Islands — land with water all around
Geography · Early Years · The School
What makes an island
An ISLAND is land with water all around it. It is fully surrounded, on every side. Size does not matter at all. A tiny rock in the sea can be an island. A huge country can be an island too.
Britain is an island
GREAT BRITAIN holds England, Scotland and Wales. It is an island. The sea surrounds it on every side. That is one big reason Britain has always needed boats and ships. You cannot simply walk to most other countries from here.
Big islands and small islands
Some islands are huge. They have cities, mountains and millions of people — Britain and Japan, for example. Some islands are tiny. They have just sand and a few trees. You could walk round one in an afternoon. Both kinds are islands. Both have water all around them.
Look at a map or a globe. Is France an island? No. It joins onto other land, so water does not go all the way round it. Is Britain an island? Yes. The sea goes all the way round it. Is a tiny dot of land out in the ocean an island? Yes, if water surrounds it fully. It does not need a name most people know. Size never decides it. Water all around does.