An island or isle is any piece of land that is completely surrounded by water. Very small islands are called islets. It is also proper to call an emergent land feature on an atoll an islet, since an atoll is a type of island, although this convention is seldom adhered to. A key or cay is another name for a relatively small island or islet. The word island derives ultimately from the Old English word igland. It was originally spelled phonetically: iland. The letter "s" was added out of a mistaken belief that the word derived from isle (< Old French < Latin insula) + land, although no such etymological relationship existed.

There are three main types of islands: continental islands, river islands, and volcanic islands. There are also human-made or artificial islands. A grouping of related islands is called an archipelago.

Continental islands

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Continental islands are bodies of land that lie upon the continental shelf of a continent. Examples include Greenland and Sable Island off North America, Barbados and Trinidad off South America, Sicily off Europe, Sumatra and Java off Asia, New Guinea and Tasmania off Australia.

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BC Government NEWS

$16 MILLION FOR FLOOD PROTECTION IN B.C.
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 21:46:20 -0000
MISSION – Communities in all regions of British Columbia – from the Kootenays to Vancouver Island, and from the Interior to the Bulkley Valley – will benefit from a variety of cost-shared flood protection initiatives announced today by the governments of Canada and British Columbia.
11 ASSISTED LIVING UNITS FOR SENIORS OPEN IN REVELSTOKE
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 21:06:14 -0000
REVELSTOKE – The $3.8-million Moberly Manor officially opened today, providing 11 new assisted living units for seniors, announced East Kootenay MLA Bill Bennett.
JOB STATS PROVIDE REASONS FOR OPTIMISM
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:02:19 -0000
VICTORIA – The latest employment figures released from Statistics Canada demonstrate the resilience of B.C.’s economy, Technology, Trade and Economic Development Minister Ida Chong said.
COUNCIL ON MINING TO FOCUS ON LONG-TERM SUCCESSES
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 18:36:29 -0000
VICTORIA – The newly minted Minister’s Council on Mineral Exploration and Mining met for the first time this week with a vision for future successes in B.C.’s mining sector, Minister of State for Mining Gordon Hogg announced.
NOMINATIONS FOR PREMIER’S TEACHING AWARDS NOW OPEN
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:32:47 -0000
VICTORIA – Nominations are now open for the second annual Premier’s Awards for Teaching Excellence, Premier Gordon Campbell announced.
NEW FUNDING FOR ABORIGINAL ENTREPRENEURS
Thu, 04 Sep 2008 22:17:09 -0000
VICTORIA – New funding will triple the number of Aboriginal communities benefiting from business training to help Aboriginal people become self-employed or start their own business, Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation Minister Michael de Jong announced.
ASSISTED LIVING UNITS OPEN FOR GOLDEN SENIORS
Thu, 04 Sep 2008 21:16:46 -0000
GOLDEN – Federal, provincial and community partners gathered for the official opening of Golden Community Resources Society’s Mountain View, a $3-million assisted living development for seniors in Golden.
AREA-BASED ALLOWABLE ANNUAL CUT SET FOR TFL 54
Thu, 04 Sep 2008 21:02:11 -0000
VICTORIA – Effective immediately, tree farm licence 54 in Vancouver Island’s Clayoquot Sound region will have an area-based allowable annual cut of 320 hectares for the next five years, deputy chief forester Craig Sutherland announced.
CANADA, BRITISH COLUMBIA PARTNER TO IMPROVE HWY 97
Thu, 04 Sep 2008 20:32:10 -0000
FORT ST JOHN - The Honourable Jay Hill, Secretary of State and Chief Government Whip as well as Member of Parliament for Prince George–Peace River, on behalf of the Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, and Richard Neufeld, MLA for Peace River North, announced $14.8 million in joint funding to support a highway improvement initiative along Highway 97 between Road 271 and Charlie Lake in British Columbia. Federal funding support for the upgrades to Highway 97 comes from the Provincial-Territorial (PT) Base Fund, under the Building Canada plan.

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