Ajay Kumar at 13:05, 31 August 2023

2023-08-31T13:05:52Z

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{{short description|Island (natural or artificial) made of floating plants, mud, and peat}}
{{other uses}}
[[File:Natural floating island.jpg|thumb|Natural floating island on small lake in [[Finnish Lakeland]]]]
[[Image:Titikaka Uros.jpg|thumb|[[Uros]] island in [[Lake Titicaca]]]]

A '''floating island''' is a mass of floating aquatic plants, mud, and peat ranging in thickness from several centimeters to a few meters. Floating islands are found in many parts of the world. They exist less commonly as an [[artificial island|artificial phenomenon]]. Floating [[islands]] are generally found on [[marshland]]s, [[lake]]s, and similar [[wetland]] locations, and can be many [[hectare]]s in size.

==Natural occurrences==
[[File:Isola galleggiante Posta Fibreno picc.jpg|thumb|right|Floating island ''La Rota'' in [[Lago di Posta Fibreno|Posta Fibreno lake]], Italy]]
Sometimes referred to as ''tussocks'', ''floatons'', or ''suds'', natural floating islands are composed of vegetation growing on a buoyant mat of plant roots or other organic detritus.
In aquatic regions of Northwestern Europe several hundred hectares or thousand acres of floating meadows (German ''Schwingrasen'', Dutch ''trilveen'') have been preserved, which are partly used as agricultural land, partly as nature reserves.

They typically occur when growths of [[Typha|cattail]]s, [[Schoenoplectus|bulrush]], [[Cyperaceae|sedge]], and [[Phragmites|reed]]s extend outward from the shoreline of a wetland area. As the water gets deeper the roots no longer reach the bottom, so they use the oxygen in their root mass for [[buoyancy]], and the surrounding vegetation for support to retain their top-side-up orientation. The area beneath these floating mats is exceptionally rich in aquatic lifeforms. Eventually, storm events tear whole sections free from the shore, and the islands thus formed migrate around a lake with changing winds, eventually either reattaching to a new area of the shore or breaking up in heavy weather.

Some [[cenote]]s in northern Mexico have natural floating islands.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iantd.com/articles/94-4kristovich.html/ |title=Zacaton. A History |last=Kristovich |first=Ann |date=2003-04-20 | publisher=International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers |access-date=2023-05-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030420191836/http://www.iantd.com/articles/94-4kristovich.html/ |archive-date=2003-04-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In the Brazilian Amazon, floating islands form in lakes on the floodplains of white-water rivers and are known as Matupá and range in size from a few square meters to a few hectares.<ref name=Freitas>{{cite journal |last1=de Freitas |first1=Carolina T. |last2=Glenn H. |first2= Shepard Jr |last3= Piedade |first3=Maria T. F.|date=April 2, 2015 |title=The Floating Forest: Traditional Knowledge and Use of Matupá Vegetation Islands by Riverine Peoples of the Central Amazon |journal=PLOS ONE |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0122542 |pmid=25837281 |pmc=4383509 |volume=10 |issue=4 |pages=e0122542|doi-access=free }}{{Open access}}</ref>

In [[Crow Wing County, Minnesota]] a floating bog over {{convert|4|acre|spell=in}} in size moved about the area resulting in docks and boat lifts being destroyed. As decaying mass decomposes it releases gases which keep the bog floating.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/floating-island-bog-crow-wing-county-minnesota|title=How Do You Solve a Problem Like a Giant Floating Bog?| first=Andrea|last=Appleton|date=6 March 2018|website=Atlas Obscura}}</ref>

===Pumice rafts===

Another type of natural floating island is the [[pumice raft]], which is created by an explosive [[volcanic eruption]], and can float on the ocean for months or even years before becoming fully saturated and sinking.<ref name=Pumice082019/> They may assist in the migration of plants and animals.<ref name=Pumice082019>{{cite web |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-23/giant-pumice-raft-makes-its-way-to-great-barrier-reef/11444020 |title=Giant pumice raft from underwater volcanic eruption makes its way to Great Barrier Reef |first=Kate|last=McKenna |date=August 23, 2019 |website=abc.net.au |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=August 24, 2019}}</ref>

== Artificial islands ==
{{main|Artificial island}}
[[File:Loktak Lake1.jpg|thumb|right|Circular [[phumdis]], called ''athampum'', were artificially built for fishing in [[Loktak Lake]]]]

Floating [[artificial island]]s are generally made of bundled reeds, and the best known examples are those of the [[Uros]] people of [[Lake Titicaca]], [[Peru]], who build their villages upon what are in effect huge rafts of bundled [[Totora (plant)|totora]] reeds. The Uros originally created their islands to prevent attacks by their more aggressive neighbours, the [[Inca]]s and [[Colla people|Collas]].

