Floridian Peninsula
Scandinavian Peninsula
Arabian Peninsula
Antarctic Peninsula
Somali Peninsula
Cape York Peninsula
Satellite photos of some of the notable peninsulas on each continent.

A peninsula (from Latin paeninsula; from paene 'almost', and insula 'island')[1][2] is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders.[3][4][5] A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides.[3][6] Peninsulas exist on all continents.[7][2] The size of a peninsula can range from small to very large.[7] The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula.[8][9] Peninsulas form due to a variety of causes.

Etymology

Peninsula derives from Latin paeninsula, which is translated as 'peninsula'. Paeninsula itself was derived from paene 'almost', and insula 'island', or together, 'almost an island'.[3] The word entered English in the 16th century.[3]

Definitions

A peninsula is usually defined as a piece of land surrounded on most, but not all sides, by water,[5] but is sometimes instead defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides.[6]

A peninsula may be bordered by more than one body of water, and the body of water does not have to be an ocean or a sea.[10] A piece of land on a very tight river bend or one between two rivers is sometimes said to form a peninsula, for example in the New Barbadoes Neck in New Jersey, United States.[5] A peninsula may be connected to the mainland via an isthmus, for example, in the Isthmus of Corinth which connects to the Peloponnese peninsula.[11]

Formation and types

Peninsulas can be formed from continental drift, glacial erosion, glacial meltwater, glacial deposition, marine sediment, marine transgressions, volcanoes, divergent boundaries or river sedimentation.[12] More than one factor may play into the formation of a peninsula. For example, in the case of Florida, continental drift, marine sediment, and marine transgressions were all contributing factors to its shape.[13]

Glaciers

In the case of formation from glaciers (e.g., the Antarctic Peninsula or Cape Cod), peninsulas can be created due to glacial erosion, meltwater or deposition.[14] If erosion formed the peninsula, softer and harder rocks were present, and since the glacier only erodes softer rock, it formed a basin.[14] This may create peninsulas, and occurred for example in the Keweenaw Peninsula.[14]

In the case of formation from meltwater, melting glaciers deposit sediment and form moraines, which act as dams for the meltwater.[14] This may create bodies of water that surround the land, forming peninsulas.[14]

If deposition formed the peninsula, the peninsula was composed of sedimentary rock, which was created from a large deposit of glacial drift.[15][16] The hill of drift becomes a peninsula if the hill formed near water but was still connected to the mainland, for example during the formation of Cape Cod about 23,000 years ago.[17][18]

Others

In the case of formation from volcanoes, when a volcano erupts magma near water, it may form a peninsula (e.g., the Alaskan Peninsula).[15] Peninsulas formed from volcanoes are especially common when the volcano erupts near shallow water.[19] Marine sediment may form peninsulas by the creation of limestone.[20] A rift peninsula may form as a result of a divergent boundary in plate tectonics (e.g. the Arabian Peninsula),[21][22] while a convergent boundary may also form peninsulas (e.g. Gibraltar or the Indian subcontinent).[23] Peninsulas can also form due to sedimentation in rivers. When a river carrying sediment flows into an ocean, the sediment is deposited, forming a delta peninsula.[24]

Marine transgressions (changes in sea level) may form peninsulas, but also may affect existing peninsulas. For example, the water level may change, which causes a peninsula to become an island during high water levels.[25] Similarly, wet weather causing higher water levels make peninsulas appear smaller, while dry weather make them appear larger.[26] Sea level rise from global warming will permanently reduce the size of some peninsulas over time.[27]

Uses

Peninsulas are noted for their use as shelter for humans and Neanderthals.[28] The landform is advantageous because it gives hunting access to both land and sea animals.[28] They can also serve as markers of nation's borders.[29]

