There are many large islands on our planet, many of them are countries, some even continent. So, for example, Australija technically an island because it is not connected to any other land, but it is more often seen as a continental land mass.
Coming up 10 greatest selected based on land mass:
Grenland
With an area of 166.086 square kilometers, Greenland is three times the size of Texas. It is part of Denmark, although local affairs are taken care of by the local authorities.
Its population mainly consists of Inuit. Most of it is covered by glaciers, and people mostly live on the coast and survive in rather difficult conditions.
New Guinea
This island spreads over 800 thousand square kilometers in the southwestern part of the Pacific Ocean, and is separated from Australia by the shallow Torres Strait.
New Guinea is politically divided into Indonesian provinces Papua and Papua Barat in the western part of the island and to an independent state Papua New Guinea in the eastern part. The island is about 2400 kilometers long and up to 800 kilometers wide.
As a result of heavy and frequent rainfall, Fly-Digul ridge in New Guinea and the border highlands, are among the wettest places on Earth - and some of the most sparsely populated.
Borneo
Three countries are located on this huge island with an area of almost 700 thousand square kilometers: Malaysia, Indonesia i Sultanate of Brunei.
It is covered with dense rainforest and boasts an extremely rich flora and fauna, including the monster flower – rafflesia arnoldii – the largest known in the world so far.
Some of the most spectacular forests are included in a large number of national parks on the island, which is a great reason to visit.
Madagascar
With an area of about 587 thousand square kilometers, Madagascar is another of the world's huge islands.
Located just 250 miles off the coast of Africa, it is home to some truly unique wildlife – including around 800 species of butterflies and nearly 40 species of lemurs. It is a fact that all species of lemurs originate from Madagascar, he reports British.
Baffin
Canada's largest island, with an area of more than 500 thousand square kilometers, is located in the northern Canadian territory of Nunavut. It was named after William Baffin, an English navigator from the 17th century. Only a few coastal villages are inhabited here.
The largest settlement Iqaluit it is also the capital of the federal territory Nunavut, and is located on the south coast of the island in the immediate vicinity of Frobisher Bay.
Sumatra
Sumatra is the westernmost island of the Indonesian archipelago. Its western coast lies in the Indian Ocean, and the northeastern part of the island is bordered by the Malacca Strait, a historically important shipping and trade route.
With an area of about 443 thousand square kilometers, it is the second largest after the Great Sunda Islands of the Malay Archipelago. Three national parks Sumatra – Mount Leuser, Kerinci Seblat and Bukit Barisan Selatan – were jointly declared UNESCOworld heritage in 2004.
Kava from this island is one of the most famous in the world and one of the healthiest mountain coffees. It is characterized by a full aroma, gentle acidity and a spicy, earthy note.
Honshu
The largest of Japan's four main islands, Honshu is home to the country's highest mountain – Fuji - and the largest lake - Biwa. Fuji (Japanese Fuji-san) volcanic je Mountain 3776 meters high in its central part. The surface of the island is almost 228 thousand square kilometers.
Honshu is exposed frequent earthquakes, and the worst that hit him is considered to be the one in Kanto in 1923, when Tokyo, Yokohama and the surrounding area were destroyed. Despite this, however, it is worth visiting, primarily because of its natural beauty.
Here it is necessary to single out Chubusangaku National Park. It is a park surrounded by forests with a handful of rustic bridges, streams and paths.
Honshu is connected to the other larger Japanese islands (Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku) by tunnels and bridges. Three new bridge systems connect Honshu and Shikoku across the Inland Sea.
The largest cities are: Tokyo - the capital of Japan, Yokohama, Osaka, Nagoya, Kobe, Kyoto, Akita, Sendai, Fukushima, Niigata and Hiroshima.
Victoria Island
Located in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, this area stands out for being located here the world's largest island within an island within an island. Yes, you read that right, this is exactly the reality.
Namely, on the island there is a lake on which there is also an island, but also on that island there is Lake Ferguson with a smaller island. It not a unique case in the world because a similar series of islands and lakes can be found on the volcanic island of Taal in the Philippines, but the Philippine islands and lakes are much smaller.
Victoria Island is canadian arctic island located in the federal territories of the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Its surface is about 217 thousand square kilometers, which makes it the second largest island in Canada.
Great Britain
Great Britain, United Kingdom, Britain, England... Terminology related to the area of today's United Kingdom and Northern Ireland is quite complex. Great Britain today is primarily a geographical term, referring to the large island east of Ireland.
They are located on an area of 209.331 square kilometers England, Scotland and Wales.
The British Isles include Great Britain, the whole of Ireland as an island and several smaller islands such as the Isle of Man, the Shetland Islands, the Orkney Islands, Anglesey and others. Although they are closer to France, the Channel Islands are traditionally also considered part of the British Isles.
Let's also mention how it is Irska an island located west of Great Britain. Today there are two countries on it: Northern Ireland (part of the United Kingdom) and the Republic of Ireland.
Ellesmere
Ellesmere is a Canadian island in American-Arctic Archipelago, northwest of Greenland, and covers 196.236 square kilometers. Cape Columbia on the island is the northernmost point of Canada, and the highest peak is Barbeau – also the highest in the American-Arctic archipelago.
The island is devoid of vegetation, mostly covered by an ice sheet. It is embellished by numerous fjords on the east and west coast, while the Quttinirpaaq National Park is located in the northern part.
It is mostly uninhabited, but there are several smaller settlements: Grise Fiord and Alert, a meteorological (Eureka) and military (Alert) station. It was discovered by William Baffin in 1616, but it was named after Francis Egerton, the first Earl of Ellesmere. It is believed that the Vikings visited it as early as the 10th century.
Australija
Of the seven continents, Australia is the smallest, with 7.692.202 square kilometers. However, if we look at it as an island, then it is the largest in the world.
Photo: Unsplash, Booking.com
Cover photo: Meg Jerrard / Unsplash
Source: British
