 80 percent) is occupied by tropical forests, where they live. Now they have become more civilized and are happy to demonstrate their martial dances to tourists, as well as sell souvenirs.
Madagascar
After the release of the animated film of the same name, everyone probably knew about Madagascar. Since then this large island, with an area of 587.041 thousand square kilometers, has become the dream of a large number of travelers. It is spread out in the Indian Ocean, and its main attraction and wealth are amazing inhabitants, most of which are endemic, that is, they are not found anywhere else. These are numerous lemurs, and chameleons, and giant fosses, and geckos, and bats, and turtles. Zoologists and botanists are simply thrilled to come here and discover more and more new species of representatives of fauna and flora. Well, for those who are not very interested in vegetable and animal world, it will be more interesting to enjoy magnificent beaches Madagascar!
baffin land
The five largest islands in terms of area are closed by this inhospitable and cold part of the land, which belongs to 507.451 thousand square kilometers). The climate here is similar to that of Greenland, it is just as windy and frosty, but at the same time attractive and mesmerizing with its severity. In addition to a few residents, they also live here, and at least no one forbids thinking so! Baffin Island is known for its mountainous features: one of the highest cliffs in the world, Thor, and the mesas of Asgard.
Sumatra
It so happened that some of the largest islands of the Earth, if not entirely, then at least partially, belong to Indonesia. So Sumatra, which has an area of 473 thousand square kilometers, is controlled by this country. This island is almost equally divided by the equator, respectively, it is located in two hemispheres of our planet at once.
Sumatra is located in the western part Malay Archipelago and is part of the group of large Sunda Islands. Coastline here it is slightly indented, and not far from the coast are Coral reefs.
Great Britain
The area of this piece of land, surrounded by water, is 229.848 thousand square kilometers. Like the other largest islands on Earth, Great Britain is very interesting to see. Scotland, England and Wales are located here. The coastline has a length of 966 kilometers from north to south, and the width of the island reaches 483 kilometers.
Honshu
This is the eighth largest island in the world (227.97 thousand square kilometers) and the largest in the Japanese archipelago. It accounts for 60 percent of the area of all of Japan. The relief here is mountainous, so there are many volcanoes. There is also the permanent symbol of the Country rising sun- Mount Fuji.
Mysteries of the Islands
When we hear the word "island", the shores washed by the oncoming waves rise before our eyes, the sails of pirate ships loom on the horizon, or the unfortunate Robinson, longingly looking into the endless sea distance. The islands of the whole world have always attracted and a little frightened people. Such attractiveness and mystery is caused not only by the plots of adventure books and feature films. Scientists every year discover new interesting facts about these pieces of land, surrounded by water on all sides.
There are half a million islands on our Earth. The process of their formation is still ongoing. The youngest island was "born" in 1992 in the Pacific Ocean after a volcanic eruption. Connected to almost every island unusual story and sometimes not alone. The largest island in the world is Greenland, followed by New Guinea, Kalimantan, Madagascar, Baffin Island and Sumatra. What interesting facts are associated with these islands?
The largest islands in the world - Top 6
1. Greenland
The area of Greenland is 2,130,800 km 2, which is larger than the territories of Great Britain, France, Italy, Belgium and Holland combined. It is washed by two oceans - the Atlantic and the Arctic. It is under the jurisdiction of Denmark. Moreover, the island is fifty times larger than mainland Denmark itself.
For such huge area, fewer inhabitants than in European city- population density 0.027 people / km 2. This is due to the fact that the ground here is covered with ice. In some places, the thickness of the ice cover reaches 3 kilometers. If the ice in Greenland suddenly melted for some reason, then the level of the world's oceans would rise by seven meters, and many coastal cities would simply disappear under water.
Almost all the inhabitants of the island are Greenlandic Eskimos, and the capital is the city of Nuuk. The main occupation of the natives is hunting and fishing. Between settlements there are no roads or railroads. Favorite National dishes here they are not subjected to any heat treatment, and the most favorite local delicacy is partridge droppings whipped with seal oil.
On the hottest summer days, the temperature here is +10°C, while in winter it often drops to -47°C. Greenland - biosphere reserve almost untouched by civilization. Polar bears, musk oxen, polar wolves and arctic plants grow here.
2. New Guinea
The density of New Guinea is almost 786 thousand km 2, and the population is 7.5 million people. The island is located in the Pacific Ocean, and is divided between the countries of Indonesia and papua new guinea. It was discovered back in the 16th century, but for a long time Europeans believed that all the locals were cannibals.
