Island

geography · oceans · land

Surrounded by water. An island is land that has water all around it, and it's smaller than a continent.

Born from volcanoes. Some islands, called oceanic islands, rise up from the sea floor when underwater volcanoes erupt and pile up lava.

Coral can build them. Tiny coral creatures can grow reefs that slowly turn into ring-shaped islands called atolls.

Split from continents. Continental islands once belonged to a big landmass but broke away as Earth's giant plates slowly shifted.

People make them too. Humans build artificial islands by piling up land in the sea for cities, airports, and homes.