River island
A river island or river archipelago is any landmass or fluvial landform within a river.
Regional variations
Look up towhead in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
The term "towhead" implies a little islet or sandbar within a river (most often the Mississippi River) having a grouping or thicket of trees, and is often used in the Midwestern United States. Many rivers, if wide enough, can house considerably large islands. The term "towhead" was popularised by Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
In England, a river island in the Thames is referred to as an "ait" (or "eyot").
Largest & smallest river islands in the world
Majuli in India is recognised by Guinness Book of World Records as World's Largest River Island.[1] Umananda is noted as World's smallest inhabited river island (only 0.02 km²). Both island located in North East India on the Brahmaputra River.
Lists of river islands
- Note: Includes some river islands that also have an ocean coast.
Most populous river islands
Name | Population | Area [km²] | Country | City | River |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Zhongshan Island | 2,300,000 (2008) | 59 | China | Macau, Zhongshan, Zhuhai | Pearl River |
Montreal | 1,854,442 | 499 | Canada | Montreal | St. Lawrence River |
Manhattan Island | 1,634,795 (2008) | 59 | United States | New York City | Hudson River/East River |
Ile Jesus | 401,550 | 242 | Canada | Laval | St. Lawrence River |
Veľký Žitný ostrov | 226,446 (2001) | 1,885 | Slovakia | several | Danube |
Vasilievsky Island | 202,650 (2002) | 10.9 | Russia | St. Petersburg | Bolshaya Neva/Malaya Neva |
Lulu Island | 168,162 | 122.4 | Canada | Richmond | Fraser |
Csepel Island | 166,953 (2012) | 257 | Hungary | diverse | Danube |
Majuli | 140,000 | 422 | India | Vaishnavite Shrines | Brahmaputra River |
Hisingen | 130,000 | 199 | Sweden | Gothenburg | Göta älv |
Wilhelmsburg | 49,132 (2006) | 35.3 | Germany | Hamburg | Elbe |
Mosqueiro | 27,000 | 191 | Brazil | Belém | Amazon River |
Srirangapatna | 23,448 (2001) | 13 | India | Srirangapatna | Kaveri |
See also
- Ait
- Anabranch, a section of a river that branches off and rejoins it, forming a towhead
- Archipelago
- Distributary
- Fluvial landforms
- Island
- Lake island
- Point bar
- River bifurcation
- River delta
References
- ↑ Majuli, River Island. "Largest river island". Guinness World Records. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
- ↑ "Río Grande de la Magdalena - Colección Ecológica del Banco". Retrieved 3 January 2015.
- ↑ "Žitný ostrov". Retrieved 3 January 2015.
- ↑ "Largest Islands of Countries". Retrieved 3 January 2015.
- ↑ "Malebo Pool". Encyclopædia Britannica. Accessed June 2017.
- 1 2 "SUMMARY REPORT ROBERTS ISLAND AND UNION ISLAND RIPARIAN WATER RIGHTS INVESTIGATION, SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY, CA, JUNE 2008" (PDF).
- ↑ W. Francis (1906). Gazetteer of South India. p. 199.
- ↑ Shivanasamudra