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Miss Phipps’ word of the week:
Archipelago
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Archipelago
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This is a key word for Geography when
studying small and large land masses. You will
meet it when studying seas and oceans too.
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If you’re ever planning a holiday to a group of
islands, you may come across this word.
The word originates from the Greek and was
once the proper noun for the Aegean sea. The
general meaning of the word arose because the
Aegean Sea is notable for its large numbers of
islands.
If you ever have the chance
to go island hopping around
the Greek islands, you soon
discover how many there are!
A noun :
 An archipelago is a group of islands closely
scattered in a body of water. Usually, this body
of water is the ocean, but it can also be a lake or
river. Most archipelagos are made of oceanic
islands. This means the islands were formed by
volcanoes erupting from the ocean floor.
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archipelago - National Geographic Society
www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/arc
hipelago/
They are formed a few ways. One of the most common ways an
archipelago is formed is through volcanic activity. As volcanoes erupt
under water, they start to form land above the water which is what we
call an island. As the volcanoes shift or a group of volcanoes erupt
over years, they start to form a group of islands that we can call an
archipelago.
 Another way an archipelago is formed is through the evaporation or
movement of water. The higher part of land that was under water is
now above water. This can happen in groups which makes the groups
of islands.
 Erosion can also create the group of islands that we call archipelagos.
This can be rare but does occur. Take for example places that have
high and low tides of water (usually in oceans). The raising and
lowering of water can deposit and take away land, which can create
islands.
 - See more at: http://worldlandforms.com/landforms/archipelago2/#sthash.27Di9Knz.dpuf
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Watch a short clip of the Lofoten
Islands is an archipelago on
the North West coast of Norway
just north of the Arctic Circle here
Or look at the Azores here