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An archipelago is a landform which consists of a chain or cluster of islands. Archipelagoes usually occur in the open sea; less commonly a large land mass may neighbour them. Archipelagos are often volcanic, forming along ocean ridges or hotspots, but there are many other processes involved in their construction, including erosion and deposition.
The word comes from the Aegean Sea (Greek αρχιπέλαγος, Italian Arcipelago), which literally means "chief sea", from Greek arkhi (leader) and pelagos (sea). The Aegean Sea is located between Greece in the west and Turkey in the east. (The Venetian Dukes of Arcipelago ruled from Naxos, 1210–1566.)
"Archipelago" is also the name of a popular videogame from the early 1990's, and a fully electronic stock exchange that merged with the New York Stock Exchange in April 2005 to form the for-profit NYSE Group.
List of archipelagoes
See also
Lists of islands:
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