The bad fame of the Papuans could only be dispelled by the Russian scientist Nikolai Miklukho-Maclay, who landed on the island in 1871 and happily lived in friendship with the local population for more than a year. northeast coast and is now called the Maclay Coast. Although at first the Papuans received Nikolai Nikolaevich rather hostilely, the calmness of an unarmed man, his help in difficult life situations, was able to overcome mistrust and hostility.
The fame of the man from the moon, as the natives called him, spread throughout the island, despite the language barriers. And in New Guinea, this is a serious obstacle, 850 languages are spoken here. Even today, ethnic conflicts break out from time to time on the island. And some tribes in the wilds of the jungle have never seen a white man at all. Therefore, going on a trip to New Guinea, you can get into real, not cinematic, deadly adventures.
3. Kalimantan
The population of the island is 16 million people, its area is 743,330 km². It is under the jurisdiction of three states: Indonesia, Brunei and Malaysia. The first settlements appeared here 40 thousand years ago. The Europeans put it on their maps in the 16th century.
The island also has a second name - Borneo. Malaysians, Chinese and Dayaks live here - an authentic population. Aborigines live here according to the same customs as hundreds of years ago, hunt and gather. If we set the task to characterize the temperament of the peoples of Kalimantan in one word, then the epithet “hospitable” is most suitable. The richness of the flora and fauna of the island cannot be described in a hundred words. 54 species of animals live here, a huge number of plants, including a rare black orchid and the world's largest rafflesia with a flower weighing 15 kg.
4. Madagascar
The population is more than 20 million people, the area is 587,041 km². The island is located near east coast Africa and has tropical climate. On the island of Madagascar is the state of the same name with the capital Antanarivo. Aborigines call their native corner the island of wild boars or red (according to the color of the soil).
There are many unusual animals in Madagascar. There are gold-weaving spiders that weave webs that, with skill, can be used to make clothes. The first socks and gloves made of cobwebs were Louis XIV, they have been woven for four years. Another amazing creature is the Madagascar moth, which feeds on drinking tears from birds at night.
Madagascarians love the meat of turtles, which they catch with the help of sticky fish. When the Europeans first came to the island at night and saw in the dark the huge luminous eyes of some animals, they were very frightened and remembered ancient Roman mythology about the souls of the dead. The ancient Romans called them lemurs and terrified people. So the harmless animal got its mystical name.
The population is only 11 thousand people, the area is 507,451 km². Such a small number of inhabitants in a vast territory is explained by the fact that the island lies in the Arctic Ocean. It belongs to Canada, it has many freshwater lakes.
Almost the only way to do business on the island is extreme tourism. You can only get to Baffin Island air transport. Tourists come here to get an idea of life beyond the Arctic Circle. At their service hunting, fishing and local attractions, which means a special natural landscape, a chain of waterfalls on the river Soper. IN historical park collected ancient objects left here not only by the Eskimos, but also by the Vikings, who once lived on this harsh island.
6. Sumatra
The population of the island is more than 50 million people, the area is 473 thousand km². Such a dense population is due to the paradise climate. 30% of its territory is covered tropical forests. There are coral reefs on the coast. The island is simultaneously located in both hemispheres of the planet.
Regarding jurisdiction, the island is now an autonomy within Indonesia, although these lands have already been the property of Portugal and Holland. Now the island lives according to Islamic laws. National composition The islanders are made up of six peoples, each of which has its own traditions, customs and moral values. There are also relatively backward tribes with bloodthirsty customs. In the center of the island, they say, cases of cannibalism have recently been noted. But the rest of the island is already doing its business in a very civilized manner and receiving numerous tourists.
Each of these islands is interesting in its own way. Everyone deserves the closest attention, both scientists and those who want to relax and learn new things. From such dissimilar patches - islands and continents - a colorful and diverse "blanket" of our planet is woven.
Good day, dear readers of the site "I and the World"! Today we want to tell you about the islands and we will definitely highlight the largest island in the world. Even the largest of them differ from the continents in their size - they are smaller than the continents and are surrounded on all sides by water. But even during high tides, they are not sinkable, because. are above sea level.
We present you the top 10 largest islands, and which is the largest and what is the name, you will find out by reading the article to the end.
