World'sMostAmazingIslands

PublishedonYesterday9/21/2007

GUNKANJIMA (Japan): the Ghost (and forbidden) Island

Gunkanjimaisoneamong505uninhabitedislandsintheNagasakiPrefectureabout15kilometers fromNagasakiitself.Theislandwaspopulatedfrom1887to1974asacoalminingfacility.The island'smostnotablefeaturesaretheabandonedconcretebuildingsandtheseawallsurroundingit. ItisknownforitscoalminesandtheiroperationduringtheindustrializationofJapan.Mitsubishi boughttheislandin1890andbegantheproject,theaimofwhichwasretrievingcoalfromthe bottomofthesea.TheybuiltJapan'sfirstlargeconcretebuilding,ablockofapartmentsin1916to accommodatetheirburgeoningranksofworkers,andtoprotectagainsttyphoondestruction.

In1959,itspopulationdensitywas835peopleperhectareforthewholeisland,or1,391perhectare fortheresidentialdistrict,oneofthehighestpopulationdensityeverrecordedworldwide.As petroleumreplacedcoalinJapaninthe1960s,coalminesbeganshuttingdownalloverthecountry, andHashima'smineswerenoexception.Mitsubishiofficiallyannouncedtheclosingoftheminein 1974,andtodayitisemptyandbare,whichiswhyit'scalledtheGhostIsland.TraveltoHashimais currentlyprohibited.

SURTSEY (Iceland): The emerging island

OffthecoastofIcelandonthemorningof14November1963,thecrewofalonefishingtrawler spottedanalarmingsight.OfftothesouthwestofthesleifurII,acolumnofdarksmokewasrising fromthewater.Concernedthatitcouldbeanotherboatonfire,thecaptaindirectedhisvessel towardsthescene.Oncethere,however,theyfoundnotaboatbutaseriesofviolentexplosions producingash.Thiswasanunmistakableindicationofavolcaniceruptiontakingplaceunderwater, closetothesurface.Veryawareofthepotentialdangerbuteagertowatch,thecrewkepttheirboat nearby.Itwasindeedaremarkableeventthattheywouldwitnessasmallpartofoverthecourseof thatmorning:theformationofabrandnewisland. Althoughnowquitevisible,theeruptionlastedformuch,muchlongerthanthesleifurIIwould havebeenabletowatch.Afterseveraldays,thevolcanohadbrokenthewater'ssurface,formingan islandover500meterslongand45meterstall.EventhoughtheroughtidesoftheNorthAtlantic mighthavesoonerodedthenewislandaway,itwasnamedSurtsey,meaning'Surtur'sisland' Surtur(orSurtr)beingafiregiantofNorsemythology.Theislandprovedtobetenacious,however. TheeruptionwasongoingandSurtseyincreasedinsizemorequicklythantheoceancouldwearit down.Inthemeantimetwoothernearbyvolcaniceruptionsproducedthebeginningsofislands,but neitherlastedverylong.ByApril1964,though,themostviolentpartsoftheeruptionwereoverand Surtseyremained.

Itwasfairlyclearthatitwasgoingtobeapermanentislandoratleastaspermanentasanything canbeingeology.TheexplosionsreturnedinAugust1966,andonlystoppedwhentheentire eruptionfinallycametoanendinJune1967.Sincethen,thevolcanohaslaindormant.Theisland wasleft174meterstallandabout2.8squarekilometersinsize.At33kilometerssouthofthe mainland,italsomarkedthenewsouthernmostpointofIceland.

PALM ISLANDS (Dubai): the palm-shaped man-made island

ThePalmIslandsinDubaiarethethreelargestartificialislandsintheworld.Theyarebeing constructedbyNakheelProperties,apropertydeveloperintheUnitedArabEmirates,whohiredthe DutchdredgingandmarinecontractorVanOord,oneoftheworld'sspecialistsinlandreclamation. TheislandsareThePalmJumeirah,ThePalmJebelAliandThePalmDeira.TheIslandsare locatedoffthecoastofTheUnitedArabEmiratesinthePersianGulfandwilladd520kmof beachestothecityofDubai. Thefirsttwoislandswillcompriseapproximately100millioncubicmetersofrockandsand.Palm Deirawillbecomposedofapproximately1billioncubicmetersofrockandsand.Allmaterialswill bequarriedintheUAE.Betweenthethreeislandstherewillbeover100luxuryhotels,exclusive residentialbeachsidevillasandapartments,marinas,waterthemeparks,restaurants,shopping malls,sportsfacilitiesandhealthspas.ThecreationofThePalmJumeirahbeganinJune2001. Shortlyafter,ThePalmJebelAliwasannouncedandreclamationworkbegan.In2004,ThePalm Deira,whichwillbealmostaslargeinsizeasParis,wasannounced.PalmJumeirahiscurrently openfordevelopment.Constructionwillbecompletedoverthenext1015years.

