10 well-known archipelagos on the map. Large archipelagos. The largest archipelagos
Archipelago State means a state which consists entirely of one or more archipelagos and may include other islands. The term "archipelago" means a group of islands, including parts of islands, connecting waters and other natural formations that are so closely interconnected that such islands, waters and other natural formations constitute a single geographical, economic and political whole or are historically considered as such (Article 46 of the 1982 Convention).
There are more than 30 archipelagic states in the world: Indonesia, the Philippines, Fiji, the Bahamas, Tonga, etc. An archipelagic state can draw straight archipelagic baselines connecting the most prominent points in the sea of the most remote islands and drying reefs, provided that the ratio between the area water surface and land area, including atolls, ranges from 1:1 to 9:1. The length of such baselines should not exceed 100 nautical miles (3% of lines up to 125 miles). The width of the territorial sea is measured from the archipelagic lines.
Archipelagic waters- these are the waters located within the archipelagic straight baselines, regardless of their depth or distance from the coast. The sovereignty of the archipelagic state extends to archipelagic waters. All ships and aircrafts enjoy the right of passage through archipelagic waters along established sea lanes and overflight such air corridors, without deviating more than 25 miles in any direction from the center lines of the corridors.
Archipelagic Passage along sea lanes constitutes the exercise of the right of normal navigation and overflight solely for the purpose of continuous, rapid and unhindered transit from one part open sea or exclusive economic zone to another part of the high seas or exclusive economic zone. All rules for transit passage also apply to archipelagic passage.
§ 6. Exclusive economic zone
Exclusive economic zone- this is a belt of maritime space located beyond the outer boundary of the territorial sea and adjacent to it, up to 200 miles wide, measured from the same baselines from which the width of the territorial sea is measured. This zone is not part of the territory of the coastal state; for it, the 1982 Convention established a special legal regime, taking into account the rights and jurisdiction of coastal states and the rights and freedoms of all other states.
In the exclusive economic zone coastal state It has: sovereign rights for the purpose of the exploration, exploitation and conservation of natural resources, both living and non-living, in the waters that cover the seabed, on the seabed and in its subsoil, and for the purpose of managing those resources, and in relation to other economic exploration and development of the specified zone, such as energy production through the use of water, currents and wind; jurisdiction in relation to the creation and use of artificial islands, installations and structures; marine scientific research; protection and conservation of the marine environment; other rights and obligations provided for by the 1982 Convention (Article 56).
The coastal state itself determines the permissible catch of living resources in its zone, without exposing them to the risk of depletion, and also establishes the conditions for fishing in the economic zone by citizens of other states. It may take such measures, including search, inspection, arrest and judicial proceedings, as may be necessary to ensure compliance with the laws and regulations adopted by it. The seized vessel and its crew shall be immediately released upon the provision of reasonable bail or other security; Penalties for fishing violations may not include imprisonment or other form of personal punishment.
The coastal state has the exclusive right to construct, as well as authorize and regulate the creation, operation and use of artificial islands, installations and structures that do not have the status of islands, do not have their own territorial sea and do not affect the determination of the boundaries of the territorial sea, adjacent and economic zones and continental shelf. They can only have a safety zone up to 500 m wide, measured from each point of their outer edge.
A coastal state has the right to regulate, authorize and conduct marine scientific research in its area, and adopt laws and regulations to prevent marine pollution in accordance with applicable international standards and norms.
All other states within the exclusive economic zone of the coastal state enjoy freedoms of navigation, overflight, and the laying of submarine cables and pipelines (taking into account already laid cables and pipelines). The 1982 Convention specifically states that Art. 88-115 (navigation, status of ships, duties of the flag state, immunity of warships, assistance, combating piracy, drug trafficking, prosecution and stopping of ships, etc.) and other relevant rules of international law apply to the exclusive economic zone.