The [[Aztec]] capital, [[Tenochtitlan]], was surrounded with ''[[chinampa]]s'', small artificial islands used for agriculture known as "floating gardens" (though not really floating). Floating gardens on a large scale have been demonstrated with [[aquaponics]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aquabiofilter.com | title=Aquaponics floating biofilter grows rice on fish ponds| publisher=Tom Duncan | access-date=2014-01-20}}</ref> systems in China growing rice, wheat and canna lily on islands, with some installations exceeding {{convert|10000|m2|acres|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.wme.com.au/categories/water/oct5_09.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091025163619/http://www.wme.com.au/categories/water/oct5_09.php |url-status=dead |archive-date=2009-10-25 | title=Waste Management and Environment - Floating new ideas| magazine=WME Magazine | access-date= 2014-01-20}}</ref>

[[Spiral Island]] was a more modern one-person effort to build an artificial floating island, on the Caribbean coast of [[Mexico]]. Modern artificial islands mimicking the floating reedbeds of the Uros are increasingly used by [[local government]]s and [[drainage basin|catchment]] managers to improve [[water quality]] at source, reducing [[pollutants]] in surface water bodies and providing [[biodiversity]] [[habitat]]. Examples include [[Gold Coast City Council]]<ref name="GCCC">{{cite web|url=http://www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/environment/floating-reed-beds-10086.html | title=City of Gold Coast Floating Reedbeds | publisher=Gold Coast City Council | access-date=2014-01-20}}</ref> in Australia. Artificial floating reedbeds are commonly anchored to the shoreline or bottom of water body, to ensure the system does not float away in a storm event or create a hazard.

During [[World War II]], the British [[Project Habakkuk]] proposed the construction of [[aircraft carrier]]s made of ice-like [[Pykrete]]. Its size and speed made it more of an artificial [[iceberg]] or island than a ship.

Commercial development of floating islands has begun taking place. Floating habitat islands were installed with [[salicornia]] salt marsh plants at [[Sydney Olympic Park, New South Wales|Sydney Olympic Park Authority]] in 2011<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sopa.nsw.gov.au/resource_centre/park_news/2012_park_news/floating_islands_support_waterbird_populations |title=Floating islands support waterbird populations |publisher=Sydney Olympic Park Authority |date=2012-08-15 |access-date=2014-01-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141012011227/http://www.sopa.nsw.gov.au/resource_centre/park_news/2012_park_news/floating_islands_support_waterbird_populations |archive-date=2014-10-12 |url-status=dead }}</ref> providing nesting sites for local and migratory birds including [[black swan]]s, [[black-winged stilt]]s, [[red-necked avocet]]s, [[Pacific black duck]]s and [[chestnut teal]]s, using the Aqua Biofilter product.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aquabiofilter.com/guidecasestudies.html | title=Floating habitat islands | date=17 July 2011 | access-date=2014-01-20}}</ref> The world's largest vegetated floating islands {{convert|4|acre|order=flip}} in size were installed in 2004 using Aqua Biofilter™ product with [[Canna (plant)]] at [[Lake Tai]], China using materials including a combination of polyurethane open cell filter foam, closed cell polyethylene flotation foam, bamboo and coconut fibre filter foam mix with wicking ability to supply water to plant roots.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://permaculturenews.org/2014/10/14/worlds-largest-aquaponics-project-chinas-third-largest-aquaculture-lake/ | title=World's Largest Aquaponics Project, in China's Third Largest Aquaculture Lake |publisher=Permaculture Research Institute |date=2014-10-14 |access-date=2014-10-28}}</ref>

