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{{short description|Very small island}} | {{short description|Very small island}} | ||
{{Distinguish| | {{Distinguish|Eyelet (disambiguation){{!}}Eyelet}} | ||
{{About||the music band|Islet (band)|human anatomy|Pancreatic islets}} | {{About||the music band|Islet (band)|human anatomy|Pancreatic islets}} | ||
[[File:Bangchuidao Island.JPG|thumb|Bàngchuí Island in [[Dalian]], [[Liaoning]], China, is a typical rock islet]] | [[File:Rockall - geograph.org.uk - 1048791.jpg|thumb|[[Rockall]], an islet located west of Ireland and Scotland]] | ||
[[File:Mokolea Rock 2.jpg|right|thumb|[[ | [[File:Bangchuidao Island.JPG|thumb|Bàngchuí Island in [[Dalian]], [[Liaoning]], [[China]], is a typical rock islet]] | ||
[[File:Mokolea Rock 2.jpg|right|thumb|[[Mōkōlea Rock]] in Kailua Bay, [[O‘ahu]], {{convert|2.2|km}} off North Beach, [[Marine Corps Base Hawaii]]]] | |||
An '''islet''' is a | An '''islet''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|aɪ|l|ə|t}} {{Respelling|EYE|lət}})<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-05-29 |title=Definition of ISLET |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/islet |access-date=2024-06-21 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}}</ref> is generally a small [[island]]. Definitions vary and are not precise, but some suggest that an islet is a very small, often unnamed, island with little or no [[vegetation]] unable to support [[human habitation]]. It may be made of rock, sand and/or [[hard coral]]; may be permanent or tidal (i.e. surfaced [[reef]] or [[seamount]]); and may exist in the [[sea]], [[lake]]s, [[river]]s or any other sizeable [[bodies of water]]. | ||
== Definition == | == Definition == | ||
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As suggested by its origin ''islette'', an [[Old French]] [[diminutive]] of "isle",<ref>''[[Merriam-Webster|Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language, Second Edition]]'', 1958</ref> use of the term implies small size, but little attention is given to drawing an upper limit on its applicability. | As suggested by its origin ''islette'', an [[Old French]] [[diminutive]] of "isle",<ref>''[[Merriam-Webster|Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language, Second Edition]]'', 1958</ref> use of the term implies small size, but little attention is given to drawing an upper limit on its applicability. | ||
The World Landforms website says, "An islet landform is generally considered to be a rock or small island that has little vegetation and cannot sustain human habitation", and further that size may vary from a few square feet to several square miles, with no specific rule pertaining to size.<ref name=lf>{{cite web | title=Islet Landforms | website=World Landforms of the Earth | url=http://worldlandforms.com/landforms/islet/ | access-date=29 April 2020}}</ref> | The World Landforms website says, "An islet landform is generally considered to be a rock or small island that has little vegetation and cannot sustain human habitation", and further that size may vary from a few square feet to several square miles, with no specific rule pertaining to size.<ref name=lf>{{cite web | title=Islet Landforms | website=World Landforms of the Earth | url=http://worldlandforms.com/landforms/islet/ | access-date=29 April 2020 | archive-date=27 May 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230527145049/http://worldlandforms.com/landforms/islet/ | url-status=dead }}</ref> | ||
==Other terms== | ==Other terms== | ||
[[File:Tahitian sunset.jpg|thumb|A Tahitian motu off the island of [[Raiatea]] at sunset]] | [[File:Tahitian sunset.jpg|thumb|A Tahitian motu off the island of [[Raiatea]] at sunset]] | ||
