Most of the world's volcanos are part of archipelagos.
Archipelagos are island chains formed by the shifting of tectonic plates. Many archipelagic islands are huge mountains extending from the ocean floor, and are rife with volcanic activity. Constantly shifting, archipelagic islands tend to have extreme landscapes including rocky beaches, hot springs, waterfalls and lava flow. East Asia, the Caribbean, and the Arctic contain the earth's largest archipelagos.
Japanese Archipelago
The Japanese Archipelago has 6,852 islands, including the four main islands of Japan, spanning over 475 square miles. 73 percent of Japan is mountainous, with a mountain range running through each of the main islands. Located on a seismic hot spot, minor earthquakes are frequently felt in Japan.
The Phillipine Archipelago
The country of the Philippines consists of 7,107 islands and spans 116,000 square miles. Most of these islands are covered in tropical forest. The highest island mountain is Mount Apo, reaching 9,692 feet. The Philippines are located on an active seismic region and its islands have frequent volcanic eruptions and an average of 20 earthquakes per day, though most are too weak to be felt. Its volcanoes are responsible for some of the largest mineral deposits in the world, and much of the earth's gold and copper is found in the Philippines.
Canadian Arctic Archipelago
The Arctic Archipelago is north of Canada, in the arctic, and consists of 36,563 islands spanning about 550,000 square miles. The islands are divided from each other, and from the Canadian mainland by waterways known as the Northwest Passages. Although the Arctic Archipelago has the second largest Arctic land mass after Greenland, its islands are mostly uninhabited, except for a few Inuit settlements on the southern islands.
Caribbean Archipelago
The Caribbean Archipelago consists of 7,000 islands, islets, reefs and cays. Some of its islands are flat and non-volcanic, including Aruba, Barbados, The Bahamas and Antigua. Others are active or inactive volcanic mountains, including Cuba, Puerto Rico, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Thomas, Saint Kitts and Trinidad and Tobago.
Indonesian Archipelago
Indonesia is an archipelago of 17,508 islands, over 6,000 of which are inhabited. It has five main islands, and contains 60 smaller archipelagos. Most of the larger islands are mountains, including Java, Bali and Sumatra. A string of 400 volcanoes is situated between these main islands, 150 of which are active. The two most destructive volcano eruptions recorded in modern times were both in Indonesia.
Stockholm Archipelago
The Stockholm Archipelago has about 24,000 islands and islets extending from and including Stockholm, Sweden. These islands are in a very active area, tectonically, and still rise about 5 millimeters per year. The Stockholm Archipelago was once known for its fishing villages, and is now a popular tourist destination.
Zhoushan Archipelago
The Zhoushan Archipelago consists of 1,390 islands and almost three times that many coral reefs, and is the largest archipelago of China. One hundred six of its islands are inhabited.
Other Archipelagos
There are many smaller archipelagos, including the eight islands of Hawaii, the Polynesian archipelago of Bora Bora and the South Pacific islands of Fiji. The picturesque beaches, natural hot springs, and other extreme geological phenomena caused by seismic activity make archipelagos popular tourist destinations.
Tags: consists islands, main islands, Arctic Archipelago, square miles, Stockholm Archipelago, archipelagic islands
