Islands: Everything You Need to Know

A piece of land surrounded by water is termed an island. Check the article below to learn all about the Islands.

An island may occur individually or in a group and can be found in open oceans or seas. They are also found in lakes or rivers but are usually smaller in size and of local significance.

The government established the Island Development Agency (IDA), an apex agency with the responsibility of directing the program for the holistic development of islands.

Types of Islands

Islands are classified as follows-

Continental Islands

These were formally part of the mainland and with time got detached from the continent, maybe separated by a sallow lagoon or a deep channel. They may have separated because of sea level rise or land subsidence, which has submerged the lowland linkages.

• The comparable physical features, flora, and fauna found on both sides of the channel indicate that they once shared a relationship with the adjacent continent.
• As time passes, human intervention and other natural processes may result in the emergence of different surface features. But even then, the fundamental structural components will remain the same.

Continental islands are of different types-

Individual islands

These are located just outside the continent and are closely related to the characteristics of the mainland, which they originally comprised.

Archipelagoes or island groups

These comprise groups of variously sized and shaped islands, such as the British Isles, the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean, and the islands in the Aegean Sea.

Festoons or island arcs

These make up an archipelago that resembles a circle around the edge of the continent, continuing mountain ranges that may be seen on the continent.

Oceanic islands

These are often small and situated in the middle of oceans. The mainland is completely cut off from them. They have different flora and fauna from what may be found on the continents.

• Most oceanic islands have extremely few inhabitants because of their isolation from the world’s major trading hubs.

They typically belong to one of the following categories-

Volcanic islands

The majority of islands in the oceans are the uppermost portions of volcanoes that emerge from the ocean bottom.

The majority of the world’s waters contain volcanic islands. They can be found in numerous groups in the Pacific Ocean, including Hawaii, the Galapagos Islands, and the South Sea islands.  Mauritius and Reunion are in the Indian Ocean.

Coral islands

The coral islands, in contrast to the volcanic islands, are significantly lower and only narrowly rise above the water.

These are composed of diverse varieties of coral organisms, which can be found both close to the coasts of the mainland and deep within oceans. Such as the Laccadives, and the Maldives in the Indian Ocean.

Islands of India

As a part of Indian Physiography, the country has two large groups of islands.

One is the Lakshadweep group of islands, located close to the Malabar coast of Kerala in the Arabian Sea and the other is the Andaman and Nicobar group of islands, located in the Bay of Bengal.

Lakshadweep

They were once referred to as Laccadive, Minicoy, and Amindive. These were given the name Lakshadweep in 1973. It is only 32 sq km in size.

• The 8-Degree Channel separates Minicoy and the Maldives (8 degrees north latitude).
• The 9-Degree Channel divides the island of Minicoy from the main Lakshadweep archipelago (9 degrees north latitude).
• The administrative center of Lakshadweep is located on the island of Kavaratti.
• There is a wide range of vegetation and animals.

Andaman and Nicobar

Andaman and Nicobar is an extensive, north-to-south running series of islands in the Bay of Bengal.

• The islands span approximately 590 kilometers between 6° 45′ N to 13° 45′N  and 92° 10′E to 94° 15′E.
• They are larger, more in number, and more dispersed.
• The Andaman in the north and the Nicobar in the south make up the two main divisions of the entire group of islands. These islands are thought to be elevated sections of submerged mountains.
• This group of islands also has a very diverse range of flora and fauna. These islands are close to the equator, have a thick canopy of trees, and have an equatorial climate.
• The barren island, part of the Andaman and Nicobar group of Islands, is home to India’s only active volcano.
• The Andaman and Nicobar are separated by a 10-degree channel.
• The Great Nicobar and Sumatra islands of Indonesia are connected by the Grand Channel.

On the Andaman Islands lives an uncontacted tribe called the Sentinelese people. The Sentinelese may be the only known civilization to have not developed beyond Paleolithic technology, yet this is questionable given that metalworking evidence has been found on their island.

Some Important Islands of India

India has a total of 1,382 off-shore identified islands, including unhabituated ones. Out of all, a few islands of India are of some significance to the country.

Majuli

• Majuli is the largest inhabited riverine island in the world located on the river Brahmaputra, in the state of Assam.
• Majuli was formerly 1200 square kilometers but has since been reduced to less than 500 square kilometers due to extensive erosion.
• The residents here primarily depend on agriculture for their livelihood. It serves as the hub of neo-Vaishnavite culture. It has a lot of “Sattras” (religious and cultural institutions).

Sriharikota

• India’s Sriharikota is a barrier island off the coast of the Bay of Bengal, situated between Pulicat Lake and the Bay of Bengal in the state of Andhra Pradesh.
• Sriharikota is one of the satellite launch sites used by the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO).

New Moore

• New Moore is also known as “Purbasha” and “South Talpatty Island”.
• It is located close to the Haribhanga River’s mouth in the Bay of Bengal.
• The Island of New Moore is an uninhabited region claimed by both India and Bangladesh.
• Because of speculation about the presence of oil and natural gas in the area, both India and Bangladesh claimed sovereignty over it.
• According to the Permanent Court of Arbitration’s 2014 ruling, the island will be administered by India even though it is now below sea level.
• It possesses a vulnerable ecology and mangrove vegetation.

Phumdis/Floating Islands

• Phumdis are a collection of floating islands that are unique to the Loktak Lake in the northeastern Indian state of Manipur.
• The largest single mass of Phumdi is in the southeastern part of the lake, covering an area of 40 km2.
• The Keibul Lamjao National Park, the largest floating park in the world located in this area is made up of this mass.

Article Written By: Priti Raj