* [[Ait]] (/eɪt/, like eight) or eyot (/aɪ(ə)t, eɪt/), a small island. It is especially used to refer to river islands found on the [[River Thames]] and its tributaries in England.<ref>{{cite web | title=Eyot | website=World Wide Words | date=21 June 2003 | url=http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-eyo1.htm | access-date=30 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Definition of eyot | website=www.dictionary.com | date=20 April 2020 | url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/eyot | access-date=30 April 2020}}</ref><ref name=atlas>{{cite web | last=Misachi | first=John | title=What is an Ait? Ait Defintion [sic] | website=WorldAtlas | date=5 April 2019 | url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-is-an-ait-ait-defintion.html | access-date=30 April 2020}}</ref> | * [[Ait]] (/eɪt/, like eight) or eyot (/aɪ(ə)t, eɪt/), a small island. It is especially used to refer to river islands found on the [[River Thames]] and its tributaries in England.<ref>{{cite web | title=Eyot | website=World Wide Words | date=21 June 2003 | url=http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-eyo1.htm | access-date=30 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Definition of eyot | website=www.dictionary.com | date=20 April 2020 | url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/eyot | access-date=30 April 2020}}</ref><ref name=atlas>{{cite web | last=Misachi | first=John | title=What is an Ait? Ait Defintion [sic] | website=WorldAtlas | date=5 April 2019 | url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-is-an-ait-ait-defintion.html | access-date=30 April 2020}}</ref> | ||
* [[Cay]] or key, an islet formed by the accumulation of fine sand deposits atop a [[reef]], especially in the [[Caribbean]] and West Atlantic. [[Rum Cay]] in the [[Bahamas]] and the [[Florida Keys]] off [[Florida]] are examples of islets. | * [[Cay]] or key, an islet formed by the accumulation of fine sand deposits atop a [[reef]], especially in the [[Caribbean]] and West Atlantic. [[Rum Cay]] in the [[Bahamas]] and the [[Florida Keys]] off [[Florida]] are examples of islets. | ||
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| caption2 = [[Snake Island (Black Sea)|Snake Island]] (2009) | | caption2 = [[Snake Island (Black Sea)|Snake Island]] (2009) | ||
}} | }} | ||
Whether an islet is considered a rock or not, it can have significant economic consequences under Article 121 of the [[UN Convention on the Law of the Sea]], which stipulates that " | Whether an islet is considered a rock or not, it can have significant economic consequences under Article 121 of the [[UN Convention on the Law of the Sea]], which stipulates that "rocks which cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own shall have no [[exclusive economic zone]] or [[continental shelf]]". One long-term dispute over the status of such an islet was that of [[Snake Island (Black Sea)|Snake Island]].<ref name="Lathrop">Coalter G. Lathrop (July 22, 2009) "Maritime Delimitation in the Black Sea (Romania v. Ukraine)". [[American Journal of International Law]], Vol. 103. {{ssrn|1470697}}</ref><ref>[http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2006/07/14/Ukraine-Romania-spar-over-islet/UPI-61671152893296/ Ukraine, Romania spar over islet], [[United Press International|UPI]] 2006-7-14</ref><ref>[http://www.euronews.com/2009/02/03/romania-and-ukraine-avoid-rocky-horror-show/ Romania and Ukraine avoid rocky horror show] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315070604/http://www.euronews.com/2009/02/03/romania-and-ukraine-avoid-rocky-horror-show/ |date=2018-03-15 }}, [[Euronews]], 03/02/09</ref> | ||
The [[International Court of Justice]] jurisprudence however sometimes ignores islets, regardless of inhabitation status, in deciding territorial disputes; it did so in 2009 in adjudicating the [[Maritime | The [[International Court of Justice]] jurisprudence however sometimes ignores islets, regardless of inhabitation status, in deciding territorial disputes; it did so in 2009 in adjudicating the [[Maritime Delimitation in the Black Sea case|Romania–Ukraine dispute]], and previously in the dispute between Libya and Malta involving the islet of [[Filfla]].<ref name="Lathrop"/><ref name="Smith1991">{{cite book|author=Hance D. Smith|title=The Development of Integrated Sea Use Management|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zH5LYOBEs48C&pg=PA82|year=1991|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-415-03816-4|page=82}}</ref> | ||
