francene--blog. Year 2013
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Sept 15th

9/15/2013

 
Picturewww.bbc.co.uk
Is the United Kingdom a small group of islands, as the Prime Minister conceded after the minor official's slur at a recent summit?

My birthplace, Australia, once thought of as an island, is actually the smallest continent. Of course, that's only temporary because the land mass has broken away from the Antarctic and is slowly travelling towards Indonesia. Experts believe they will form together and join Asia in the future.
The land on our planet is constantly moving and evolving. But that's another topic.

Looking at the facts, Britain is "a fairly large island as far as islands go", according to a professor at the University of Prince Edward Island in Canada.


"At the top end we usually define the very large islands as continents and from a geographical point of view there are only four of those: Eurasia-Africa, America, Antarctica and Australia.

"So if we include those as mega-islands, Britain would actually be the lucky 13 - the 13th largest land mass on the planet."

PictureSSGreat Britain en.wikipedia.org
If you don't include those continental land masses, Britain scores higher. It's ninth, behind Greenland, New Guinea (Indonesia/Papua New Guinea), Borneo (Indonesia/Malaysia), Madagascar, Baffin Island (Canada), Sumatra, Honshu (Japan) and Victoria Island (Canada).

That puts it way ahead of some other well-known islands, Cuba for example (17th), Sri Lanka (25th), Trinidad (117th) or Long Island (148th). Russia's largest island, Sakhalin, ranks a mere 23rd.

Britain is one of the few islands of significant size that calls itself Great, smaller ones doing so to distinguish themselves between a lesser one of the same name. The Great had to be appended to Britain mainly to distinguish it from Brittany—also known as Britannia minor, or lesser Britain, the French peninsula that had been settled in the fifth and sixth centuries by Celtic immigrants from the British Isles.


Picture
Rather than self-important or overconfident, the name could be a factual indication of Britain's size. After all, size matters.

The name United Kingdom refers to the union of what were once four separate countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland (though most of Ireland is now independent). Great Britain is the island combining England, Scotland and Wales. You could say that's the evolution of a country.

Everything alters over time. Continents shift. Forests die. Grassland takes over. Animals become extinct. Pioneers settle in new lands and displace the original inhabitants. We need to bend like bamboo before the wind rather than snap in the manner of a stiff branch in our ever-changing world.


Marika link
9/14/2013 07:39:21 pm

While reading your post I was thinking of the island I'm living on, Cyprus, for the last 18 or so years. It's a big island, relatively speaking, a country of it's own, but still there are so many bigger ones out there, starting with the GB.

Francene Stanley link
9/15/2013 03:25:38 am

Love Cyprus. It's a good thing to realize where we live in the grand scheme of things.

Author Rebecca Mugridge - Cooking with Bek link
9/14/2013 09:27:42 pm

I am definitely learning to bend like bamboo more as I get older!
Very interesting post X

Francene Stanley link
9/15/2013 03:27:06 am

Being stiff gets you nowhere--especially in an arguement. Bend away, Becky. 'Bend it like Beckam'.

Sojourner link
9/14/2013 10:01:42 pm

Interesting. I can see that, Brittan a series of islands collectively great in size. That's also pretty cool about Australia shifting over time to join Indonesia.

Francene Stanley link
9/15/2013 03:28:10 am

All the continents are on the move. Some are faster than others. Of course, we'll never catch the movement. ;-)

Alana link
9/15/2013 08:18:47 am

I was born on Long Island (two of New York City's 5 boroughs are located on Long Island) so - gosh, only 148th! But I will thank you for one thing, which was to clear up the difference between the United Kingdom and Great Britain. I have to admit, it has confused me.


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    Author

    Francene Stanley, author of many published novels. If you like my writing, why not consider purchasing one of my books? You'll see them on the sidebar below.
    Born in Australia, I moved to Britain half way through my long life.

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