Fun Facts about Islands
ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES
Danny Xu
4/10/20253 min read
Japan, Hawaii, Taiwan, and many more are all places on Earth many consider to be home. The feature that they all have in common is that they are all islands. Islands, surrounded by the blue ocean, a common place for vacation, are some of the most unique land masses on Earth.
Islands are great for fishing, have wonderful views, and have some unique ecosystems due to their locations. But how are they formed and what do they offer for Earth's environment? There is lots to talk about on the subject of islands.
How are islands formed?
Have you ever wondered why islands like Hawaii have so many active or dead volcanoes around them, well it's because Hawaii along with a lot of other islands were actually formed from volcanic activity. In the Earth's mantle, there is a lot of magma which is a super hot liquid that is better known as lava when it reaches the Earth's surface. Due to movements in Earth's tectonic plates, there are cracks in places in the Earth's ocean floor which allow magma to escape and is quickly mixed with the water which hardens the hot liquid. Over the course of thousands or millions of years, this build up of rock from the sprouting source of the magma underground becomes high enough to reach the surface of the ocean but underneath, is a huge mountain formed from magma known as a volcano. The big/main island in Hawaii is a combination of 5 of these underground volcanoes and the other smaller islands are also formed through this process along with many islands in the world. The islands may appear short as only there top part can stick out of the ground but if one was to remove all the water, the island/mountain is taller than any above ground including Mt. Everest, the tallest above ground mountain on Earth. Some volcanoes in Hawaii are still active which continues to increase the size but others are already dead. Places like Iceland, Japan, and the Philippines are also formed from this process.
1. Volcanic Actvity
2.Continental Islands
A long time ago, all of Earth's seven continents were combined into one huge land mass known as Pangea, however, due to tectonic plate movements, the land mass split apart which also created some islands. Islands like Madagascar were once part of the main land and were simply separated from this process.
3. Artifical
Interestingly, humans have been able to create islands in recent years. One example of this is Palm Island in Dubai, which was entirely man made. These islands have to be created in shallow waters unlike the ones created by volcanoes which are go super far underground and involve a lot of sand placement and water drainage.
Environmental Impact of Islands
Starting with artificial islands, these islands are actually super harmful for the Earth's environment. Their creation forces destruction of other habitats in shallow water like coral reefs and create new land in hunting grounds or homes for other marine animals, disrupting their hunting habits and habitats which disrupts the overall food chain. Artificial islands also slows down natural ocean currents and leads to more erosion to nearby beaches and they also create a lot of natural pollution in the process of constructing these islands. However, natural islands offer a lot to the Earth's environment. Like land masses with unique settings and temperatures, islands are also unique habitats that allow animals that can't thrive anywhere else to find a home. Islands contain extra trees which are great for intaking greenhouse gasses and reducing the effects of global warming.
Sources: National Geographic. 2023. “Island | National Geographic Society.” Education.nationalgeographic.org. October 19, 2023. https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/island/.
“The Formation of the Hawaiian Islands: Geology & More.” n.d. Kauai Sea Tours. https://kauaiseatours.com/the-formation-of-the-hawaiian-islands-geology-more/.
ByteWise. 2024. “How Islands Are Formed by Nature | the Incredible Volcanic Process.” YouTube. September 20, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E11F23IrpP4.