== List of islets == | == List of islets == | ||
There are thousands of islets on Earth: approximately 24,000 islands and islets in the [[Stockholm archipelago]] alone. The following is a list of example islets from around the world. | There are thousands of islets on Earth: approximately 24,000 islands and islets in the [[Stockholm archipelago]] alone. The following is a list of example islets from around the world. | ||
{{div col|colwidth=20em}} | {{div col|colwidth=20em}} | ||
* [[Águila Islet]], the southernmost point of | * [[Águila Islet]], the southernmost point of the [[Americas]] | ||
* [[Aplin Islet (Queensland)]] | * [[Aplin Islet (Queensland)]] | ||
* [[Apia, Tokelau|Apia]] | * [[Apia, Tokelau|Apia]] | ||
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* [[Ball's Pyramid]], South Pacific | * [[Ball's Pyramid]], South Pacific | ||
* [[Bay Islet]] or See Chau, [[Hong Kong]] | * [[Bay Islet]] or See Chau, [[Hong Kong]] | ||
* [[Benggala Island]], Indonesia | |||
* [[Bikirrin]], in [[Majuro]], Marshall Islands | * [[Bikirrin]], in [[Majuro]], Marshall Islands | ||
* [[Black Rock, South Georgia|Black Rock]], South Atlantic | * [[Black Rock, South Georgia|Black Rock]], South Atlantic | ||
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* [[Milman Islet (Queensland)]] | * [[Milman Islet (Queensland)]] | ||
* [[Monchique Islet]], Europe's westernmost point, in the [[Azores]], Portugal | * [[Monchique Islet]], Europe's westernmost point, in the [[Azores]], Portugal | ||
* [[ | * [[Nā Mokulua]], O{{okina}}ahu, Hawaii, United States | ||
* [[Noorderhaaks]], off the coast of the Netherlands | * [[Noorderhaaks]], off the coast of the Netherlands | ||
* [[Oodaaq]], Greenland | * [[Oodaaq]], Greenland | ||
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* [[Saint Peter and Saint Paul rocks]], equatorial Atlantic | * [[Saint Peter and Saint Paul rocks]], equatorial Atlantic | ||
* [[Salas y Gómez]], Northeast from [[Easter Island]] | * [[Salas y Gómez]], Northeast from [[Easter Island]] | ||
* [[San Juan Islet]], [[Puerto Rico]] | |||
* [[Saunders Islet (Queensland)]] | * [[Saunders Islet (Queensland)]] | ||
* [[Seacrow Islet]], southeastern Australia | * [[Seacrow Islet]], southeastern Australia | ||
Latest revision as of 10:48, 7 March 2026
An islet (/ˈaɪlət/ Template:Respelling)[1] is generally a small island. Definitions vary and are not precise, but some suggest that an islet is a very small, often unnamed, island with little or no vegetation unable to support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanent or tidal (i.e. surfaced reef or seamount); and may exist in the sea, lakes, rivers or any other sizeable bodies of water.
Definition[edit | edit source]
As suggested by its origin islette, an Old French diminutive of "isle",[2] use of the term implies small size, but little attention is given to drawing an upper limit on its applicability.
The World Landforms website says, "An islet landform is generally considered to be a rock or small island that has little vegetation and cannot sustain human habitation", and further that size may vary from a few square feet to several square miles, with no specific rule pertaining to size.[3]
Other terms[edit | edit source]
- Ait (/eɪt/, like eight) or eyot (/aɪ(ə)t, eɪt/), a small island. It is especially used to refer to river islands found on the River Thames and its tributaries in England.[4][5][6]
- Cay or key, an islet formed by the accumulation of fine sand deposits atop a reef, especially in the Caribbean and West Atlantic. Rum Cay in the Bahamas and the Florida Keys off Florida are examples of islets.
- The French suffix -hou from the Scandinavian -holm, is used for the names of some islets in the Channel Islands, such as Écréhous, Burhou, Lihou and Les Houmets, and off Normandy, such as Tatihou.
