21- Major Islands of the World - General Knowledge

(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.