England is part of the British Isles archipelago.
An archipelago is a group of islands that extends into the ocean. The term comes from the Italian arcipelago , in turn derived from a Greek word formed by two components: the adjective archi , which can be translated as “superior” ; and the noun piélagos , which is equivalent to “sea” .
Archipelagos are made up of various bodies of land , from islands to keys, through islets and other formations. These various masses of territory are located at a short distance from each other: that is why they are considered as a unit.
For example: “This archipelago was discovered by a Portuguese navigator in 1520” , “I spent my summer vacation touring a beautiful archipelago in the Indian Ocean” , “Fishing is the main economic resource of the archipelago” .
Examples of archipelagos
A well-known archipelago is the Juan Fernández Archipelago , which belongs to Chile . Located in the South Pacific , about 670 kilometers away from the continent , it is made up of the Santa Clara islet, Alejandro Selkirk Island, Robinson Crusoe Island and other smaller islets.
About 600 people live in the Juan Fernández archipelago , distributed over an area of almost 100 square kilometers. Robinson Crusoe Island is the most populated.
In Europe , the archipelago of the British Isles is one of the most important. This archipelago includes the islands of Great Britain (which are divided into England , Scotland and Wales ) and Ireland (whose territory is divided into Ireland and Northern Ireland ).
The Balearic archipelago is one of the most important tourist areas in Spain.
The Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands
In Spain we must highlight the existence of two other important archipelagos:
- Canary archipelago ( Canary Islands ). Se compone de siete islas: El Hierro, La Gomera, Tenerife, La Palma, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura y Lanzarote . Está situado al norte de Africa , tiene origen volcánico y poseen un clima subtropical. Este último ha propiciado que se convierta en uno de los destinos turísticos más relevantes durante todo el año del país. Cuenta con una larga lista de parques nacionales que atraen a miles de visitantes, como el del Teide , el de Timanfaya , el de la Taburiente Caldera y el de Garajonay .
- Balearic archipelago ( Balearic Islands ), que se divide en dos grandes grupos: las islas Pitiusas ( Formentera, Ibiza y varios islotes) y las islas Gyms ( Menorca, Mallorca, Cabrera y otros islotes). Su capital es Palma de Mallorca y se encuentra situado en pleno mar Mediterranean . También es uno de los destinos turísticos preferidos en Spain , habiéndose convertido en la tercera comunidad autónoma con más visitantes, después de Catalonia y de las Canary Islands . Sus playas, su clima y su ocio nocturno son tres de los principales atractivos de este rincón, sin olvidar tampoco monumentos como la C palm cathedral y los yacimientos arqueológicos.
Development opportunities in an archipelago
When the archipelago has little infrastructure and offers few development possibilities to its inhabitants, it is common for people to tend to look for opportunities on the continent, emigrating from the islands.
This tends to happen especially with young people who want to access study or professional options that do not exist in the archipelago.