A
peninsula (
Latin: paeninsula from paene "almost" and insula "island") is a piece of land that is bordered mostly by water but connected to
mainland.[1][2][3][4] The surrounding water is usually understood to be continuous, though not necessarily named as such. A peninsula can also be a headland,
cape, island
promontory, bill, point,
or
spit.[5] A point is generally considered a tapering piece of land projecting into a body of water that is less prominent than a cape.[6] In English, the
plural of peninsula is peninsulas or, less commonly, peninsulae. A river which courses through a very tight meander is also sometimes said to form a "peninsula" within the (almost closed) loop of water.
The Horn of Africa is a peninsula in Northeast Africa that juts into the
Guardafui Channel, and is the easternmost projection of the African continent. It denotes the region containing the countries of
Djibouti,
Eritrea,
Ethiopia, and
Somalia.
The whole landmass encompassing North and South Korea is a peninsula, surrounded by the
East Sea to the east and south, and the
Yellow Sea to the west and south, with the
Korea Strait connecting them.
Europe is sometimes considered to be a large peninsula extending off
Eurasia.[8] As such, it is one of the largest peninsulas in the world and the only one to have the status as a full continent, largely as a matter of convention rather than science. It is composed of many smaller peninsulas, the four main and largest component peninsulas being the
Scandinavian,
Iberian,
Balkan, and
Apennine peninsulas.
Balkan Peninsula
The
Balkans is a peninsula including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and the
European part of Turkey.
Florida is a well-known example of a large peninsula, with its land area divided between the larger Florida peninsula and the smaller
Florida Panhandle on the north and west. It has several smaller peninsulas within it:
The
St. Johns River creates a large peninsula over 75 miles (121 km) in length that stretches from eastern Jacksonville down to the border of Flagler and Volusia counties, where the river emanates from
Lake George.
Long Island was once a peninsula connected to North America during the great
Ice Ages, and includes two large peninsulas at its east end: the
South Fork and the
North Fork.
The
Southern Cone, like
Europe, is sometimes considered to be a large peninsula.[9] Geographically, the peninsula encompasses most of
Chile,
Argentina,
Uruguay and
Southern Brazil and the southernmost portion of
Paraguay, which makes it one of the largest peninsulas in the world. Like the
Indian Peninsula, the Southern Cone is sometimes considered to be a subcontinent.[10]
A
peninsula (
Latin: paeninsula from paene "almost" and insula "island") is a piece of land that is bordered mostly by water but connected to
mainland.[1][2][3][4] The surrounding water is usually understood to be continuous, though not necessarily named as such. A peninsula can also be a headland,
cape, island
promontory, bill, point,
or
spit.[5] A point is generally considered a tapering piece of land projecting into a body of water that is less prominent than a cape.[6] In English, the
plural of peninsula is peninsulas or, less commonly, peninsulae. A river which courses through a very tight meander is also sometimes said to form a "peninsula" within the (almost closed) loop of water.
The Horn of Africa is a peninsula in Northeast Africa that juts into the
Guardafui Channel, and is the easternmost projection of the African continent. It denotes the region containing the countries of
Djibouti,
Eritrea,
Ethiopia, and
Somalia.
The whole landmass encompassing North and South Korea is a peninsula, surrounded by the
East Sea to the east and south, and the
Yellow Sea to the west and south, with the
Korea Strait connecting them.
Europe is sometimes considered to be a large peninsula extending off
Eurasia.[8] As such, it is one of the largest peninsulas in the world and the only one to have the status as a full continent, largely as a matter of convention rather than science. It is composed of many smaller peninsulas, the four main and largest component peninsulas being the
Scandinavian,
Iberian,
Balkan, and
Apennine peninsulas.
Balkan Peninsula
The
Balkans is a peninsula including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia and the
European part of Turkey.
Florida is a well-known example of a large peninsula, with its land area divided between the larger Florida peninsula and the smaller
Florida Panhandle on the north and west. It has several smaller peninsulas within it:
The
St. Johns River creates a large peninsula over 75 miles (121 km) in length that stretches from eastern Jacksonville down to the border of Flagler and Volusia counties, where the river emanates from
Lake George.
Long Island was once a peninsula connected to North America during the great
Ice Ages, and includes two large peninsulas at its east end: the
South Fork and the
North Fork.
The
Southern Cone, like
Europe, is sometimes considered to be a large peninsula.[9] Geographically, the peninsula encompasses most of
Chile,
Argentina,
Uruguay and
Southern Brazil and the southernmost portion of
Paraguay, which makes it one of the largest peninsulas in the world. Like the
Indian Peninsula, the Southern Cone is sometimes considered to be a subcontinent.[10]