- Inch, a term used especially in Scotland, from the Gaelic innis, which originally meant island, but has been supplanted to refer to smaller islands, such the islet of Inch, off St Mary's Isle Priory, Inch Kenneth, Inchkeith, Keith Inch (no longer an island) and Inchcailloch.[7]
- Motu, a reef islet formed by broken coral and sand, surrounding an atoll, especially in Polynesia,[8] such as Motu One, Motu Nao and Motu Paahi.
- River island, an islet within the current of a river, such as the Île de la Cité in Paris.
- Template:Vanchor, in the sense of a type of islet, is an uninhabited landform composed of exposed rocks, lying offshore, and having at most minimal vegetation, such as Albino Rock in the Palm Island group off Queensland, Australia.
- Sandbar or shoal, an exposed sandbar.
- Sea stack, a thin, vertical landform jutting out of a body of water.
- Skerry, a small rocky island, usually defined to be too small for habitation, especially in Ireland.
- Subsidiary islets, a more technical application, is applied to small land features isolated by water, lying off the shore of a larger island. Similarly, any emergent land in an atoll is also called an islet.[9]
- Tidal island, small islands (not always islets) which lie closely off the coast of a mainland or a much larger island, being connected to it (and thus becomes a peninsula/promontory) in low tide and isolated by a channel in high tide.
In international law[edit | edit source]
Whether an islet is considered a rock or not, it can have significant economic consequences under Article 121 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which stipulates that "rocks which cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own shall have no exclusive economic zone or continental shelf". One long-term dispute over the status of such an islet was that of Snake Island.[10][11][12]
The International Court of Justice jurisprudence however sometimes ignores islets, regardless of inhabitation status, in deciding territorial disputes; it did so in 2009 in adjudicating the Romania–Ukraine dispute, and previously in the dispute between Libya and Malta involving the islet of Filfla.[10][13]
List of islets[edit | edit source]
There are thousands of islets on Earth: approximately 24,000 islands and islets in the Stockholm archipelago alone. The following is a list of example islets from around the world.
- Águila Islet, the southernmost point of the Americas
- Aplin Islet (Queensland)
- Apia
- Auster Lake Islet
- Ball's Pyramid, South Pacific
- Bay Islet or See Chau, Hong Kong
- Benggala Island, Indonesia
- Bikirrin, in Majuro, Marshall Islands
- Black Rock, South Atlantic
- Boundary Islet, Australia
- Bogskär, Finland
- Briggs Islet, southeastern Australia
- Bushy Islet (Queensland)
- Capitancillo Islet, in Bogo City, Cebu, Philippines
- Chão, in the Madeira Islands, Portugal
- Cholmondeley Islet (Queensland)
- Clubes Island, Brasília, Brazil
- Columbretes Islands, Spain
- Cone Islet, southeastern Australia
- Douglas Islet (Queensland)
- Dry Tortugas, Florida Keys, USA
- Dugay Islet, southeastern Australia
- Edwards Islet, southeastern Australia
- Enekalamur in Majuro, Marshall Islands
- Enemanit in Majuro, Marshall Islands
- Fairway Rock, Bering Strait
- Fastnet Rock, Ireland
- Filfla, southern Malta
- Formigas, in the Azores islands
- Gáshólmur, Faroe Islands
- Granite Island (South Australia), Victor Harbor, South Australia.
