Archipelago 911 220724837 2008-06-21T07:35:17Z គីមស៊្រុន 7119710 language link added ''[[Image:MerguiArchipelagoMap.png|thumb|The [[Mergui Archipelago]]]] An '''archipelago''' ({{PronEng|ɑrkəˈpɛləgoʊ}}) is a chain or cluster of [[island]]s. The word ''archipelago'' literally means "chief [[sea]]", from [[Greek language|Greek]] ''arkhon'' (''arkhi''-) ("leader") and ''pelagos'' ("sea"). In [[classical antiquity|antiquity]], the '''Archipelago''' (Greek: Αρχιπέλαγος) was the proper name for the [[Aegean Sea]] and, later, usage shifted to refer to the [[Aegean Islands]] (since the sea is remarkable for its large number of islands). It is now used to generally refer to any island group or, sometimes, to a sea containing a large number of scattered islands like the [[Aegean Sea]]. ==Types of archipelagos== Archipelagos are usually found in the open sea; less commonly, a large [[land mass]] may neighbour them, an example being [[Scotland]] which has more than 700 islands surrounding the mainland. Archipelagoes are often [[volcano|volcanic]], forming along [[mid-ocean ridge]]s or [[Hotspot (geology)|hotspots]], but there are many other processes involved in their construction, including [[erosion]], [[Deposition (sediment)|deposition]], and [[land elevation]]. The four largest modern states that are mainly archipelagos are [[Japan]], the [[Philippines]], the [[United Kingdom]] and [[Indonesia]] (the world's largest archipelagic state according to the CIA World Factbook) [https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/id.html]. The largest archipelago in the world by size is the [[Canadian Arctic Archipelago]] of [[Northern Canada]]. It is situated in the [[Arctic Ocean]].{{fact|date=May 2008}} ==See also== {{Wiktionary}} *[[Island arc]] *[[Geography]] *[[Earth science]] *[[Geomorphology]] *[[Landform|List of landforms]] *[[Plate tectonics]] *[[Island nation]] *[[Earthsea]] *[[The World (archipelago)|The World]] * Lists of islands: see [[List of archipelagos]] and [[List of islands]] [[Image:Saaristo.png|thumb|The [[Archipelago Sea]], situated between the [[Gulf of Bothnia]] and the [[Gulf of Finland]], the largest archipelago in the world by the number of islands.{{Fact|date=February 2008}}]] [[Category:Archipelagoes|Archipelagoes]] [[Category:Greek loanwords]] {{geo-term-stub}} [[ar:أرخبيل]] [[an:Archipielago]] [[ba:Архипелаг]] [[bcl:Arkipelago]] [[bs:Arhipelag]] [[br:Enezeg]] [[bg:Архипелаг]] [[ca:Arxipèlag]] [[cs:Souostroví]] [[da:Arkipelag]] [[de:Archipel]] [[et:Saarestik]] [[el:Αρχιπέλαγος]] [[es:Archipiélago]] [[eo:Arkipelago]] [[eu:Uhartedi]] [[fr:Archipel]] [[gl:Arquipélago]] [[km:កំរងកោះ]] [[ko:군도]] [[hr:Otočje]] [[io:Archipelago]] [[id:Kepulauan]] [[is:Eyjaklasi]] [[it:Arcipelago]] [[he:ארכיפלג]] [[csb:Òstrowina]] [[sw:Funguvisiwa]] [[ku:Komgirav]] [[la:Archipelagus]] [[lv:Arhipelāgs]] [[lt:Salynas]] [[jbo:plugri]] [[mk:Архипелаг]] [[nl:Archipel]] [[ja:列島]] [[no:Arkipelag]] [[nds:Archipel]] [[pl:Archipelag]] [[pt:Arquipélago]] [[ru:Архипелаг]] [[scn:Arcipèlacu]] [[simple:Archipelago]] [[sk:Súostrovie]] [[sl:Arhipelag]] [[sr:Архипелаг]] [[sh:Arhipelag]] [[fi:Saaristo]] [[sv:Ögrupp]] [[tl:Kapuluan]] [[vi:Quần đảo]] [[uk:Архіпелаг]] [[ur:مجموعہ الجزائر]] [[vec:Arcipełago]] [[yi:ארכיפעלאג]] [[cbk-zam:Arquipelago]] [[zh:群島]]