Mainland Islands (examples will be givenbelow) - this is part of the land, previously part of the continent, and later separated from it. This occurs as a result of various hydrological or geological processes. As a rule, the continent and the island have a similar terrain. They are separated by water areas, such as offshore seas and straits. Observation of scientists shows that the distance between the main land area and the island can vary. This is explained by the mobility of the earth's crust.
The islands of continental origin are divided intoseveral kinds. All of them are connected with their continents at the genetic level. However, despite this, the flora and fauna of such islands can differ significantly. So, let's look at the types of islands depending on the origin.
The platform islands, in fact, arecontinuation of the continent. They lie on the continental shelf and are separated from the main land by various water areas, such as straits and seas. This is the origin of the islands of the Canadian archipelago, the Northern Earth, Spitsbergen and the British. These land areas practically do not differ from the mainland vegetation and fauna. And this is due to the fact that they have been formed relatively recently.
The second type is the islands of the continental slope.They differ little from the first, but their break with the continent took place somewhat earlier. Unlike the platform, separation from the main land was due to deep tectonic splits, rather than deflections, as in the first case. The continental island of this species is separated from the continent by an oceanic type. Strong examples are about. Greenland and Fr. Madagascar.
The third species is the orogenic islands.These land areas are formed from the continuation of the mountain folds of the continent. These include New Zealand, Tasmania, Fr. Nova Zemlya, which, in fact, is the continuation of the Ural Mountains. They are all - orogenic mainland islands. Examples can continue and about. Sakhalin, which is the continuation of the Far Eastern mountain range.
Finally, the most active type of continentalislands - island arcs. They are in large numbers on the coast of East Asia, Central America and between South America and Antarctica. These include the Japanese island arc, the Aleutian, the Philippine and others. It is worth noting that these parts of the land are currently in the area of high activity of the earth's crust.
Thanks to the distance from the main continent andcomplete isolation from other lands the mainland island has a high level of endemic flora and fauna. The earlier it separated from the mainland, the more peculiar its flora and fauna. Such islands as Hawaii, Novaya Zemlya, are located at a considerable distance from their continents. This led to the formation of more than 70% of endemics in the flora and fauna of these lands. Also on the islands live representatives of the animal world, which have some deviations from the usual norms. For example, gigantism in reptiles and, conversely, island mammals usually smaller in size than on the mainland. The first group includes Komodo lizards and Galapagos turtles - they are unusually large. The second includes various species of ungulates.
The mainland island of Tasmania is separated from the continentBass Strait. Its geological structure and relief allow us to say that this is the continuation of the East Australian mountains. The island is characterized by a peculiar fauna. Here there are animals from Antarctica, as well as a number of some representatives, long since destroyed on the mainland.
The Novaya Zemlya Archipelago is also ranked by scientists tothe mainland type. The main islands are separated from each other by the narrow strait Matochkin ball. Another archipelago is washed by the strait of the Kara Gate, which separates it from the island of Vaigach.
Sakhalin Island is a mainland island.It is located at the east coast of Asia. It is separated by the Strait of La Perouse from Fr. Hakkaido, whose minimum width is 40 km, as well as the Tatar (from the mainland) and Nevelskoy. Last winter it freezes and has a width of no more than 8 km.
The origin of the islands is NewZealand. The arc on which they are located is located from New Guinea to the full length of Australia. In New Zealand, there are many faults, accompanied by volcanic eruptions and earthquakes.
Having become acquainted with the information in the article, everyone can correctly answer which islands are mainland.
