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Learn about landforms that are defined by the water around them.
Imagine you are a pirate looking for a secret place to hide your treasure—would you pick a piece of land that is totally surrounded by water, or one that is still connected to the main land?
An island is a piece of land that is completely surrounded by water. This means no matter which direction you walk, you will eventually hit the ocean! Think of an island like a single scoop of ice cream sitting in a bowl of blue juice. The ice cream is the land, and the juice is the water touching every single side. Islands can be very tiny, like a backyard, or very big, like the state of Hawaii. Because they are surrounded by water, you usually need a boat or a plane to visit one!
Let's check if a piece of land is an island using these steps: 1. Place your finger on the edge of the land on a map. 2. Trace all the way around the edge. 3. If your finger only touched water and never hit another piece of land, it is an island!
Quick Check
How many sides of an island are surrounded by water?
Answer
All sides (or four sides) are surrounded by water.
A peninsula is a bit different. It is a piece of land that is surrounded by water on three sides, but it is still attached to a larger piece of land on the fourth side. Think of your arm as the land. If you stick your arm into a bathtub, the water touches the top, the bottom, and the end of your hand, but your shoulder is still attached to your body. That is exactly how a peninsula works! The word peninsula actually comes from a language called Latin, and it means almost an island.
Imagine you are looking at the state of Florida on a map of the United States. 1. Look at the West side: There is water (The Gulf of Mexico). 2. Look at the South side: There is water. 3. Look at the East side: There is water (The Atlantic Ocean). 4. Look at the North side: It is attached to Georgia and Alabama. Since it has water on sides, Florida is a peninsula!
Quick Check
What is the main difference between an island and a peninsula?
Answer
An island is surrounded by water on all sides, but a peninsula is only surrounded on three sides.
When you look at a map of the world, you can see these shapes everywhere. The continents are the giant pieces of land, but sticking out of them are many peninsulas. Floating near them are millions of islands. Some islands are even formed by volcanoes under the sea! To find them, look for the blue color of the water and see how it wraps around the green or brown color of the land. If the blue goes all the way around, it's an island. If the blue stops at a 'neck' of land, it's a peninsula.
Look at a map of Italy. 1. Italy looks like a boot kicking a ball. 2. The 'boot' is surrounded by water on the left, right, and bottom, but the top is attached to Europe. That makes the boot a peninsula. 3. The 'ball' (an area called Sicily) is not touching any other land. That makes the ball an island!
If you are standing on a piece of land and there is water in every single direction, where are you?
How many sides of a peninsula are touched by water?
True or False: You can walk from a peninsula to a larger piece of land without crossing water.
Review Tomorrow
Tomorrow, try to remember: Which landform is 'almost' an island? How many sides of water does it have?
Practice Activity
Draw a picture of a 'Peninsula Pizza.' Make three sides of the slice touch blue 'water' (napkin) and keep the crust side touching the rest of the pizza!