Federal Law "On the Exclusive Economic Zone" Russian Federation", adopted on November 18, 1998. 1 and consistent with the provisions of the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, contains the definition and boundaries of the exclusive economic zone of the Russian Federation, issues of delimitation with neighboring states, basic concepts and definitions, the rights of the Russian Federation in the exclusive economic zone and the competence of federal government bodies. It is specially emphasized that living and non-living resources of the exclusive economic zone are under the jurisdiction of the Russian Federation; activities for exploration, fishing (development) of such resources and their protection are within the competence of the Government of the Russian Federation (Article 4).
The law regulates issues of rational use and conservation of living resources, research and development of non-living resources, resource and marine scientific research, protection and conservation of the marine environment, economic relations in the use of the exclusive economic zone and enforcement of the provisions of the law.
For the first time, it is clearly stated that licenses for fishing of living resources are issued by the federal executive body for fisheries, licenses for the research and development of non-living resources are issued by the federal executive body for natural resources, permits to conduct resource or marine scientific research are issued by federal executive authorities for fisheries (or science and technology, respectively). All licenses and permits are agreed upon with the interested federal executive authorities in the presence of a positive conclusion of the state environmental assessment, followed by state environmental control and monitoring. A fee has been established for the use of natural resources in the exclusive economic zone.
Federal body border service coordinates the actions of the bodies protecting the exclusive economic zone, which include the federal bodies for natural resources, environmental protection, customs, and state mining supervision.
The rights of security officials to stop and inspect Russian and foreign vessels carrying out permitted activities in the Russian exclusive economic zone, to check documents for the right to operate, to prosecute violating vessels and detain them, to impose fines on violators, as well as to use weapons are strictly regulated against lawbreakers. The liability of officials of federal executive bodies, as well as legal entities and individuals, for violations of the provisions of the Law has been established.
The largest archipelago on Earth is the Malay Archipelago. It is located between the southeastern coasts of Asia and Australia and covers an area of approximately 2 million square kilometers. The archipelago includes approximately 10 thousand islands, namely the Greater Sunda, Lesser Sunda, Philippine and Moluccas islands, as well as many small islands. The most large islands The Malay archipelago consists of Kalimantan, Java, Sulawesi and Sumatra, which are part of the Greater Sunda Islands group.
The island of Java is also the most populated island in the world, with more than 124 million people living on it in 2005.
Location and topography of the Malay Archipelago
The islands of the Malay Archipelago are washed by the waters of the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The territory of the islands of the archipelago is almost entirely covered by the state of Indonesia - the largest island state in the world, as well as the Philippines, Brunei, East Timor and partly Malaysia. The climate in the archipelago is predominantly equatorial in the center and subequatorial in the northern and southern outskirts, the average annual temperature is about 24 degrees in the plains and 16 degrees in the mountains, and it practically does not depend on the time of year.
The relief of the main part of the islands is predominantly mountainous; the highest point of all the islands of the archipelago is Mount Kinabalu, located on the island of Kalimantan, the height of which reaches 4101 m. There are more than 300 volcanoes in the Malay Archipelago, of which about 100 are active. The most famous active volcano– Krakatoa, located in the Sunda Strait near the islands of Java and Sumatra. This volcano is infamous for having the most powerful eruption of any volcano in history.
Fauna and flora of the Malay Archipelago
The flora and fauna of the Malay Archipelago is quite diverse and at the same time unique, which is due to both the favorable climate and geographical location islands. More than 1,100 plant species grow on the territory of the archipelago, about 500 of which are endemic, that is, they grow exclusively on the islands of the archipelago.
The fauna is represented by apes and canines, elephants, rhinoceroses, and various marsupials. Among the endemic representatives of the fauna of the archipelago, one can note such animals as the Malayan bear, the Malayan red wolf, and the Komodo dragon. By the way, the Komodo dragon is the largest living lizard in the world.
Minerals of the islands of the Malay Archipelago
The islands of the Malay Archipelago are rich in mineral resources. The largest deposits of tin were discovered here (Bank Island, Indonesia), as well as deposits of bauxite, copper, iron, nickel and manganese ores. In addition, there is a significant amount of oil and gas. In this regard, human influence on the nature and ecology of the archipelago is increasing. Many endemic species of flora and fauna are now under threat of extinction. To preserve them, several large reserves have been created on the islands of the archipelago and national parks, For example, national park Listed Komodo World Heritage UNESCO.
