The era of great geographical discoveries is long behind, but the seas, islands, archipelagos still attract the romance of travel. The names themselves are some exotic
places seem tempting and inspire dreams of a vacation away from civilization. But what is an archipelago? Where on the planet are they located? Which one is definitely worth a visit?
The concept of "archipelago"
So in geography is called a group of several islands that are located close to each other and arose in a similar way. In addition, they usually have the same geological structure. The answer to the question “what is an archipelago” was formally formulated by the UN Convention in 1982. According to this document, the islands constitute a single not only geographical, but also economic, and political whole, and are often considered historically such. The waters separating land areas are considered to be neutral, not belonging to the country located in them undividedly. Other states should be allowed to carry out the necessary activities in such areas, free shipping and there. There is also such a thing as an archipelago state, a country that is completely located on neighboring islands. These include the Philippines, Indonesia, Fiji, New Zealand, Japan and many others.
Northern archipelagos
Groups of nearby islands are located across the globe, on every continent and in every ocean. There are four of them near the North Pole: Franz Josef Land, Severnaya Zemlya, Novosibirsk Islands and the North Island of Novaya Zemlya. All of them are part of the territories of the Russian Federation. Each Arctic archipelago is a high shield or semi-mountainous area among the shallow shelf, the appearance of which is formed by glaciation and marine abrasion. There are few lakes and rivers on the islands, and those that are are quite small in size. The territory is represented by lowland deserts, tundra, land productivity in such areas is very small. The region’s biological diversity is not too wide. Nevertheless, the northern Franz Joseph archipelago is extremely interesting as an ecosystem, for example, American black geese, which are not found anywhere else in Russia, nest here, white gulls, polar bears and two subspecies of walruses live. Marine areas with bird markets are very common on the North Island of Novaya Zemlya.
Many territories are considered protected and are designed to protect the Arctic fauna and flora from extinction. The existence of man in the Arctic is limited to the activities of polar stations. At the moment, navigation in the region is losing its former volume, and people constantly residing in the northern islands are becoming less and less every year.
Solovetsky archipelago
Like the Arctic, this group of islands belongs to the territory of the Russian Federation. The shortest way to Solovki lies through the Karelian Republic, so many tourist routes in Karelia include visiting them. This archipelago is located in the White Sea near the Arctic Circle, it includes six large and about a hundred small islands. There are unique picturesque beaches, beautiful mixed forests and beautiful boulders along the coast. But the history of these places is sad and tragic. In the 30s, the Solovetsky Special Purpose Camp was located here, which used the premises of an ancient monastery located on the largest site of the archipelago - the Big Solovetsky Island as prison cells for convicts . Monks settled on the island many centuries ago, until XX century, life here was extremely peaceful, but during political repressions thousands and thousands of people were brought here, most of whom remained on Solovki in nameless mass graves to this day. At the moment, the architectural complex of the Solovetsky Monastery is included in the UNESCO World Heritage Site, many tourists come here. The best time to travel is from May to October, in winter it can be harder to get. In stormy weather, which often happens in the fall, in September-October, transport links cease, and it is impossible to get to Solovki.
Japanese archipelago
Mysterious for the European soul, the country of Japan is located on islands in the Pacific Ocean. In fact, this is also an archipelagic state, which includes four large islands: Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku, as well as about six thousand small islands that stretch in an arc along the coast of Russia in the Sea of Japan. To the north is the Russian island of Sakhalin, in the northeast the disputed territory of the Kuril ridge. The country is separated from China by the East China Sea. Although the Japanese is far from the largest archipelago, more than one hundred and thirty million people live on it. The largest center of the state is Tokyo, the most populated prefectures are located around the capital, in total thirty million people live here, which makes up slightly less than a third of the total population. The highest point of the archipelago is Mount Fuji, which is not
erupted for three centuries. Its height is about four thousand meters. Climbing Mount Fuji allows you to see the landscape of incredible beauty, especially if you climb in the predawn hour. Since the archipelago arose at the intersection of volcanic arcs, the mountainous terrain prevails and earthquakes often occur, some of which can be very powerful and destructive.