SEALAND (Principality): World's smallest island

ThePrincipalityofSealandisanislandandamicronationlocatedonHMFortRoughs,aformer MaunsellSeaFortlocatedintheNorthSea10km(sixmiles)offthecoastofSuffolk,England,in whatisclaimedasterritorialwatersusingatwelvenauticalmileradius. Since1967,theinstallationhasbeenoccupiedbyassociatesandfamilyofPaddyRoyBates,a formerradiobroadcasterandformerBritishArmyMajor,whoclaimsthatitisasovereignand independentstate.Critics,aswellascourtrulingsintheUnitedStatesandinGermany,have claimedthatRoughsTowerhasalwaysremainedthepropertyoftheUnitedKingdom,aviewthatis disputedbytheBatesfamily.Thepopulationofthefacilityrarelyexceedsten,anditshabitablearea is550m2(5920sqft). Sealand'sclaimstosovereigntyandlegitimacyarenotrecognisedbyanycountry,yetitis sometimescitedindebatesasaninterestingcasestudyofhowvariousprinciplesofinternational lawcanbeappliedtoaterritorialdispute.

EASTER ISLAND (Polynesian triangle, Chile): world heritage site and one of the most isolated inhabited islands in history

EasterIslandisoneoftheworld'smostisolatedinhabitedislands.Itis3,600km(2,237miles)west ofcontinentalChileand2,075km(1,290miles)eastofPitcairn.Nowdays,itisaChileangoverned island,andisaworldheritagesitewithmuchoftheislandprotectedbytheRapaNuiNationalPark.

FirstsettledbyasmallpartyofPolynesians,EasterIslandisoneoftheyoungestinhabited territoriesonEarth,andformostofitshistoryitwasthemostisolatedinhabitedterritoryonEarth. ItsinhabitantstheRapanuihaveenduredfamines,epidemics,civilwar,slaveraidsandcolonialism; haveseentheirpopulationcrashonmorethanoneoccasion,andcreatedaculturallegacythathas broughtthemfameoutofallproportiontotheirnumbers.

MALDIVE ISLANDS: the paradisiac island nation with 1,192 islets

TheMaldivesisanislandnationconsistingofagroupofatollsintheIndianOcean.TheMaldives islocatedsouthofIndia'sLakshadweepislands,andaboutsevenhundredkilometers(435mi) southwestofSriLanka.TheMaldives'twentysixatollsencompassaterritoryfeaturing1,192 islets,roughlytwohundredofwhichareinhabitedbylocalcommunities. OriginallytheinhabitantswereBuddhist,butIslamwasintroducedin1153.Itlaterbecamea Portuguese(1558),Dutch(1654),andBritish(1887)colonialpossession.In1965,theMaldives obtainedindependencefromBritain(originallyunderthename"MaldiveIslands"),andin1968the SultanatewasreplacedbyaRepublic.However,inthirtyeightyears,theMaldiveshaveseenonly twoPresidents,thoughpoliticalrestrictionshaveloosenedsomewhatrecently.TheMaldivesisthe smallestAsiancountryintermsofpopulation.ItisalsothesmallestpredominantlyMuslimnation intheworld.

THE WORLD ISLANDS (Dubai): man-made islands in the form of a world map

Everwishtheworldwassmaller?TheWorldisamanmadearchipelagoof300islandsintheshape ofaworldmap.TheWorldisbeingbuiltprimarilyusingsanddredgedfromthesea.Eachisland rangesfrom23,000m2to84,000m2(250,000900,000squarefeetor5.721acres)insize,with 50100mofwaterbetweeneachisland.Thedevelopmentwillcoveranareaof9kminlengthand6 kminwidth,surroundedbyanovalbreakwater.Theonlymeansoftransportbetweentheislands willbebyboatandhelicopter.Pricesfortheislandswillrangefrom$1545million(USD).The averagepriceforanislandwillbearound$25million(USD).Dredgingstartedin2004andasof Marchof2007TheWorldisaround90%complete.AccordingtotheNationalGeographicChannel (TheBestofMegastructures)theoverallpricefortheWorldis$14BillionUSDollars.

ALCATRAZ ISLAND (USA): home to the first lighthouse on the Pacific Coast

AlcatrazIsland(sometimesinformallyreferredtoassimplyAlcatrazorbyitspopculturename, TheRock)isasmallislandlocatedinthemiddleofSanFranciscoBayinCalifornia,UnitedStates. Itservedasalighthouse,thenamilitaryfortification,thenamilitaryprisonfollowedbyafederal prisonuntil1963,whenitbecameanationalrecreationarea.ThefirstEuropeantodiscoverthe islandwasJuandeAyalain1775,whochartedtheSanFranciscoBayandnamedtheisland"LaIsla delosAlcatraces",whichmeans"IslandofthePelicans". ThediscoveryofgoldinCaliforniain1848broughtthousandsofshipstoSanFranciscoBay, creatinganurgentneedforanavigationallighthouse.Inresponse,Alcatrazlighthouse#1was erectedandlitinthesummerof1853.Becauseofitsnaturalisolationinthemiddleofabay, surroundedbycoldwaterandstrongseacurrents,AlcatrazwassoonconsideredbytheU.S.Army asanideallocationforholdingcaptives.AlcatrazwastheArmy'sfirstlongtermprison,anditwas alreadybeginningtobuilditsreputationasatoughdetentionfacilitybyexposinginmatestoharsh conditionsandironfisteddiscipline.Duetorisingoperationalcostsbecauseofitslocation,the MilitaryDepartmentdecidedtoclosethisfamousprisonin1934,anditwassubsequentlytaken overbytheDepartmentofJusticeandlaterbecamethefamousfederalprisionandfinallya recreationarea.