In accordance with Art. 46 of the 1982 Convention, an archipelago State consists entirely of one or more archipelagos and may include other islands; archipelago means a group of islands, including parts of islands, their connecting waters and other natural formations, which are so closely interrelated that such islands, waters and other natural formations constitute, or have historically been considered as such, a single geographical, economic and political whole.
Currently, there are about 30 archipelagic states in the world, for example, Indonesia, the Philippines, Bahamas, Jamaica, Vanuatu, Seychelles, Maldives, Fiji.
The largest archipelago state in the world is Indonesia. The territory of this archipelago state consists of 5 big islands(Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and Irian Jaya) and about 30 smaller island groups. Their total, according to the Indonesian Oceanographic Service, is 17,508, of which about 6,000 are inhabited. The archipelago is located between two oceans (Indian and Pacific) and is a bridge from Australia to Asia.
The area of Indonesian seas is four times larger than the land area at 7.9 million km2 (including the area of the economic zone), while the land area is 1.9 million km2.
The issue of archipelagos was first discussed at the Geneva Conference on the Law of the Sea in 1958. However, like the Hague Conference of 1930, due to differences in the positions of the participating States, no agreement was reached either on the definition of the legal concept of an archipelago or on the regime waters located between the islands of the archipelago.
As a result of the Geneva Conference on the Law of the Sea, a situation arose when, in the absence of special norms of international law, including customary law, on archipelagos, a tendency began to manifest itself towards the unilateral extension of state sovereignty to the waters of archipelagos. In 1955, the Philippine government declared that it regarded all waters between the islands of the Philippine archipelago, regardless of their breadth and extent, as national or internal waters subject to the exclusive sovereignty of the Philippines.
In 1957, the Indonesian government declared the extension of Indonesia's absolute sovereignty to all waters located between the islands that make up the Republic of Indonesia. In the case of Indonesia, the sovereignty of the coastal state was extended over vast sea basins, which have traditionally been used for international shipping. In particular, the 100-mile wide area of the Java Sea fell under Indonesian sovereignty. In inland waters the waters of the Karimata, Sunda, and Makassar straits were arbitrarily included. These straits were international, but since 1957, the regime for the passage of foreign sea vessels through them began to be regulated by national legislation. This state of affairs could not guarantee foreign ships the right of unhindered passage.
By taking steps to extend their sovereignty to the waters lying between the islands that are part of the land territory of the archipelago state, the latter indicated that this meets their political, economic and security interests. A certain role in this was played by the fact that the archipelagic states that made such claims were, for the most part, until recently colonial or dependent countries.
Of course, this seriously affected the interests of a large number of countries using the sea. There was a need to resolve this issue on a compromise basis by balancing the interests of both the archipelagic states and all other states interested in using the water spaces between the islands of the archipelagos, which have long had the status of the high seas, for shipping, aircraft flights, and the like.
The development of international legal norms on archipelagos was undertaken within the framework of the III UN Conference on the Law of the Sea, which culminated in the inclusion in the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea of a special section (Part IV), entitled “Archipelago States,” which provides a definition of an archipelago, archipelago states, the principles of delimitation of archipelagic states are determined, the legal regime of waters located between the islands constituting the land territory of archipelagic states is established, and the rights of other states to use such waters are fixed.
The entire landmass of our planet is divided into two categories - continents and islands. The difference between them lies in size, as well as geological structure. Island formations, in turn, are also very different: some are very large, others are very tiny. Therefore, now we will learn in more detail about what an island, a group of islands is, what they are like and where they are most often located.
Description of the island as a planetary landmass
WITH geographical point In view, an island is a piece of land that is located in the waters of the World Ocean. It is washed by water on four sides, so it has no access to the mainland by land. In nature, there are single islands that have very impressive sizes and are known to everyone. These are Madagascar, Greenland and many others. Along with this, islands can form archipelagos, which include both large land areas and very small ones. Each such group of islands has its own name and is located in one of the seas or oceans. It can be either an independent state or a province that belongs to one of the mainland powers.