- Galatasaray Islet, Istanbul, Turkey
- Halfway Islet, Queensland, Australia
- Herald Island, Arctic Ocean
- Île Vierge, France
- Isles of Scilly, United Kingdom
- Kid Island, Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri United States
- Islets of Caroline Island, in Kiribati
- Islets of Mauritius
- Isla de Alborán, Spain, Western Mediterranean
- Jardine Islet (Queensland)
- Jethou, Bailiwick of Guernsey
- Keelung Islet, off the northern shore of Taiwan
- Klein Bonaire, Netherlands
- Kolbeinsey, Iceland
- Liancourt Rocks, South Korea
- Lihou, Bailiwick of Guernsey
- Magra Islet (Queensland)
- Mañagaha, Saipan
- Martin Islet (New South Wales)
- Mid Woody Islet, southeastern Australia
- Milman Islet (Queensland)
- Monchique Islet, Europe's westernmost point, in the Azores, Portugal
- Nā Mokulua, OTemplate:Okinaahu, Hawaii, United States
- Noorderhaaks, off the coast of the Netherlands
- Oodaaq, Greenland
- Pula Ulor, Beserah, Kuantan District, Pahang, Malaysia
- Parece Vela, West Pacific
- Perejil Island, Strait of Gibraltar
- Penguin Islet (Tasmania)
- Pigeon Island, Sri Lanka
- Pokonji Dol, Croatia
- Velika Sestrica, Croatia
- Rockall, North Atlantic
- Saint Peter and Saint Paul rocks, equatorial Atlantic
- Salas y Gómez, Northeast from Easter Island
- San Juan Islet, Puerto Rico
- Saunders Islet (Queensland)
- Seacrow Islet, southeastern Australia
- Shag Rocks, South Atlantic
- Silver Islet, Ontario
- Sinclair Islet (Queensland)
- Skull Islet, in British Columbia, Canada
- Star Keys/Motuhope, New Zealand
- Saltholm, small Islet in Oresund west of Copenhagen
- Sue Islet (Queensland)
- Sumbiarholmur, Faroe Islands
- Sunday Islet (Queensland)
- Taprobane Island, Sri Lanka
- Thomson Islet (Queensland)
- Tindhólmur, Faroe Islands
- Vilkitsky Island, Arctic Ocean
- Wallace Islet (Queensland)
- Wachusett Reef, Ernest Legouve Reef, and Maria Theresa Reef, South Pacific Ocean
- Westward Islet, in the Pitcairn Islands
- Ynys Lawd, Wales
Notes[edit | edit source]
- ↑ "Definition of ISLET". www.merriam-webster.com. 2024-05-29. Retrieved 2024-06-21.
- ↑ Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language, Second Edition, 1958
- ↑ "Islet Landforms". World Landforms of the Earth. Archived from the original on 27 May 2023. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
- ↑ "Eyot". World Wide Words. 21 June 2003. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
- ↑ "Definition of eyot". www.dictionary.com. 20 April 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
- ↑ Misachi, John (5 April 2019). "What is an Ait? Ait Defintion [sic]". WorldAtlas. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
- ↑ Sears, Robert (1847). A New and Popular Pictorial Description of England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and the British Islands (6th ed.). R. Sears. pp. 479–481.
Original from University of Iowa, Digitized 9 Mar 2015
- ↑ "Motus – What They Are and Why They're Key to the Tahiti Experience". LandLopers. 12 April 2017. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
- ↑ "Floristic composition and vegetation classification of the Penghu Southern Four Islands". Marine National Park Headquarters. 18 March 2016. Retrieved 30 April 2020.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Coalter G. Lathrop (July 22, 2009) "Maritime Delimitation in the Black Sea (Romania v. Ukraine)". American Journal of International Law, Vol. 103. Template:Ssrn
- ↑ Ukraine, Romania spar over islet, UPI 2006-7-14
- ↑ Romania and Ukraine avoid rocky horror show Archived 2018-03-15 at the Wayback Machine, Euronews, 03/02/09
- ↑ Hance D. Smith (1991). The Development of Integrated Sea Use Management. Taylor & Francis. p. 82. ISBN 978-0-415-03816-4.
References[edit | edit source]
- Clive Schofield (2012). "Islands or Rocks, Is that the Real Question? The Treatment of Islands in the Delimitation of Maritime Boundaries". In Myron H. Nordquist; John Norton Moore; Alfred H.A. Soons; Hak-So Kim (eds.). The Law of the Sea Convention: US Accession and Globalization. Martinus Nijhoff Publishers. pp. 322–340. ISBN 978-90-04-20136-1.