In 10th place - Ellesmere - 196,236 sq. km
Snow, eternal glaciers, the remains of prehistoric animals - this is how Ellesmere Island can be described. The map shows that this north island Canada has a population of only 150.
It was discovered by the English sailor and traveler William Baffin in the 17th century. It is difficult to live here because of the very harsh climate.
To the closest Canadian city difficult to reach - 3578 km. Even the North Pole is much closer - 817 km, but local residents, for sure, there is no need.
The next on the list is Victoria Island - 217,290 sq. km
English sailors they were very brave, since they discovered many territories. Victoria was also discovered by the Englishman Thomas Simpson in the early 19th century and named after his queen.
At first, only meteorologists lived here, and only by the end of the 20th century, the Eskimos began to move here, engaging in fishing activities.
On the area of the island can fit, for example, small country Belarus.
8th place - Honshu - 227,970 sq. km
According to legend, in the old days the Gods decided to divide the ocean and cut the water with a huge sword. And when the sword was raised, 4 drops slowly fell down and formed islands. The largest turned into an island, which was named Honshu. It is a pity that the drops fell on seismically unstable places, because earthquakes are frequent on the island.
famous volcano Fujiyama rises here. Currently, about 103 million people live on the island and they are not crowded anywhere.
This is where the big cities: Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, Hiroshima - and all this is Japan.
7th place - Great Britain - 229,848 sq. km
Great Britain is also an island, and in Europe it is the largest.
The beginning of the history of the island is considered to be 43 BC. e. Since ancient times, the people of Noto lived here, later the territory began to be populated modern people. A chain of white chalk cliffs stretches along the island. It is said that because of the white color, Great Britain began to be called the Roman word Albion (white).
The territory is densely populated and more than 61 million people live here.
In 6th place is Sumatra - 471,066 sq. km
Located in one part of Indonesia. The equator crosses the territory almost in the middle, so Sumatra is located in two hemispheres at once.
There are quite often tsunamis and earthquakes here, but you can see 50 million people living here, this is not too disturbing.
73,000 years ago, the Toba volcano exploded here, which entailed 1,800 years ice age.
There are many minerals in the lands of Sumatra: gold, nickel, tin, iron, coal, oil, but all these riches belong to Indonesia. Go on a trip to the shores of Sumatra, fly better by plane: pirates are angry on the waters.
5th place - Baffin Island - 507,451 sq. km
We are back in Canada again! And again the English discoverer is William Buffin. In the 17th century, he was looking for a way to the shores fabulous India. Well, before reaching the destination, he accidentally discovered the island and the nearby sea.
Everything was named after a sailor. What is good in the land of polar cold?
Of course, the rich world of animals: deer, polar bears, polar owls, white wolves, arctic foxes. Well, as many as 11 thousand people! Many do not like the polar cold and frost even in July.
Madagascar is in 4th place - 587,713 sq. km
This is both a state and an island, the shores of which are washed by the waters indian ocean and is home to more than 24 million people.
Madagascar in Lately became known throughout the world for the cartoon of the same name. Look, it's very funny!
Scientists believe that the island broke away from Africa on one side, and from India on the other, so there is a very rare flora and fauna here. And there are a huge number of different spices, for example, cylanindimilakhi pepper.
3rd place belongs to the island of Kalimantan - 748,168 sq. km
It was divided by three states at once: Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. How many countries, so many preferences. Some call it Borneo, others - Kalimantan - translates as "diamond river", because there is a huge amount of diamonds here. Of course it's not private island one of the states. They just have an influence.
The first people settled here about 40,000 years ago and now the population has increased to 20 million people.
The territory is also called a river, because here the longest river flows from the island rivers - the Kapuas River (1143 km).
Residents of one of the cities walk here every day along the equator, as if along a boulevard, because the city is located just on the equator line. Beautiful sand beach attracts many tourists.
2nd place is occupied by New Guinea - 786,000 sq. km
There are few continents in the world, and although Australia is its smallest continent, it claims many nearby territories. So New Guinea belonged to this country until the middle of the 20th century, but then it nevertheless granted independence. Until now, there is an uninhabited corner that attracts researchers with rare specimens of plants and animals.
In some places in New Guinea, primitive life has been preserved. It was not an Englishman who discovered these lands, but a navigator from Portugal in the 16th century. According to legend, he looked at the curly hair of the natives and called new land Papua - "curly". Modern population 9.5 million people live.