A commercially produced floating island was installed in the [[North American river otter|river otter]] enclosure at [[Zoo Montana]] in 2007.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://floatingislandinternational.com/pdf/Zoo-otters.pdf |title=Zoo Montana installs a BioHaven in Otter enclosure |date=19 September 2007 |access-date=2010-06-29 }}{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In 2009 and the beginning of 2010, a few larger islands were launched to provide nesting habitat for [[Caspian tern]] colonies. The largest of the islands, at a record-setting {{convert|44000|sqft|m2|abbr=on}}, was launched into the water at [[Sheepy Lake]]. These islands are a collaboration between the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers]], [[Oregon State University]], and Floating Islands West, a Floating Island International license holder.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.birdresearchnw.org/Feature-Story/348002.aspx/ |title=Floating Island Constructed for Caspian Tern Nesting at Summer Lake Wildlife Refuge |publisher=Bird Research Northwest |date=1998-03-22 |access-date=2010-06-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725074836/http://www.birdresearchnw.org/Feature-Story/348002.aspx/ |archive-date=2011-07-25 }}</ref>

A recent US Army Corps of Engineers project was built in [[The Hideout, Pennsylvania]] as part of a [[watershed management]] project. The floating island was created to mimic nature; help improve water quality, including reducing [[phosphorus]] levels; and buffer habitats against surges in nutrients and pollution.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.wayneindependent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121012/NEWS/121019927/1001/NEWS |first=Kelly |last=Waters |title=Watershed management project |work=Wayne Independent |date=2012-10-16}}</ref>

Buoyancy in artificial floating reedbeds is commonly provided by polyethylene or polyurethane foam, or polyethylene plastic containing air voids. Growth media include coconut fibre; mats made of polyester or recycled PET bottles; synthetic geotechnical mat; jute; soil; and sand. {{Citation needed|date=January 2014}}

Artificial floating islands are sometimes made by planting cattails and other plants on floating plastic rafts in order to reduce phosphorus levels in the water. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/sep/02/clear-inspiration/|title=Floating wetlands clear inspiration - The Spokesman-Review|website=www.spokesman.com}}</ref> In [[Cleveland]]'s [[Cuyahoga River]] floating rafts were made to restore fish populations. <ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/09/greening_the_cuyahoga_river_ma.html|title=Greening the Cuyahoga River: Man-made floating plant islands the latest scheme in recovery efforts|first=Michael|last=Scott|website=cleveland.com|date=2011-09-03}}</ref>

== Locations ==
===Africa===
* [[Lake Victoria]], [[Uganda]]
* [[Lake Kyoga]], [[Uganda]]
* [[Lake Malawi]], Africa<ref>{{cite journal |last=Oliver |first=Michael K. |url=https://www.academia.edu/2998745 |title=Floating islands: a means of fish dispersal in Lake Malawi, Africa |journal=Copeia |year=1982 |volume=1982 |issue=4 |pages=748–754 |access-date=2013-04-05|doi=10.2307/1444082 |jstor=1444082 }}</ref>
* [[Lake Upemba]], Democratic Republic of the Congo
* [[Lake Chad]], Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Cameroon
* [[Hartbeespoort Dam]], North West, South Africa

===Asia===
[[File:Yüzen adalar.jpg|thumb|[[Floating islands (Bingöl)]] in Turkey]]

* [[Loktak Lake]] in [[Manipur]] state, India
* [[Prashar Lake]] at [[Mandi, Himachal Pradesh|Mandi]] in [[Himachal Pradesh]] state, India
* [[Chamli gul]], Takab, Iran
* [[Maldives Floating City]], Maldives
* [[Inle Lake]], Myanmar
* [[Çat Lake]], Çelikhan, [[Adıyaman]], Turkey
* [[Aksakal Lake]], Solhan, [[Bingöl]], Turkey

===Australia===

* [[Lagoon of Islands]], Tasmania, Australia<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.apstas.com/Lagoon_of_Islands.html |first=Keith |last=Corbett |title=Lagoon of Islands |work=The Unique Flora of Tasmania |publisher=Hobart District Group of The Australian Plants Society - Tasmania Inc. |access-date=2013-04-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304064919/http://www.apstas.com/Lagoon_of_Islands.html |archive-date=2016-03-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== Europe ===
* [[Danube Delta]], Romania
* [[Lake Visitor]], Montenegro
* [[Marais Audomarois]], France
* [[Vlasina Lake]], Serbia
* [[Semeteš Lake]], Serbia
* [[Sommen]], Sweden
* Das schwimmende Land, [[Waakhausen]], Germany
* Schwimmendes Moor, [[Jade, Germany]]
* [[Waterland]], The Netherlands
* [[Lochan Saorach]], Scotland
* [[Swiebodzinka]], Poland{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}

