ArnulfoVos at 05:18, 7 March 2026

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{{short description|Very small island}}
{{Distinguish|Eyelet (disambiguation){{!}}Eyelet}}
{{About||the music band|Islet (band)|human anatomy|Pancreatic islets}}
[[File:Rockall - geograph.org.uk - 1048791.jpg|thumb|[[Rockall]], an islet located west of Ireland and Scotland]]
[[File:Bangchuidao Island.JPG|thumb|Bàngchuí Island in [[Dalian]], [[Liaoning]], [[China]], is a typical rock islet]]
[[File:Mokolea Rock 2.jpg|right|thumb|[[Mōkōlea Rock]] in Kailua Bay, [[O‘ahu]], {{convert|2.2|km}} off North Beach, [[Marine Corps Base Hawaii]]]]

An '''islet''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|aɪ|l|ə|t}} {{Respelling|EYE|lət}})<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-05-29 |title=Definition of ISLET |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/islet |access-date=2024-06-21 |website=www.merriam-webster.com |language=en}}</ref> is generally a small [[island]]. Definitions vary and are not precise, but some suggest that an islet is a very small, often unnamed, island with little or no [[vegetation]] unable to support [[human habitation]]. It may be made of rock, sand and/or [[hard coral]]; may be permanent or tidal (i.e. surfaced [[reef]] or [[seamount]]); and may exist in the [[sea]], [[lake]]s, [[river]]s or any other sizeable [[bodies of water]].

== Definition ==
[[File:Danmark Sandvika Bærum.jpg|thumb|Danes on the islet [[Danmark (islet)|Danmark]] in [[Norway]]. It is a typical Nordic [[skerry]].]]

As suggested by its origin ''islette'', an [[Old French]] [[diminutive]] of "isle",<ref>''[[Merriam-Webster|Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language, Second Edition]]'', 1958</ref> use of the term implies small size, but little attention is given to drawing an upper limit on its applicability.

The World Landforms website says, "An islet landform is generally considered to be a rock or small island that has little vegetation and cannot sustain human habitation", and further that size may vary from a few square feet to several square miles, with no specific rule pertaining to size.<ref name=lf>{{cite web | title=Islet Landforms | website=World Landforms of the Earth | url=http://worldlandforms.com/landforms/islet/ | access-date=29 April 2020 | archive-date=27 May 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230527145049/http://worldlandforms.com/landforms/islet/ | url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Other terms==
[[File:Tahitian sunset.jpg|thumb|A Tahitian motu off the island of [[Raiatea]] at sunset]]
* [[Ait]] (/eɪt/, like eight) or eyot (/aɪ(ə)t, eɪt/), a small island. It is especially used to refer to river islands found on the [[River Thames]] and its tributaries in England.<ref>{{cite web | title=Eyot | website=World Wide Words | date=21 June 2003 | url=http://www.worldwidewords.org/weirdwords/ww-eyo1.htm | access-date=30 April 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Definition of eyot | website=www.dictionary.com | date=20 April 2020 | url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/eyot | access-date=30 April 2020}}</ref><ref name=atlas>{{cite web | last=Misachi | first=John | title=What is an Ait? Ait Defintion [sic] | website=WorldAtlas | date=5 April 2019 | url=https://www.worldatlas.com/articles/what-is-an-ait-ait-defintion.html | access-date=30 April 2020}}</ref>
* [[Cay]] or key, an islet formed by the accumulation of fine sand deposits atop a [[reef]], especially in the [[Caribbean]] and West Atlantic. [[Rum Cay]] in the [[Bahamas]] and the [[Florida Keys]] off [[Florida]] are examples of islets.
* The French suffix ''[[-hou]]'' from the Scandinavian ''-holm'', is used for the names of some islets in the [[Channel Islands]], such as [[Écréhous]], [[Burhou]], [[Lihou]] and [[Les Houmets]], and off [[Normandy]], such as [[Tatihou]].
* '''Inch''', a term used especially in [[Scotland]], from the [[Goidelic languages|Gaelic]] ''innis'', which originally meant island, but has been supplanted to refer to smaller islands, such the islet of Inch, off [[St Mary's Isle Priory]], [[Inch Kenneth]], [[Inchkeith]], [[Keith Inch]] (no longer an island) and [[Inchcailloch]].<ref>{{cite book|title=A New and Popular Pictorial Description of England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, and the British Islands|first =Robert|last=Sears|edition=6th
|publisher= R. Sears|date=1847|quote=Original from [[University of Iowa]], Digitized 9 Mar 2015|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=eEtHAQAAMAAJ&q=inch+island+scotland+ireland&pg=PA479|pages=479–481}}</ref>
* '''Motu''', a reef islet formed by broken [[coral]] and sand, surrounding an [[atoll]], especially in [[Polynesia]],<ref>{{cite web | title=Motus – What They Are and Why They're Key to the Tahiti Experience | website=LandLopers | date=12 April 2017 | url=https://landlopers.com/2017/04/11/motus | access-date=30 April 2020}}</ref> such as [[Motu One (Society Islands)|Motu One]], [[Motu Nao]] and [[Motu Paahi]].
* [[River island]], an islet within the current of a river, such as the [[Île de la Cité]] in [[Paris]].
* '''{{vanchor|Rock}}''', in the sense of a type of islet, is an uninhabited landform composed of exposed [[rock (geology)|rocks]], lying offshore, and having at most minimal vegetation, such as [[Albino Rock]] in the [[Palm Island group]] off [[Queensland]], Australia.
* [[Sandbar]] or shoal, an exposed [[bar (landform)|sandbar]].
* [[Sea stack]], a thin, vertical landform jutting out of a body of water.
* [[Skerry]], a small rocky island, usually defined to be too small for habitation, especially in [[Ireland]].
* Subsidiary islets, a more technical application, is applied to small land features isolated by water, lying off the shore of a larger island. Similarly, any emergent land in an atoll is also called an islet.<ref>{{cite web | website= Marine National Park Headquarters | title=Floristic composition and vegetation classification of the Penghu Southern Four Islands | date=18 March 2016 | url=https://www.marine.gov.tw/ecology-and-conservation/research-report/258-2015/1951-Floristic%20composition%20and%20vegetation%20classification%20of%20the%20Penghu%20Southern%20Four%20Islands | access-date=30 April 2020}}</ref>
* [[Tidal island]], small islands (not always islets) which lie closely off the coast of a [[mainland]] or a much larger island, being connected to it (and thus becomes a [[peninsula]]/[[promontory]]) in low tide and isolated by a [[channel (geography)|channel]] in high tide.

