List of islands of Greece

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Regions of the Greek islands Greek Islands regions map.png
Regions of the Greek islands

Greece has many islands, [Note 1] with estimates ranging from somewhere around 1,200 [1] to 6,000, [2] depending on the minimum size to take into account. The number of inhabited islands is variously cited as between 166 [3] and 227. [2]

Contents

The largest Greek island by both area and population is Crete, located at the southern edge of the Aegean Sea. The second largest island in area is Euboea or Evvia, which is separated from the mainland by the 60m-wide Euripus Strait, and is administered as part of the Central Greece region. After the third and fourth largest Greek islands, Lesbos and Rhodes, the rest of the islands are two-thirds of the area of Rhodes, or smaller.

The Greek islands are traditionally grouped into the following clusters: the Argo-Saronic Islands in the Saronic Gulf near Athens; the Cyclades, a large but dense collection occupying the central part of the Aegean Sea; the North Aegean islands, a loose grouping off the west coast of Turkey; the Dodecanese, another loose collection in the southeast between Crete and Turkey; the Sporades, a small tight group off the coast of Euboea; and the Ionian Islands, chiefly located to the west of the mainland in the Ionian Sea. Crete with its surrounding islets and Euboea are traditionally excluded from this grouping.

This article excludes the Peloponnese, which has technically been an island since the construction of the Corinth Canal in 1893, but is rarely considered to be an island due to its artificial origins.

Islands of Greece by size

A NASA image of Crete Island of Crete, Greece.JPG
A NASA image of Crete
A NASA image of Rhodes Rhodes NLT Landsat7.png
A NASA image of Rhodes
Ithaca is to the upper right of the larger Kefalonia island in this picture. The small island in the top-right corner is the uninhabited Atokos island. Kefallonia IthakiWW.jpg
Ithaca is to the upper right of the larger Kefalonia island in this picture. The small island in the top-right corner is the uninhabited Atokos island.

The following are the 50 largest Greek islands listed by surface area.

IslandGreek nameArea
(km2)
Area
(miles2)
Cluster
1 Crete Κρήτη8,3363,219Cretan
2 Evia Εύβοια3,6701,417Euboean
3 Lesbos Λέσβος1,633631North Aegean Islands
4 Rhodes Ρόδος1,401541Dodecanese
5 Chíos Χίος842.3325North Aegean Islands
6 Kefalonia Κεφαλονιά781302Ionian Islands
7 Corfu Κέρκυρα592.9229Ionian Islands
8 Lemnos Λήμνος477.6184North Aegean Islands
9 Samos Σάμος477.4184North Aegean Islands
10 Naxos Νάξος429.8166Cyclades
11 Zakynthos Ζάκυνθος406157Ionian Islands
12 Thassos Θάσος380.1147North Aegean Islands
13 Andros Άνδρος380.0147Cyclades
14 Lefkada Λευκάδα303117Ionian Islands
15 Karpathos Κάρπαθος300116Dodecanese
16 Kos Κως290.3112Dodecanese
17 Kythira Κύθηρα279.6108Ionian Islands
18 Icaria Ικαρία25598North Aegean Islands
19 Skyros Σκύρος20981Sporades
20 Paros Πάρος19575Cyclades
21 Tinos Τήνος19475Cyclades
22 Samothrace Σαμοθράκη17869North Aegean Islands
23 Milos Μήλος15158Cyclades
24 Kea Κέα13251Cyclades
25 Amorgos Αμοργός12147Cyclades
26 Kalymnos Κάλυμνος11042Dodecanese
27 Ios Ίος10842Cyclades
28 Kythnos Κύθνος99.438Cyclades
29 Astypalaia Αστυπάλαια96.437Dodecanese
30 Ithaca Ιθάκη96.237Ionian Islands
31 Salamis Σαλαμίνα96.237Argo-Saronic
32 Skopelos Σκόπελος96.237Sporades
33 Mykonos Μύκονος85.533Cyclades
34 Syros Σύρος83.632Cyclades
35 Aegina Αίγινα82.632Argo-Saronic
36 Santorini Σαντορίνη76.229Cyclades
37 Serifos Σέριφος75.229Cyclades
38 Sifnos Σίφνος73.929Cyclades
39 Kasos Κάσος69.527Dodecanese
40 Alonnisos Αλόννησος64.125Sporades
41 Tilos Τήλος61.524Dodecanese
42 Symi Σύμη57.822Dodecanese
43 Leros Λέρος5421Dodecanese
44 Hydra Ύδρα49.619Argo-Saronic
45 Skiathos Σκιάθος47.318Sporades
46 Agios Efstratios Άγιος Ευστράτιος43.317North Aegean Islands
47 Sikinos Σίκινος41.616Cyclades
48 Nisyros Νίσυρος41.216Dodecanese
49 Psara Ψαρά40.416North Aegean Islands
50 Anafi Ανάφη38.615Cyclades