===North America===
* [[Lake Yarbo]], [[Winter Garden, Florida]]
* [[Lake Buckeye]], [[Winter Haven, Florida]]
* [[Lake Idyl]], Winter Haven, Florida
* [[Lake Mary Jane, Florida|Lake Mary Jane]], [[Orlando, Florida]]
* [[Umbagog Lake]], Maine and New Hampshire, United States
* Mill Pond, [[Alton, New Hampshire]]
* Island Pond, Springfield, Massachusetts, United States
* Prairie Lake, Barron County, Wisconsin, United States<ref>{{cite news |last=Keen |first=Kevin |url=http://www.wqow.com/story/15222430/floating-island-on-the-verge-of-break-its-tethers |title=UPDATE: Floating island on the verge of breaking its tethers |work=WQOW TV |date=2011-07-30 |access-date=2011-08-09 |archive-date=2016-03-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303233548/http://www.wqow.com/story/15222430/floating-island-on-the-verge-of-break-its-tethers |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* Bolton Lakes, [[Bolton, Connecticut|Bolton]] and [[Vernon, Connecticut|Vernon]], [[Connecticut|Connecticut, United States]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bolton (Connecticut) Historical Society|url=http://www.boltoncthistory.org/rovingislands.html|access-date=2020-11-23|website=www.boltoncthistory.org}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Belluck|first=Pam|date=2005-11-06|title=And Sometimes, the Island Is Marooned on You (Published 2005)|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/06/us/and-sometimes-the-island-is-marooned-on-you.html|access-date=2020-11-23|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
* [[Lake Ontario]], [[New York (state)|New York, United States]] and [[Ontario|Ontario, Canada]]<ref name=":0" />
* Whitingham, Vermont Lake Sadawga
* [[Kettle Moraine]], [[Wisconsin|Wisconsin, United States]]<ref name=":0" />
* [[Duwamish River]], [[Seattle, Washington]], United States <ref>{{cite web | url=https://livingshorelines.be.uw.edu/project-background/floating-wetlands-project/ | title=Duwamish Floating Wetlands – LIVING SHORELINES }}</ref>
* [[El Zacaton]], [[Tamaulipas]], [[Mexico]]
* [[Shilshole Marina]], [[Seattle, Washington]], United States <ref>{{cite web | url=https://greenfutures.be.uw.edu/2022/01/19/marine-floating-wetland/ | title=Marine Floating Wetlands | date=19 January 2022 }}</ref>
* [https://thebuckeyelake.com/history_cranberry_marsh.php Cranberry Island, Buckeye Lake] , Ohio, United States

===South America===
* [[Lake Titicaca]], Bolivia and Peru
* {{ill|Eye Island|wd=Q115895516|s=1|v=sup}}, [[Argentina]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.infobae.com/tendencias/2016/09/05/el-ojo-la-isla-circular-que-se-mueve-sola-en-el-delta-del-parana/|title=El Ojo: la isla circular que se mueve sola en el Delta del Paraná|work=Infobae|access-date=2017-07-23|language=es-LA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.entreriosya.com.ar/una-misteriosa-isla-del-parana-esconde-una-base-alienigena/|title=¿Una misteriosa isla del Paraná esconde una base alienígena? el video - Entre Ríos Ya|last=EntreRíosYA|date=2016-09-06|work=Entre Ríos Ya|access-date=2017-07-23|language=es-ES|archive-date=2019-12-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191216105002/http://www.entreriosya.com.ar/una-misteriosa-isla-del-parana-esconde-una-base-alienigena/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Artificial island]]
* [[Crannog]]
* [[Freedom Ship]]
* [[Great Raft]]
* [[Perelandra]]
* [[Pumice raft]]
* [[Seasteading]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050515015215/http://alexuk.com/travel/inca/index_13.htm Inca Heartland]: A site with numerous pictures of floating artificial islands on Lake Titicaca.
* [http://monolith.com.au/travel/peru.html Tourism Keeping Peruvian Islands Afloat] article by Roderick Eime
* [https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/DRIFTING-INTO-A-DEBATE-Disagreement-on-whether-2597250.php "Disagreement on whether to tether island that floats free in Massachusetts pond"]: ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090506064836/http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=114978 Floating on an island]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Floating Island}}
[[Category:Islands by type]]
[[Category:Floating islands| ]]

Floating island - Revision history

Ajay Kumar at 13:05, 31 August 2023