== In international law ==
{{multiple image
| align = right
| direction = vertical
| width = 200
| header = Islets involved in ICJ cases

| image1 = Filfla 1.jpg
| alt1 = Filfla
| caption1 = [[Filfla]] (1985)

| image2 = Zmeinyi-sea.JPG
| alt2 = Snake Island
| caption2 = [[Snake Island (Black Sea)|Snake Island]] (2009)
}}
Whether an islet is considered a rock or not, it can have significant economic consequences under Article 121 of the [[UN Convention on the Law of the Sea]], which stipulates that "rocks which cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own shall have no [[exclusive economic zone]] or [[continental shelf]]". One long-term dispute over the status of such an islet was that of [[Snake Island (Black Sea)|Snake Island]].<ref name="Lathrop">Coalter G. Lathrop (July 22, 2009) "Maritime Delimitation in the Black Sea (Romania v. Ukraine)". [[American Journal of International Law]], Vol. 103. {{ssrn|1470697}}</ref><ref>[http://www.upi.com/Business_News/Security-Industry/2006/07/14/Ukraine-Romania-spar-over-islet/UPI-61671152893296/ Ukraine, Romania spar over islet], [[United Press International|UPI]] 2006-7-14</ref><ref>[http://www.euronews.com/2009/02/03/romania-and-ukraine-avoid-rocky-horror-show/ Romania and Ukraine avoid rocky horror show] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315070604/http://www.euronews.com/2009/02/03/romania-and-ukraine-avoid-rocky-horror-show/ |date=2018-03-15 }}, [[Euronews]], 03/02/09</ref>

The [[International Court of Justice]] jurisprudence however sometimes ignores islets, regardless of inhabitation status, in deciding territorial disputes; it did so in 2009 in adjudicating the [[Maritime Delimitation in the Black Sea case|Romania–Ukraine dispute]], and previously in the dispute between Libya and Malta involving the islet of [[Filfla]].<ref name="Lathrop"/><ref name="Smith1991">{{cite book|author=Hance D. Smith|title=The Development of Integrated Sea Use Management|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zH5LYOBEs48C&pg=PA82|year=1991|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-415-03816-4|page=82}}</ref>

