Peninsula

Peninsula is a landform that is surrounded by water on the majority of its border while being connected to a mainland from which it extends. The surrounding water is usually understood to be continuous, forming a large water body such as an ocean, sea, or lake. A peninsula can also be a headland, cape, island promontory, bill, point, or spit. A point is generally considered a tapering piece of land projecting into a body of water that is less prominent than a cape. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic, Hungarian and North Caucasian languages, peninsulas are called "half-islands".

Etymology

The word peninsula comes from the Latin paeninsula, a composite of paene ("almost") and insula ("island").

Formation

Peninsulas can be formed in many ways, including through erosion, changes in sea level, and the movement of the Earth's crust.

Examples

Some examples of peninsulas include the Iberian Peninsula, the Italian Peninsula, and the Florida Peninsula.

See also

• Island
• Isthmus
• Cape (geography)

References

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  Florida from Space
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  Scandinavia from Space
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  Arabian Peninsula with Dust
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  Antarctic Peninsula Satellite Image
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  Horn of Africa
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  Phytoplankton Bloom in the Great Barrier Reef