List of the largest peninsulas in the world

Rank Peninsula Continent Subregion Part of Area Nation(s) Source
(km2) (sq mi)
1 Arabian Peninsula Asia West Asia Arabia 3,100,000 1,200,000  Iraq (southern region)
 Jordan (southern region)
 Kuwait
 Oman
 Qatar
 Saudi Arabia
 United Arab Emirates
 Yemen		 [30]
2 Indochinese Peninsula Asia Southeast Asia Mainland Southeast Asia 2,000,000 770,000  Cambodia
 Laos
 Malaysia (western region)
 Myanmar
 Thailand
 Vietnam		 [31]
3 Deccan Peninsula Asia South Asia Indian Subcontinent 1,900,000 730,000  India (southern region) [32]
4 Labrador Peninsula North America Northern America – 1,400,000 540,000  Canada (eastern region) [33]
5 Anatolian Peninsula Asia West Asia Asia Minor 755,688 291,773  Turkey (Asian part) [34]
6 Scandinavian Peninsula Europe Northern Europe Fennoscandia 750,000 290,000  Finland (northern region)
 Norway
 Sweden		 [35]
Somali Peninsula Africa East Africa Horn of Africa 750,000 290,000  Ethiopia (eastern region)
 Somalia		 [36]
8 Balkan Peninsula Europe Southern Europe South-eastern Europe 666,700 257,400  Albania
 Bosnia and Herzegovina
 Bulgaria
 Croatia (southern mainland)
 Greece (mainland)
 Kosovo
 Montenegro
 North Macedonia
 Romania (coastal region)
 Serbia (central region)
 Slovenia (south-western region)
 Turkey (European part)		 [37]
9 Iberian Peninsula Europe Southern Europe South-western Europe 583,256 225,196  Andorra
 France (French Cerdagne)
 Gibraltar (United Kingdom)
 Portugal (mainland)
 Spain (mainland)		 [38]
10 Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica West Antarctica – 522,000 202,000 – [39]
11 Taymyr Peninsula Asia North Asia North Siberian Lowland 400,000 150,000  Russia (Krasnoyarsk Krai) [40]
12 Kamchatka Peninsula Asia North Asia Russian Far East 370,000 140,000  Russia (Kamchatka Krai) [41]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "peninsula". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (5th ed.). HarperCollins. Retrieved 2016-05-01.
  2. 1 2 Nadeau 2006, p. 5.
  3. 1 2 3 4 HMH 2004, p. 216.
  4. ↑ "Definition of peninsula". Cambridge Dictionaries Online. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  5. 1 2 3 Kersey, Paul (23 July 2021). "What is a Peninsula?". Infoplease. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
  6. 1 2 "list of peninsulas". Britannica. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
  7. 1 2 Society, National Geographic (2011-01-21). "peninsula". National Geographic Society. Retrieved 2022-04-30.
  8. ↑ Mis 2009, p. 20.
  9. ↑ Niz 2006, p. 19.
  10. ↑ Heos 2010, p. 15.
  11. ↑ Heos 2010, p. 9.
  12. ↑ Mis 2009, p. 6.
  13. ↑ Heos 2010, p. 8.
  14. 1 2 3 4 5 Heos 2010, p. 31.
  15. 1 2 Nadeau 2006, p. 6.
  16. ↑ Heos 2010, p. 32–33.
  17. ↑ Nadeau 2006, p. 9.
  18. ↑ Wyckoff 1999, p. 328.
  19. ↑ Heos 2010, p. 44.
  20. ↑ Heos 2010, p. 21–23.
  21. ↑ Nadeau 2006, p. 10.
  22. ↑ Heos 2010, pp. 43–44.
  23. ↑ Heos 2010, p. 40.
  24. ↑ Nadeau 2006, p. 13.
  25. ↑ Niz 2006, p. 7.
  26. ↑ Niz 2006, p. 13.
  27. ↑ Nadeau 2006, p. 21.
  28. 1 2 Heos 2010, p. 45.
  29. ↑ Heos 2010, p. 48.
  30. ↑ Encyclopædia Britannica: Arabia
  31. ↑ Polytheistic and Syncretic Religious Beliefs in Southeast Asia - Nature, Features, and Geographical Distribution
  32. ↑ Government of India - Ministry of Mines: Explore India
  33. ↑ WorldAtlas: Labrador Peninsula
  34. ↑ Turkey at a Glance
  35. ↑ Encyclopædia Britannica: Scandinavian Peninsula
  36. ↑ Africa’s largest peninsula has always been on the target of world powers. Where is it actually located?
  37. ↑ Encyclopædia Britannica: Balkans
  38. ↑ WorldAtlas: Iberian Peninsula
  39. ↑ Antarctic Peninsula Ice Sheet
  40. ↑ Encyclopædia Britannica: Taymyr Peninsula
  41. ↑ Encyclopædia Britannica: Kamchatka Peninsula

Bibliography

  • The dictionary definition of peninsula at Wiktionary
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