(Objective general knowledge on World Geography,
current general knowledge, online general knowledge quiz, GK quiz questions,
general knowledge quiz questions, Indian general knowledge for APPSC Material)
Q) What is Island?
An island can be defined as a piece of land that is surrounded by water. An island in a lake or river may be called an eyot or holm. A group of geologically or geographically related islands is called an archipelago.
1. Greenland : The largest island in the world, lying to the northeast
of North America and mostly within the Arctic Circle. Its total population is
about 60,000. Its capital is Nuuk (Godithab). It was discovered and named by
the Norse explorer Eric the Red in 986 A.D. and settled in coastal pockets by
Norse colonies. Only five per cent of its area is habitable. The economy of
Greenland is largely based on inshore and deep-water fishing.
2. New Guinea: New Guinea, the second largest island of the world is
an island of the east Malay Archipelago to the north of Australia. It is
divided between the independent state of Papua-New Guinea in the east and the
Indonesian province of West Irian in the west.
3. Kalimantan: A region of Indonesia, comprising the southern part of
the island of Borneo. It comprises of the Saba province of Malaysia, the
country of Brunie and the Kalimantan province of Indonesia.
4. Madagascar: The fourth largest island in the world, Madagascar,
lies in the Indian Ocean, off the east coast of Africa from which it is
separated by the Mozambique Channel. Antananarivo is its capital. Rich in mica,
graphite, and chromite, its chief exports include vanilla, coffee, clove and
sugar.
5. Baffin: This is the largest island in Canada and the fifth largest
in the world. It is situated at the mouth of Hudson Bay. The western part
largely remain covered with ice with extensive glaciers. Coastal fishing
stations include Frobisher Bay, Cape Dyer, and Cane Dorset.
6. Sumatra: It is the seventh largest island of the world, separated
from the Malaya Peninsula by the Strait of Malacca. Its largest city and port
is Medan. It produces rubber and timber for export and its oil and other
minerals provide three-quarters of Indonesian's income.
7. Honshu: It is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. Tokyo,
Yokohama, Osaka, and Nagoya are situated in this island. The highest mountain
of Japan (Mt. Fuji - 3776 m), and the largest Lake Biwa lie on this island.
8. Great Britain (Britain): England, Wales, and Scotland considered as
a unit is known as Great Britain. The name is also often used loosely to refer
to the United Kingdom.
9. Victoria: An island in the Canadian Arctic. It is the 9th largest
island in the world. The surrounding region is administered and supplied from
Cambridge Bay on the island's south-east coast.
10. Ellesmere: It is the northern most island of Canadian Arctic and
the third largest island in Canada. It was discovered in 1616 by William Baffin.
Fort Conger was the base from which Robert Peary led the first expedition to
reach the North Pole in 1909
11. Sulwasi: Formerly known as Celebes, it is one of the four large
islands of Indonesia. It is situated between Borneo and Maluku islands. In Indonesia,
only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory
12. South New Zealand: Lying in the south Pacific, it is the largest
island of New Zealand. It is dominated by the Southern Alps which stretch along
its western coast and rise to 3764 m at Mt. Cook, New Zealand's highest peak.
It was sighted by the Dutch navigator Tasman in 1642, and named after the
Netherlands province of Zeeland
13. Java: It is an island of Indonesia. With a population of about 137
million, it is the most populous island of the world. It is the home of to 60
per cent of Indonesia's population. Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia is
located along the west Java. Formed mostly as the result of volcanic events,
Java is the thirteenth largest island in the world and the 5th largest island
in Indonesia. Its highest elevation (Semeru) is 3676 m.
14. North Island of New Zealand: Lying in the South Pacific, it is the
second largest island of New Zealand. Active volcanism occurs in the central
region of North Island, with many hot springs, and geysers.
15. Luzon: It is the largest and economically and politically important
island of Philippines. Manila, the capital of Philippines, is located on this
island.
16. Newfoundland: The 16th largest island in the world, Newfoundland
lies at the mouth St. Lawrence River, Canada. It was explored by John Cabot in
1497. It is a former colony of United Kingdom. It became the tenth province to
the Confederation on 31st March, 1949, named simply as Newfoundland.
17. Cuba: Cuba, the largest island of Antilles, lies in the Caribbean
Sea has a rainy, tropical climate. Sugarcane is the main crop of Cuba which
occupies about 60 per cent of the cultivated land. Cubans call themselves
'Afro-Latin-Americans. Population of mixed descent (Mulattos) is 51 per cent,
whites 37 per cent and blacks 11 per cent. Spanish is the main language.
Havana, the capital and largest city of Cuba, is located on this island.
18. Iceland: Located between the North Atlantic and the Arctic Ocean,
Iceland is an enormous plateau with an average altitude of 500 metres.
Reykjavik is the capital and primate city of the country. About 96 per cent of
Icelanders are the descendants of Norwegian, Scottish and Irish immigrants and
are Protestants by faith.
19. Mindanao: It is the second largest and easternmost island of
Philippines. The island of Mindanao is called The Land of Promise. Mindanao is
the only area of Philippines with a significant Muslim population. A guerrilla
war is ongoing on this island.
20. Ireland: An island of the British Isles lying west of Great
Britain. Four - fifths of it is occupied by the Irish Republic, and remainder
by Northern Ireland. Its economy rely heavily on agriculture, especially beef
production and dairy farming, settled by Celts. Most of the people are
Christians by faith.
21. Hokkaido: Formerly known as Ezo or Yezo, it is the second largest
island of Japan. The Tsugaru Starit separates Hokkaido from Honshu, although
the two islands are connected by the underwater railway.
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