Fun Fact Friday!

Our world is made up of approximately 180,497 islands. That number changes constantly as new islands are born or eventually disappear back into the ocean (like Venice). Lands are split apart by the movement of tectonic plates to create new land. Volcanoes erupt under the sea, with lava building up and building up until new land emerges from the water.

The world's youngest island is Surtsey. Part of Iceland and its most southerly point, Surtsey was created by a huge underwater volcanic eruption in the 1960's. It has been protected so that it can be explored by scientists in order to study the creation of new land. People cannot walk on the island but visitors can travel around it by boat.

The world's largest island is Greenland at 2,131,600 sq km although new land has recently (2007) been discovered off its east coast. This new land was once part of the mainland, attached by a glacier, but was separated as a result of part of the huge ice sheet melting. Scary proof of global warming.

Like the evolution of man, our world is changing and developing - the smaller islands are eventually eroded away by extreme weather and the constant biting of waves at it's edges where bigger islands continue to grow as more lava is pumped out of the earth forming mountains and extending the land - it wont be the same when we leave as it was when we got here and it probably won't be around forever so we need to do all we can to protect it and enjoy everything it has to offer.

An extension of land formed by a cascade of
molten lava, cooled by the sea.

Another land arch, this time formed by a strong underwater
current and harsh waves.