What Are The Origin Of Archipelago?

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Jason Schwarzmann Profile
Archipelagos are clusters or chains of islands. The word 'archipelago' comes from the Greek 'arkhi' (meaning chief) and 'pelagos' (sea) through the Italian arcipelago. In Italian, perhaps following the tradition of antiquity, the Arcipelago was the proper name for the Aegean Sea. The usage shifted in later years to come to refer to the Aegean Islands (the Aegean Sea being remarkable for its large number of islands). In modern day terms, the word is used to refer to and group of islands and, sometimes, a sea containing an unusually high number of scattered islands.

Archipelagos are not necessarily found in seas, and many can be found in isolated bodies of water, or neighboring a large land mass. A good example of this is Scotland, which has more than 700 islands surrounding its mainland making for an archipelago. Archipelagos are often found to be volcanic, forming along various island arcs generated by hotspots or subduction zones, but could also be the result of deposition, land elevation and erosion.

The largest five modern countries in the world that are mainly archipelagos are Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The greatest archipelagic state in terms of area is Indonesia, and the archipelago with the most islands in the world is the Archipelago Sea in Finland.
Anonymous Profile
Anonymous answered
Plate Tectonic Theory, Theory of Continental Drift and Land Bridge Theory.. Pacific Theory may be included
Amanda Wells Profile
Amanda Wells answered
Which archipelago do you mean? If you mean the Philippine archipelago, these islands were probably once part of the larger Asian continent and were separated from it by a series of events including volcanoes (now extinct.) There is also a theory that they may have been part of a different continent which is now lost, and again the cause was a series of natural disasters. You can find several ideas including some ancient myths here.
Anonymous Profile
Anonymous answered
Land bridge theory

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