List of divided islands
The vast majority of islands in the world are either a country in their own right or part of a larger country. This is a list of those few islands whose land is divided between two or more countries or territories by an international border. In many cases (e.g. Ireland, Cyprus, Timor) the division has been the source of much dispute.
Divided among three countries
- Borneo - Among Indonesia (70%), Malaysia (25%), and Brunei (5%)
- Cyprus - see below
- Island in the Moselle River near Schengen: mostly in , the tip is in the Moselle condominium shared by and [1]
- Treriksröset - the boundary cairn at the tripoint of , and is 10 metres from the shore of Lake Goldajärvi/Koltajauri, and hence arguably a tiny artificial island.
Divided between two countries
Sea islands
Lake islands
- Between and :
- Between and :
- Äikkäänniemi in Nuijamaanjärvi[4]
- Suursaari and a smaller island in Yla-Tirja[5]
- Tarraassiinsaari, Härkäsaari, and Kiteensaari in Melaselänjärvi[6][7]
- Rajasaari in Kokkojärvi[8]
- Kalmasaari in Vuokkijärvi[9]
- Varposaari in Hietajärvi[10]
- Parvajärvensaari in Parvajärvi[11]
- Keuhkosaari in Pukarijärvi / Ozero Pyukharin[12][13]
- Siiheojansuusaari and Tossensaari in Onkamojärvi / Ozero Onkamo[14] [15]
- Between and :
- Island in Kivisarijärvi/Keđgisualuijävri[16]
- Island in lake SE of boundary marker 347A[17]
- Between and :[18]
- Hisön/Hisøya in Norra Kornsjön/Nordre Kornsjø[19]
- Kulleholmen/Kalholmen and Tagholm/Tåkeholmen in Södra Boksjön/Søndre Boksjø[20]
- Salholmen, Mosvikøya, and Trollön in Store Le[21]
- Island in Tannsjøen/Tannsjön[22]
- Linneholmene in Helgesjö[23]
- Jensøya in Holmsjøen[24]
- Storøya in Utgardsjøen[25]
- Fallsjøholmen in Fallsjøen (Nordre Røgden)[26]
- Island in Kroksjøen[27]
- Island in Vonsjøen[28]
- Island in Skurdalssjøen/Kruehkiejaevrie[29]
- Island in a lake at altitude 710m on the Gihcijoka river[30]
- Three islands in Čoarvejávri[31]
- Between and :
- Sosnovec and another nameless island in Lake Drūkšiai[32][33][34][35]
- Between and :
- Pollatawny in Lough Vearty.[36]
- Between and :
- The border between and cuts across the Neusiedler See/Fertő tó, where the water level fluctuates, sometimes exposing island flats which straddle the border.
River islands
- Heixiazi/Bolshoy Ussuriyskiy at the confluence of the Ussuri and Amur rivers, between and
- Corocoro Island in the delta of the Barima River: split between Venezuela and Guyana[38]
- San Jose Island, Rio Negro: between and . [39]
- The lower reaches of the Ganges[40], Teesta[41], and Brahmaputra[42] Rivers, approaching the Ganges Delta, are braided and contain numerous sand islands called chars[43]. These can be large and inhabited but are impermanent. At any given time, several are likely to straddle the border between (Assam and West Bengal) and , though this border is not fully specified.
- An island labelled 'Q' in the Maritsa River, between and .[44]
- An islet in the Uutuanjoki, between and .[45]
- An islet in the Vadet near Tunnsjø, between and .[46]
- An islet on the western side of the golf course that straddles the municpalities of Tornio in , and Haparanda in is crossed by the international border.
Historically divided islands
- Other islands have been divided by an international border in the past but are now unified. Notable examples include:
- A few former islands have disappeared:
- Vozrozhdeniya Island in the Aral Sea is split between and , whose border became an international frontier in 1991 with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. By 2002, the island had become a peninsula owing to the falling water-level in the Aral Sea.
- The Bogomerom archipelago in Lake Chad was split between and [47]. The water level has always varied, but has now fallen such that this land is now permanently above the shoreline.
See also
External link
Citations
- [1] Map of Commune of Schengen, Commune of Schengen.. Coordinates:
- [2] Map of Inakari, the Finnish part of Kataja
- [3] http://magogquebec.homestead.com/files/province_island.html, Jacques Boisvert, Province Island, It is the largest island in Lake Memphremagog, being 77 acres, of which 7 acres, are in the United States..
- [4] Portion of Nuijamaanjärvi with Äikkäänniemi marked from Citizen's Mapsite of Finland.
- [5] Portion of Yla-Tirja with divided islands at markers 93 (Suursaari) and 94 (smaller island) from Citizen's Mapsite of Finland.
- [6] Portion of Melaselänjärvi showing Tarraassiinsaari and Härkäsaari from Citizen's Mapsite of Finland.
- [7] Portion of Melaselänjärvi showing Kiteensaari from Citizen's Mapsite of Finland.
- [8] Portion of Kokkojärvi showing Rajasaari from Citizen's Mapsite of Finland.