Islands of Greece by population

IslandPopulation
Crete 624,408
Evia 191,206
Rhodes 125,113
Corfu 99,134
Lesbos 83,755
Chios 50,361
Zakynthos 41,180
Salamis 37,220
Kos 37,089
Kefalonia 36,064
Samos 32,642
Lefkada 21,900
Syros 21,507
Naxos 20,578
Lemnos 16,411
Kalymnos 17,752
Santorini 15,480
Thasos 13,104
Paros 14,520
Aegina 12,911
Mykonos 10,704
Tinos 8,934
Andros 8,826
Icaria 8,843
Leros 7,992
Skiathos 5,802
Aitoliko 4,935
Karpathos 6,567
Milos 5,302
Skopelos 4,518
Kythira 3,644
Ithaca 2,862
Patmos 3,283
Skyros 3,052
Samothrace 2,596
Sifnos 2,777
Alonnisos 3,138
Symi 2,603
Kea 2,335
Paxos 2,466
Poros 3,261
Spetses 3,748
Ios 2,299
Hydra 2,070
Amorgos 1,961

Islands of the Aegean Sea

Argo-Saronic Islands

The port city of Hydra on Hydra Island Aerial of Hydra island, Greece (43958918185).jpg
The port city of Hydra on Hydra Island

This list includes Argo-Saronic islands [4] , which are located in the Saronic Gulf. The largest Argo-Saronic island is Salamis. The main islands are in bold. Uninhabited islands are indicated, including those that may have been inhabited in the past:

Cretan island

The two lists below show the islands, islets, and rocks that surround the island of Crete that are in the Aegean Sea or Libyan Sea.

Cretan islands of the Aegean Sea

The islet of Leon, on the left, next to the larger islet of Souda, within Souda bay Souda Island.jpg
The islet of Leon, on the left, next to the larger islet of Souda, within Souda bay
Spinalonga (Kalydon) 20090620 Spinalogka Elounta panoramic view from the mountain.jpg
Spinalonga (Kalydon)
The islet of Pondikonisi, mouse island, which is shaped like a mouse. Pondikonisi (cropped)01.jpg
The islet of Pondikonisi, mouse island, which is shaped like a mouse.

Cretan islands of the Libyan Sea

The islet of Trafos in the Libyan Sea Laseamodern.JPG
The islet of Trafos in the Libyan Sea

Islands on the south coast of Crete are considered in the Libyan Sea.

Cyclades islands

The Cyclades islands CycladesEng.jpg
The Cyclades islands
Iconic windmills of Mykonos The four windmills in Mykonos.JPG
Iconic windmills of Mykonos

The Cyclades islands comprise around 220 islands and islets. The main islands are indicated in bold below. [8] [9]

Dodecanese islands

The Dodecanese Islands Dodekanes.png
The Dodecanese Islands
A harbor on the island of Astypalaia Astipalea.jpg
A harbor on the island of Astypalaia

There are 164 total Dodecanese Islands of which 26 are inhabited. There are 12 main islands, listed in bold below:

Euboea and surrounding islands

North Aegean islands

There are also two North Aegean islands in the Thracian Sea:

Sporades islands

The Northern Sporades Nordliche Sporaden topo.png
The Northern Sporades

The 30 islands in the Sporades are listed below, with the four major islands in bold. The largest Sporades island is Skyros.

Ionian Sea islands

The main Ionian Islands Ionian Islands.svg
The main Ionian Islands
The Echinades islands Echinades de.png
The Echinades islands

Islands in the Ionian Sea are listed below. The seven largest and most popular islands are listed in bold. [14] [15]

Islets close to mainland

The following islands are close to the mainland and not part of a sea:

Islands not in the sea

Lake and river islands

Ioannina Island in Lake Pamvotida Nisi Ioannina 5990.jpg
Ioannina Island in Lake Pamvotida

Islands in an island

Lagoon islands

See also

Notes

    1. In Greek: Island-Νησί (Nisi), Islet-Νησάκι (Nisáki)

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    References

    1. John S. Bowman; Sherry Marker; Peter Keraislands siotis; Heidi Sarna (2010). "Greece in depth". Frommer's Greece (7th ed.). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Publishing. p. 12. ISBN   978-0-470-52663-7.
    2. 1 2 "Islands". Visit Greece - Official website of the Greek National Tourism Organisation. Hellenic Organization of Tourism (EOT; Ελληνικός Οργανισμός Τουρισμού). Retrieved 7 February 2022.
    3. Poffley, Frewin (20 December 2012). Greek island hopping, 23rd ed. 2013. Thomas Cook Publishing. p. 15. ISBN   978-1-84848-569-3. OCLC   827800689.
    4. "Islands of the Argo Saronic Gulf".
    5. Google Maps
    6. 1 2 "Islands of Greece". GeoNames . Retrieved 6 November 2021.
    7. "Nisida Agio Pantes". GeoNames . Retrieved 10 November 2021.
    8. "Tageo Worldwide Index for Greece Islands". Tageo, www.tageo.com. Retrieved 24 March 2020.(in English)
    9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 "Islands of the Cyclades". GeoNames. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
    10. "Glaronisi, South Aegean". GeoNames . Retrieved 10 November 2021.
    11. "Mikro Glaronisi". GeoNames . Retrieved 10 November 2021.
    12. "Mikro Sofrano". GeoNames . Retrieved 10 November 2021.
    13. "Nerónisi". GeoNames . Retrieved 10 November 2021.
    14. "Ionian Islands of Greece". GeoNames . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
    15. Kruse, Hellas, vol. ii. pt. ii. p. 455, seq.; Leake, Northern Greece, vol. iii. pp. 30, seq., 50, seq.; Mure, Tour in Greece, vol. i. p. 104.