Sunda archipelago
This group of islands is located between mainland Asia and the continent of Australia. Also known as Malay, the archipelago includes the Big and Small Sunda Islands, the Philippine Islands, the Moluccas and many small islands. In the territory there are such states as Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia. The largest islands are Sumatra, Sulawesi, Java and Kalimantan, which are part of the Great Sunda Islands. Malay is the largest archipelago on the planet. Like the Japanese, it has a mountainous terrain, although there are plains and lowlands. The region has about three hundred and thirty volcanoes, a hundred of which are active. The most famous of them is Krakatau. In addition, the world's largest tin deposits are developed here, there are also oil, iron, tungsten and manganese ores, and bauxite. Due to its location in the equatorial climate, the Malay Archipelago is an extremely popular destination for tourism and recreation. The air temperature during the year practically does not change and is about twenty-five degrees. In the equatorial part, precipitation is uniform throughout the year, and in the subequatorial belt they precipitate according to the monsoon circulation. The archipelago has many full-flowing rivers of small length, more or less long only Barito, Musi, Kapuas and Inderaghiri, which are used for shipping. The local flora and fauna are one of the most diverse in the entire globe. The humid forests of the tropics are full of palm trees, of which there are about three hundred species, as well as bamboo, rasamala, ficus, banana, pandanus and other subtropical plants. Mosses, shrubs grow on the hills, along the coasts there are mangrove forests. In them you can meet not only the most different types of monkeys, but also elephants, rhinos, Malay bears and red wolves, flying squirrels and woolly wings. Traveling through the Malay archipelago guarantees a lot of experience. And it doesn’t matter which country of the region you choose.
Thousand islands
The Canadian archipelago is another unique place
which deserves attention. It is located on the border of Canada and the United States and includes eighteen sixty-four islands that stretch eighty kilometers along the St. Lawrence River. On larger land areas, people live, and the tiny ones are inhabited by migratory birds. For a piece of land to be considered an island, it must be unsinkable all year round. At least one tree must grow on it. The minimum size of the islands of the Canadian archipelago, defined by these two criteria, is one square foot, and the largest takes about one hundred square kilometers. It is called Wolf, in length it is a little less than thirty kilometers, and only nine in width. There are about one and a half thousand permanent residents. They live on those islets where there is enough space for only one house and a couple of benches in the yard. Such houses look very comfortable. All the necessary things are delivered to people by ferry from the mainland, electricity is everywhere in the houses, and telephone communication is established using an underwater cable connecting the islands to each other. Part of the archipelago is occupied by the oldest Canadian National Park, which is an ideal place for a relaxing holiday with the whole family. The main attraction is the castle of Boldt, a hotel magnate, the museum of ancient ships and the castle of the Singer Corporation are also of interest. Since 2002, the Canadian archipelago has been protected as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. This is a picturesque place in which it is easy to relax from everyday hustle and bustle with wildlife.
Archipelago of Alexander
In southeast Alaska, the northernmost US state, is located
protected area. This is the archipelago of Alexander with a length of about five hundred kilometers, separated from the mainland by deep channels. It includes more than a thousand islands. All other major US archipelagos are inferior in size. With an area of 69 thousand square kilometers, it is the largest. The islands with a sharp coastline are covered with rainforests, the largest land areas are called the Admiralty, Baranov, Wrangel and Chichingof. The indigenous people are the Tlingit and Tsimshian tribes, but many of them have long moved to the mainland. Those that remain are engaged in fishing and logging as they did many years ago. Of course, tourism also provides a certain share of employment.
Theodore Roosevelt, who created Tongass here in 1907, declared the places local. This national park is really unique and inimitable; deforestation here would be an environmental disaster for this area. The Tongass nature reserve is divided into several areas, for example, the Pacific coast with tundra and glaciers or the Great Bear region, where rare species of trees grow, such as cedar and Sitka spruce. The fauna is represented by two species of bears, five species of deer, rare birds and other animals.
Chagos Archipelago
This group of islands belongs to Britain, although it is located in the Indian Ocean. The Chagos Archipelago includes seven atolls with sixty islands that are located near the Maldives on the way from Indonesia to Africa. Nobody lives permanently here, the population is made up of military men from Great Britain and the USA. The largest island is Diego Garcia, located five hundred kilometers south of the Maldives and one thousand six hundred kilometers south of Hindustan. This land was discovered by the navigator Vasco da Gama in the sixteenth century, for some time the archipelago belonged to France, and then moved to
possession of the UK. Until the sixties of the twentieth century, indigenous people lived here, but then they were evicted, and a large military base opened. In 2000, the decision was declared illegal, but residents were no longer able to return due to a treaty between Britain and the United States. This document closes the island until 2016, after which, possibly, entry and residence will again be allowed. At the moment, Diego Garcia has military transportation facilities and a space communications center that cannot serve civilians. How exactly the situation will be resolved is difficult to predict. On other islands of the archipelago, residents are engaged in fishing and growing coconut trees, you can come there as a tourist. A wide selection of hotels of varying degrees of comfort, exotic cuisine, the opportunity to go diving or surfing - all this offers the archipelago to visitors from all over the world.