And finally, 1st place - Greenland - 2,130,800 sq. km
Green Island– Greenland, Danish- the largest of the world's islands.
Why green is not clear, because there is a lot of ice around. History is silent on this. About 57,000 people live in Greenland, but most of covered by glaciers and therefore not inhabited.
Local Eskimos have been fishing since ancient times. But the first Europeans settled here in 875.
Greenland passed from Denmark to Norway several times. You ask: what country does it belong to now? Little Denmark. And if to its 43,000 sq. km to annex Greenland, then Denmark will be the 13th largest in the world. Now local population is engaged not only in fishing, but also breeds deer and sheep, and also extracts oil.
Tourism is well developed here - every year about 20,000 tourists come here. It is high time to recognize Greenland as a mainland, because it is only three times smaller than Australia.
I would like to tell you more about the Greek island of Crete
Here legends and myths live side by side with modern reality. Every year up to 4 million tourists visit these Beautiful places.
And many people want to become owners of local real estate, and the quality of these houses is excellent. They say: “Greece has everything”, but Crete also has everything - a wonderful climate, a huge number of attractions, calm beaches and, of course, shopping.
We talked about the largest in area and amazing islands planets. List beautiful places can be increased, but we will stop at ten. This picturesque corners nature. But there is a concept artificial island created by man. That's about it in the following articles. Follow our publications and advise your friends to read. In the meantime, we say goodbye, until we meet again!
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. 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, where the capital of the Land of the Rising Sun is located and about 75% of its population is concentrated.
Interested in
It is here that the largest cities of Japan are located: 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 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!
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 also the most high mountain 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).
Homer described the island as the navel of the earth, while its size, according to the philosopher, differs downward from the mainland area. Is this so and how big is the difference - in our rating, the largest islands in terms of area.
The largest islands in the world.
The tenth largest island of the Earth concurrently bears the proud title of the northernmost Canadian island. This is Ellesmere Island, the size of which is about 200,000 square kilometers. One hundred and seventy permanent residents of the island freely settled in three villages. And that's not counting the Canadian military and personnel. meteorological station who are here temporarily.
The next largest island is located next door in the same Canadian Arctic archipelago and is washed by the same Arctic Ocean. Its romantic name, Victoria, was given to the island by Tom Simpson in 1838. Overall size The island reaches 217,000 square kilometers.
Honshu Island, according to ancient legend, known in Japan, was created by the gods, cutting the ocean with a cold sword. One of the drops that fell back to earth was almost 228,000 square kilometers in size. By an unfortunate coincidence, under its base there is a junction of three lithospheric plates, so the inhabitants of the island are quite accustomed to constant earthquakes.
Almost 230,000 square kilometers was occupied by the island, on which one of the great powers of our time, Great Britain, is located. southeastern part The island is framed by chalk mountains, giving the island a whitish outline, for which it received the name Albion. The island is distinguished by a significant number of inhabitants, which is second only to the islands of Honshu and Java.
Sumatra continues the ranking of the largest islands. Despite the fact that the Chinese erroneously considered it to be Java Minor, Sumatra is the sixth largest in the world and is significantly larger than Java. Its area of 474,000 square kilometers is three times the size of Java.
The next major island again brings us back to Canada, and again a part of the land, with an area of more than 507,000 square kilometers, is called a British subject. Unlike the previous discoverer, William Baffin named the island after himself in 1616.
The island of Madagascar, as well as the country of the same name, today enjoys worldwide popularity thanks to the famous animated film. Its area is 587,000 square kilometers. Unusual flora and fauna surprise tourists and scientists, and the pearl of the island are lemurs, which cannot be found in another part of the world.
The top three in the ranking of the largest islands in the world is opened by an island that has two names. Borneo or Kalimantan contained as many as three states. Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia are located on its expanse of 743,000 square meters. Moreover, the first two countries are called Borneo island, and the last one is Kalimantan. The island has natural resources- diamonds and oil. It is located on the very equator and is therefore full of lush vegetation.
Another island, which has two names and is partly owned by Indonesia, has an area of 786,000 square kilometers. In 1526 the Portuguese named it Papua, and twenty years later the Spaniards named it New Guinea.
The largest island.
The largest island in the world - Greenland, with a size of 2,130,000 square kilometers, belongs to small Denmark. Its deceptive name today can no longer surprise or deceive anyone, and the territory covered with a thick layer of ice is only three times smaller than the generally recognized mainland - Australia.
Video Greenland.