== List of islets ==
There are thousands of islets on Earth: approximately 24,000 islands and islets in the [[Stockholm archipelago]] alone. The following is a list of example islets from around the world.
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Águila Islet]], the southernmost point of the [[Americas]]
* [[Aplin Islet (Queensland)]]
* [[Apia, Tokelau|Apia]]
* [[Lake Auster|Auster Lake Islet]]
* [[Ball's Pyramid]], South Pacific
* [[Bay Islet]] or See Chau, [[Hong Kong]]
* [[Benggala Island]], Indonesia
* [[Bikirrin]], in [[Majuro]], Marshall Islands
* [[Black Rock, South Georgia|Black Rock]], South Atlantic
* [[Boundary Islet]], Australia
* [[Bogskär]], Finland
* [[Briggs Islet]], southeastern Australia
* [[Bushy Islet (Queensland)]]
* [[Capitancillo Islet]], in Bogo City, Cebu, Philippines
* [[Chão]], in the [[Madeira]] Islands, Portugal
* [[Cholmondeley Islet (Queensland)]]
* [[Clubes Island]], [[Brasília]], [[Brazil]]
* [[Columbretes Islands]], Spain
* [[Cone Islet]], southeastern Australia
* [[Douglas Islet (Queensland)]]
* [[Dry Tortugas]], [[Florida Keys]], USA
* [[Dugay Islet]], southeastern Australia
* [[Edwards Islet (Tasmania)|Edwards Islet]], southeastern Australia
* [[Enekalamur]] in Majuro, Marshall Islands
* [[Enemanit]] in Majuro, Marshall Islands
* [[Fairway Rock]], [[Bering Strait]]
* [[Fastnet Rock]], Ireland
* [[Filfla]], southern Malta
* [[Formigas]], in the [[Azores]] islands
* [[Gáshólmur]], [[Faroe Islands]]
* [[Granite Island (South Australia)]], Victor Harbor, South Australia.
* [[Galatasaray Islet]], [[Istanbul]], Turkey
* [[Halfway Islet]], Queensland, Australia
* [[Herald Island (Arctic)|Herald Island]], [[Arctic Ocean]]
* [[Île Vierge]], France
* [[Isles of Scilly]], [[United Kingdom]]
* [[Kid Island]], Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri [[United States]]
* [[List of islets of Caroline Island|Islets of Caroline Island]], in [[Kiribati]]
* [[Islets of Mauritius]]
* [[Isla de Alborán]], Spain, Western Mediterranean
* [[Jardine Islet (Queensland)]]
* [[Jethou]], [[Bailiwick of Guernsey]]
* [[Keelung Islet]], off the northern shore of [[Taiwan]]
* [[Klein Bonaire]], [[Netherlands]]
* [[Kolbeinsey]], Iceland
* [[Liancourt Rocks]], [[South Korea]]
* [[Lihou]], [[Bailiwick of Guernsey]]
* [[Magra Islet (Queensland)]]
* [[Mañagaha]], [[Saipan]]
* [[Martin Islet (New South Wales)]]
* [[Mid Woody Islet]], southeastern Australia
* [[Milman Islet (Queensland)]]
* [[Monchique Islet]], Europe's westernmost point, in the [[Azores]], Portugal
* [[Nā Mokulua]], O{{okina}}ahu, Hawaii, United States
* [[Noorderhaaks]], off the coast of the Netherlands
* [[Oodaaq]], Greenland
* [[Pula Ulor]], [[Beserah]], [[Kuantan District]], [[Pahang]], [[Malaysia]]
* [[Parece Vela]], West Pacific
* [[Perejil Island]], Strait of Gibraltar
* [[Penguin Islet (Tasmania)]]
* [[Pigeon Island National Park|Pigeon Island]], Sri Lanka
* [[Pokonji Dol]], [[Croatia]]
* [[Velika Sestrica]], [[Croatia]]
* [[Rockall]], North Atlantic
* [[Saint Peter and Saint Paul rocks]], equatorial Atlantic
* [[Salas y Gómez]], Northeast from [[Easter Island]]
* [[San Juan Islet]], [[Puerto Rico]]
* [[Saunders Islet (Queensland)]]
* [[Seacrow Islet]], southeastern Australia
* [[Shag Rocks, South Georgia|Shag Rocks]], South Atlantic
* [[Silver Islet, Ontario]]
* [[Sinclair Islet (Queensland)]]
* [[Skull Islet]], in British Columbia, Canada
* [[Star Keys/Motuhope]], New Zealand
* [[Saltholm]], small Islet in Oresund west of Copenhagen
* [[Sue Islet (Queensland)]]
* [[Sumbiarholmur]], Faroe Islands
* [[Sunday Islet (Queensland)]]
* [[Taprobane Island (Weligama)|Taprobane Island]], Sri Lanka
* [[Thomson Islet (Queensland)]]
* [[Tindhólmur]], Faroe Islands
* [[Vilkitsky Island (East Siberian Sea)|Vilkitsky Island]], Arctic Ocean
* [[Wallace Islet (Queensland)]]
* [[Wachusett Reef]], [[Ernest Legouve Reef]], and [[Maria Theresa Reef]], South Pacific Ocean
* [[Westward Islet]], in the [[Pitcairn Islands]]
* [[Ynys Lawd]], [[Wales]]
{{div col end}}

== Notes ==
{{portal|Islands}}
{{reflist}}

==References==
* {{cite book|editor1=Myron H. Nordquist |editor2=John Norton Moore |editor3=Alfred H.A. Soons |editor4=Hak-So Kim|title=The Law of the Sea Convention: US Accession and Globalization|year=2012|publisher=[[Martinus Nijhoff Publishers]]|isbn=978-90-04-20136-1|chapter=Islands or Rocks, Is that the Real Question? The Treatment of Islands in the Delimitation of Maritime Boundaries|author=Clive Schofield|pages=322–340}}

{{coastal geography}}

[[Category:Coastal and oceanic landforms]]
[[Category:Coastal geography]]
[[Category:Islands by type]]

Islet - Revision history

ArnulfoVos at 05:18, 7 March 2026