Mysterious Vanuatu
In the southwestern part of the Pacific Ocean are 83 islands of amazing beauty. This is the Vanuatu archipelago, an island nation in the middle of the jungle and volcanic sand. There is even an active volcano Yasur, which continually spews lava on the island of Tanna. Once this territory was colonized by the French and British, so many locals speak French and English very well. They can often be found with a menacing machete in their hands, but this weapon is designed to strike palm trees and does not pose the slightest danger. Tourists are always welcome here, despite the tragic story: settlers from other countries have almost destroyed the local culture, imposing a European way of life and the Christian religion. But customs and ancient traditions are still preserved. There is also a local language called bislama and consists of eight thousand words. Each island has its own holiday dedicated to harvesting. The most famous of all is the naghol. This is a Pentecost island festival during which locals build special wooden towers and
jump down from them, attached to the legs with a stem of yams. While the daredevils compete in agility, everyone else dances and sings folk songs. Once the Pentecost was visited by the British queen, on the occasion of her visit the festival had to be postponed. Locals are conservative, they are in no hurry to succumb to progress and live by their own rules. Using the conveniences of civilization, they still manage to maintain a way of life familiar to their ancestors. The only minus of traveling to these places is the problem with movement. Where the Vanuatu archipelago is located, there is no specific flight schedule, and ground transportation is almost undeveloped and expensive. Finding a hotel to stay is also quite difficult. The tourism infrastructure on the main islands, Efate and Espiritu Santo is more or less extensive, tourists come here for diving in reefs, which are considered one of the most picturesque in the whole Pacific Ocean. You can get there from Australia or New Zealand by flying by plane to the airport of the capital of the Port Vila archipelago.
Fiji Archipelago
Perhaps this group of islands is one of the best for tourism. If you ask the locals what the Fiji archipelago is, you will probably hear that this is a real paradise. The incredible beauty of tropical nature, white beaches with clean sand, blue lagoons, dense tropical forests, always sunny and warm climate make vacation here a real pleasure. For those who like to relax actively, there is the opportunity to go surfing and diving, you can also go to the tennis court or play golf. The largest islands are called Viti Levu and Vanua Levu, nightlife is boiling here, there are many entertainment centers, shops, restaurants and cafes. Available and a variety of national parks with rich fauna and flora. Not all archipelagos of the Earth can boast such beautiful vegetation and a variety of animals. The capital of Fiji is Suva, a city located on Viti Levu. The Hibiscus Festival is held here annually, which is accompanied by many theatrical performances, carnivals and fireworks. For those who seek peace and quiet, Fiji also has a place. Staying in a bungalow on the ocean, you can get complete privacy and relaxation. The climate here is quite comfortable all year round, the temperature does not fall below twenty-five degrees Celsius, from April to November the weather is hot and dry due to the southeast trade winds, and from November
through April, the rainy season with tropical cyclones lasts.
New Zealand
Not far from Fiji is another group of islands. It is known as New Zealand. This is a kingdom in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, also washed by the Tasman Sea. What is the New Zealand Archipelago? These are the two largest islands, the South and the North, which are separated by the Cook Strait, as well as sixty smaller islands, which include such as Stuart, Bounty, Auckland, Campbell, Three Kings, Kermadek, Chatham and Antipodes. The climate here is mostly temperate and subtropical in the north, in the mountains it resembles an alpine. The relief is flat, but there are also the Southern Alps and the Ruapehu volcano. Water resources are represented by Lake Taupo and the Waikato River. Flora and fauna are extremely diverse, here you can find an ordinary European hedgehog and an exotic bird of kiwi, pine and palm trees. Minerals include gas, gold, oil, iron, silver, chromium, coal, copper, mercury, and others. Before the appearance of humans, mammals on the islands did not live. Those animals that the colonialists brought with them violated the state of natural flora and fauna. Nevertheless, at the moment the state of ecology is excellent, New Zealand is considered the cleanest country on the planet. The capital of the state is Wellington, which is located in the south of the North Island. Big Cities - Hamilton, Christchurch. The largest is Auckland, where there are three times as many inhabitants as in the capital. The closest neighbor of the country is Australia, from which they often emigrate to New Zealand. The main language for communication is English, a small part of the population uses the ancient Maori language. Natives of the country about fifteen percent, their language is very complex pronunciation. But every tourist will have to master it at least a little, because most of the geographical names here are on it. Going on a trip, you should definitely plan a visit to the Bay of Islands. This picturesque bay, where you can see not only dolphins, but also whales, is located on the northeast coast of the North Island. No less interesting is the Taupo volcanic zone in the Wai-O-Tapu geothermal spring, which is also called the "champagne pool". Due to the active release of carbon dioxide, the water in it resembles a sparkling drink. Nearby is the beautiful, largest in Zealand, Lake Taupo, which is located in a crater from an extinct volcano.