Archipelago

Archipelago, a geographic term, describes a cluster of islands.

The word comes from the Aegean Sea (Italian Arcipelago), which literally means "chief sea", from Greek arkhi (leader) and pelagos (sea).

Archipelagoes usually occur in the open sea; less commonly a large land mass may neighbour them.

Examples of archipelagos include:

• Aegean islands[?] (the original use of the term)
• Aleutian Islands
• Arctic islands (Canada)
• British Isles
• French Polynesia
• Galapagos Islands
• Hawaiian islands
• Insulinde[?] (Indonesia)
• Japan
• Juan Fernandez
• Kerguelen Islands
• New Zealand
• Philippines
• Stockholm