Geology and origin
Few of us know about the actual origin of the most famous archipelagos in the world. In geology, there are four types of formations: alluvial, volcanic and continental. The first appear in ocean waters thanks to the vital activity of marine organisms of the same name. A well-known group of islands of this type is the Marshall Islands, located in the Pacific Ocean. Alluvial and continental ones can be conditionally classified into the same category, since most often they have many common features. This is Sakhalin, Tasmania, New Earth. The Canadian Arctic Archipelago can also be added to this group. The last type is volcanic, formed by the elevation of seismically active mountains above ocean level. The most striking resort with similar geology is Hawaii.
To the distant Arctic desert...
It is known that in Northern Arctic Ocean and in the seas of its basin there are many island-provinces that belong to the Russian Federation. Among them, Novaya Zemlya deserves special attention - an archipelago that consists of two huge islands. They are called Northern and Southern and are separated by the Matochkin Shar Strait. This is the same place that is located in Most of archipelago all year round covered with ice 300 meters thick. However, it should be noted that the climate here is very variable. South Island washed by the Barents Sea, where warm currents can be traced. The northern part of the archipelago is bathed in where the coastal zones are always covered with glaciers.
Relief of Novaya Zemlya
This Arctic group of islands is quite mountainous. The most significant ridges and elevations are observed in the south of the archipelago. In the Matochkino Shar area there is the most high point island, which rises 1547 meters above sea level. It does not have a name, although in some sources it is referred to as Mount Kruzenshtern. To the north the ridges become less steep and high. Here the area plunges into endless stripes of rivers and frozen glaciers. Due to the mountainous landscape local waters They have a shallow depth - up to 3 meters, and their length does not exceed 130 km. All rivers in summer time They have a very fast current, and in winter their waters freeze to the bottom. Also on Novaya Zemlya there are many lakes of various origins.
Another Northern Province
In the same Arctic Ocean is the Franz Josef Land archipelago. On the map you can find it near Arctic Circle, in the zone arctic desert and eternal glaciers. This municipality is part of, but there is not a single settlement. There are only a few military bases, border posts and other government branches located here. The archipelago consists of 192 islands, mostly small in size. All of them are divided into three parts. The eastern one is separated from the rest by the Austrian Strait. The central part is the concentration large quantity small islands between the Austrian Strait and the British Channel. And Western, which includes the most big Island archipelago - George's Land.
Wonders of the Far East
The group, which includes 6852 units, is considered amazing and unique. They are all located in the waters Pacific Ocean, in a seismically active zone. It is problematic to list the geological structure of each of them, but if we characterize them in general, we can note that some lands are of alluvial origin, others are of volcanic origin. This archipelago is headed by the island of Honshu - the largest in area and population. It occupies 60% of the area of the entire country, and over 100,000,000 people live here. The largest towering buildings on Honshu include the capital Tokyo. Also on this island is the symbolic mountain of the country - Fuji, the crater of which is covered with snow.
Other major lands of Japan
The second largest island of the state is Hokkaido. Locals These lands are considered the most severe in climate. Although the local latitude is south of Europe, however, due to the proximity of the ocean and constant winds weather Here they are completely different. Kyushu is an island of workers. It also has big cities. Here the climate is milder, thanks to which agriculture is highly developed. In the north of Kyushu, plants and factories have long been operating, providing life to the entire country. Well, the fourth largest island in the country rising sun- This is Shikoku. Local cities not as large as in other lands, there are many towns and villages. This area is famous, however, for the pilgrimage temples built throughout the history of the state.
The most vibrant archipelagos on the planet
Today, almost each of us can afford to travel even to the most distant and little known islands. Tourists from all over the world have chosen the Seychelles, the Bahamas, Hawaii, the Maldives... Such regions are famous for their stunning landscapes, unique nature, clear ocean water, hot climate and clean air. An important fact is that every group can boast of similar conditions sea islands, if it is located in the tropical or equatorial zone. The largest representative of such a paradise is the Malay Archipelago, which stretches from the Philippines to the coast of Australia. It consists of a wide variety of islands where you can enjoy summer all year round.