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The Hawaiian Islands, a major archipelago in the Pacific Ocean. An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been part of a continent.
The African and European mainlands are non-contiguous, and the delineation between these continents is thus merely a question of which islands are to be associated with which continent. The Portuguese Atlantic island possession of the Azores is 1,368 km (850 mi) from Europe and 1,507 km (936 mi) from Africa, and is sometimes grouped with Europe.
The islands—composed of the Greater Antilles, Lesser Antilles, and Lucayan Archipelago—are also known as the West Indies (or, in some languages [which?], the Antilles). South America—the continent and associated islands of the Western Hemisphere. It is chiefly in the Southern Hemisphere and lies between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans ...
The island is so large that it is considered 'nearly a continent' in terms of its biological distinctiveness. In the period from 1998 to 2008, conservationists identified 1,060 new species in New Guinea, including 218 plants, 43 reptiles, 12 mammals, 580 invertebrates, 134 amphibians, 2 birds and 71 fish. [ 30 ]
Due to Taíno, Spanish and French influences on the island, historically the whole island was often referred to as Haïti, Hayti, Santo Domingo, or Saint-Domingue. [20] Martyr's literary work was translated into English and French soon after being written, the name Hispaniola became the most frequently used term in English-speaking countries ...
Early Spanish visitors called them the Windward Islands (today having a narrower definition). They were also called the Forward Islands by 18th-century British. [ 5 ] Thereafter, the term Antilles was commonly assigned to the formation, and "Sea of the Antilles" became a common alternative name for the Caribbean Sea in various European languages.
A continent is any of several large geographical regions. Continents are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria. A continent could be a single landmass or a part of a very large landmass, as in the case of Asia or Europe. Due to this, the number of continents varies; up to seven or as few as four geographical regions ...
Although the exact timing of when each island group was settled is debated, it is widely accepted that the island groups in the geographic center of the region (i.e. the Cook Islands, Society Islands, Marquesas Islands, etc.) were settled initially between 1000 and 1150 AD, [33] [34] and ending with more far flung island groups such as Hawaii ...