- [9] Portion of Vuokkijärvi showing Kalmasaari from Citizen's Mapsite of Finland.
- [10] Portion of Hietajärvi showing Varposaari from Citizen's Mapsite of Finland.
- [11] Portion of Parvajärvi showing Parvajärvensaari from Citizen's Mapsite of Finland.
- [12] http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/collection/LimitsinSeas/IBS074.pdf, Office of the Geographer, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, International Boundary Study No. 74: Finland - U.S.S.R. boundary, pp. 21, United States Department of State, 1967-02-01, Hence the frontier runs...to a point on a small unnamed island in Lake Pukarinjarvi between the cape west of the village of Laitela and the Niittysaaryi island..
- [13] Portion of Pukarijärvi with Keuhkosaari marked from Citizen's Mapsite of Finland.
- [14] International Boundary Study No. 74, page 22. ""The frontier follows the creek down to Lake Onkamojarvi, intersects the small island of Siiheojansuusaai and proceeds in a straight line to the small island of Tossensaari."
- [15] Portion of Onkamojärvi from Citizen's Mapsite of Finland (Siiheojansuusaari is IV/179; Tossonsaari is IV/180)
- [16] Portion of Kivisarijärvi with divided island marked from Citizen's Mapsite of Finland.
- [17] Neighborhood of boundary marker 347A, with divided island marked from Citizen's Mapsite of Finland.
- [18] Verified at Norwegian state cartographic agency website
- [19] Hisøya:
- [20] Søndre Boksjø:
- [21] Salholmen: ; Mosvikøya: ; Trollön:
- [22] Tannsjøen Island ("Nr 54" on Norwegian map):
- [23] Linneholmene:
- [24] Jensøya:
- [25] Storøya:
- [26] Fallsjøholmen:
- [27] Kroksjøen's island:
- [28] Vonsjøen's island:
- [29] Skurdalssjøen's island:
- [30] Gihcijoka island:
- [31] Čoarvejávri's islands: largest:; middle:; southern:
- [32] http://geosite.jankrogh.com/lake_druksiai.htm, Krogh, Jan S., Lake Druksiai. The international border is marked on the map.
- [33] World Lakes Database: LAKE DRUKSIAI, International lakes environment committee, Number of main islands (name and area):Zamok (0.26 km²), Sosnovec (0.048 km²), Utovec (0.0088 km²) and 5 nameless islands..
- [34] Bathymetric map of Lake Drūkšiai, International lakes environment committee. Sosnovec is named on this map.
- [35] Coordinates of Lake Drūkšiai:
- [36] Verified against Ordnance Survey of Ireland 6-inch map of the townland of Tober, County Donegal; surveyed 1905-05-05. Coordinates: Irish national grid reference system: G996663
- [37] http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/collection/LimitsinSeas/IBS154.pdf, Office of the Geographer, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, International Boundary Study No. No. 154 – Djibouti – Ethiopia Boundary, pp. 8, United States Department of State, 1976-02-20, From Monument No. 53 on the south bank of Lake Abbe, the border crosses the lake from south to north continuing in a straight line for 30 kilometers. It cuts across the islet of hill 255 off Cape Aleilou..
- [38] The northern shore of Corocoro is on the open ocean, but it is not truly a sea island as the southern boundary is a freshwater channel. The island is claimed in its entirety by Venezuela.
- [39] http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/collection/LimitsinSeas/IBS174.pdf, Office of the Geographer, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, International Boundary Study No. 174: Brazil - Colombia boundary, pp. 8, United States Department of State, 1985-04-15, The final report allocated all river islands on the basis of the thalweg with the exception of San Jose Island on the Rio Negro which was split between Brazil (southern half) and Colombia.. Co-ordinates:
- [40] See map of Nawabganj District, map of Rajshahi District, and map of Daulatpur upazila of Kushtia District, all in Bangladesh.
- [41] See map of Dilma upazila in Nilphamari District, Bangladesh.
- [42] See map of Kurigram district, Bangladesh.
- [43] http://banglapedia.search.com.bd/HT/C_0135.htm, Asiatic Society of Bangladesh, Banglapedia: "Char".
- [44] http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/collection/LimitsinSeas/IBS041.pdf, Office of the Geographer, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, International Boundary Study No. 41: Greece - Turkey boundary, pp. 7, United States Department of State, 1964-11-23, Returning to the median of the Maritsa, [...] the boundary continues [...] to boundary marker No. 24 on the northern end of an island designated "Q". Thence, the boundary line extends a distance of 800.5 feet to marker No. 25 near the center, thence a distance of 1,804 feet to marker No. 26 on the southwestern extremity of island "Q"..
- [45] Map highlighting the islet in the Uutuanjoki from the Citizen's Map Site of Finland
- [46] Islet in the Vadet near Tunnsjø:
- [47] http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/collection/LimitsinSeas/maps/bs90.jpg, Office of the Geographer, Chad-Nigeria boundary, United States Department of State, June 1969.
