Top 10 Largest Islands In The World

An island/isle is any piece of sub-continental land that is surrounded by water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. The exact number of Islands on Earth can be a difficult process. It is said to be, there are around 2000 Islands in the oceans. These Islands vary in size, geography, climate, flora and fauna. Here in this article Top 10 Largest Islands listed, Read on:

Top 10 Largest Islands In The World

1. Greenland 2,130,800 square kilometers

Greenland is an autonomous country within the Danish Realm, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is the world's largest island with a total area of 2,130,800 square kilometers. With a population of about 56,480 (2013), it is the least densely populated country in the world. Greenland is an Island and not a continent. The Greenland is home to second largest ice sheets in the world just behind the Antarctica; over three-quarters of which is covered by the only permanent ice sheet outside of Antarctica. Sealing, whaling and fishing are the main source of income for the people of Greenland.

2. New Guinea 785,753 square kilometers

New Guinea is a large Island in the South West Pacific region.  It is the world's second-largest island after Greenland. New Guinea covers a land area of 785,753 km2, and it is not the largest wholly within the southern hemisphere. The island is divided among two countries: Papua New Guinea to the east, and Indonesia to the west. The New Guinea Island is dominated by high mountains. At an altitude of 16503 ft the Jaya peak is the highest point in the New Guinea Island. The humans have been settled on the New Guinea Island over 40000 years ago. The New Guinea Island has large deposits of copper and gold.

3. Borneo 748,168 square kilometers

Borneo is the third-largest island in the world and the largest island in Asia. At the geographic center of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and east of Sumatra. Antipodal to an area of Amazon rainforest, Borneo is itself home to one of the oldest rainforests in the world. The rainforests of Borneo has been aged more than 130 million years. It is the oldest rainforest in the world. These forests are also home to 15000 species of plants, 221 species of mammals and 420 species of birds. The mount kimabalu, the highest peak in Southeast Asia is located in the Borneo Island.

4. Madagascar 587,713 square kilometers

Madagascar officially the Republic of Madagascar is an island country in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of Southeast Africa it is the fourth-largest island in the world. Madagascar split from the Indian peninsula around 88 million years ago, allowing native plants and animals to evolve in relative isolation. Consequently, Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot; There are 14000 different species of plants; 90% of its wildlife is found nowhere else on Earth; Madagascar is home to 250000 species of animals 70% of them are found nowhere else in the world. The island's diverse ecosystems and unique wildlife are threatened by the encroachment of the rapidly growing human population and other environmental threats. The Toliara coral reef in the Southwestern Madagascar is the third largest coral system in the world.

5. Baffin Island 507,451 square kilometers

Baffin Island in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada and the fifth largest island in the world. Its area is 507,451 km2 and its population is about 11,000 (2007). Named after English explorer William Baffin. Baffin Island can offer you to see stunning displays of Northern Lights, as most parts of the Baffin Island lies North of the Arctic circle. A large number of mammals, including polar bears, Arctic wolves and lemmings are live in the Baffin Island. There are two National Parks in the Baffin Island: Sirmilik and Auyuittuq. These National Parks are home to spectacular glaciers, majestic Fjords and snow fields.

6. Sumatra 480,848 square kilometers

Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia and part of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island that is entirely in Indonesia and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2. It is also the Westernmost Island of Indonesian archipelago. The Sumatra Island is prone to powerful earthquakes and Tsunamis. It is because this Island is located at the subduction zone of Indo-Australian and Eurasian tectonic plates. However, the Sumatra Island is home to amazing wildlife and rich forests. The most part of the Sumatra Island is covered by tropical rainforests; it is the home to some of critically endangered species; Sumatran tiger, orangutan, Rhinoceros, ground-cuckoo; Rafflesia arnodii. The Sumatra Island contains large deposits of gold and silver. Some of the finest oil plants and coal-fields are also located in the Island of Sumatra.

7. Honshu 225,800 square kilometers

Honshu is the largest and most populous island of Japan. The island separates the Sea of Japan, which lies to its north and west, from the North Pacific Ocean to its south and east. It is the seventh largest island in the world, and the second most populous after Java. Honshu had a population of 103 million as of 2005. This Island is 800 miles long, 150 miles wide with an area of 225,800 square kilometers. That is around 60% of the total size of Japan. The Honshu Island is home to some of the important cities of Japan, including Tokyo, Kyoto, Hiroshima, Yokohama and Osaka. The largest mountain in Japan, the Mount Fuji located in this Island. The Honshu Island also contains the largest lake of Japan, the Lake Biwa.

8. Victoria Island 217,291 square kilometers

Victoria Island is an island in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and straddles the boundary between Nunavut and the Northwest Territories of Canada. It is the eighth largest island in the world, and at 217,291 km2 is Canada's second largest island. It contains the world's largest island within an island within an island. The Island was discovered by the Arctic explorer Thomas Simpson in 1838. As of 2006, 1875 people live in this large Island; The Northwest part of the Victoria Island contain 15 mile wide Tunnunik impact crater. It is said to be formed between 130 and 350 million years ago by a meteorite.

9. Great Britain 209,331 square kilometers

Great Britain is the largest island in Europe and the ninth-largest in the world; with an area of 209,331 km2, it. In 2011 the island had a population of about 61 million people, making it the third-most populous island in the world, after Java in Indonesia and Honshu in Japan; The human habitation in the Great Britain has been started 500000 years ago. The island is the largest in the British Isles archipelago, which also includes the island of Ireland to its west and over 1,000 smaller surrounding islands. The Great Britain is the most populous region in Europe. The Great Britain receives a pleasant, mild temperature throughout the year. London is the largest city in the Great Britain.

10. Ellesmere Island 196,236 square kilometers

Ellesmere Island is part of the Qikiqtaaluk Region of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Lying within the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, it is considered part of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, with Cape Columbia being the most northerly point of land in Canada. It comprises an area of 196,235 km2 and the total length of the island is 830 kilometres making it the world's tenth largest island and Canada's third largest island. The Arctic Cordillera mountain system covers much of Ellesmere Island, making it the most mountainous in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The Arctic willow is the only woody species to grow on Ellesmere Island.      A chain of sedimentary rocks located in the Northern parts of the Ellesmere Island aged more than 100000 years. The Ellesmere Island contains remnants of the last ice age. The first human inhabitants of Ellesmere Island were small bands drawn to the area for Peary caribou, muskox, and marine mammal hunting about 2000–1000 BCE.

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