American Island
Superlatives
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SIZE The largest
island of the United States is Hawaii, at 4,021 sq mi / 10,414 sq km, and
still growing slowly. The largest (and
longest) island of the lower 48 states is Long Island. See also the 33 largest islands of the United States. The largest lake
island in the United States is Isle Royale, in Lake Superior, Michigan, at
209 sq mi / 541 sq km. See largest lake islands for the top 20
lake islands in the world. The largest
volcanic island in the United States is Hawaii, at 4,021 sq mi / 10,414 sq km. Eruptions continue to add to its area. Paoha Island in
Mono Lake, California, is the largest freshwater volcanic island in the US,
at about 3 square miles / 7 sq km. The largest
American river island is Sauvie Island, a 40 sq mi / 104 sq km island in the
Columbia River in Oregon. LOCATION According to the
United Nations’ Environment Programme, the most isolated American island is
Nihoa, part of the Hawaiian chain, which is about 200 miles from another
island and 3,600 miles from the nearest continent. The highest known
islands in the US are in a small lake in southwest Colorado just east of
Windom Peak, at 13,100 feet / 3,993 meters. Southern
California’s Salton Sea lies at 227 ft / 69 m below sea level and has a
number of islands, notably Mullet Island. AGE The youngest
American volcanic island is Fire Island, a small island in the Aleutian
chain. It formed in an 1882 eruption. The youngest
major volcanic island is Hawaii, the southernmost of the Hawaiian islands,
and thus the most recent to pass over the hotspot that formed the island
chain. It is about 800,000 years old. About 11.5
million Americans are islanders, or about 1 in every 26, inhabiting more than
300 islands. Some 64% of American
islanders live on Long Island, New York. The most populous
island in the United States is Long Island, New York, with 7.4 million
inhabitants. The most populous
American lake island is Mercer Island, in Lake Washington, in greater
Seattle. It was home to around 21,710 people as of 2005. The largest
uninhabited American island is Montague Island, Alaska, at 305 square miles /
791 square kilometers. The largest
uninhabited island in the lower 48 states is Isle Royale, Lake Superior, which
is 209 square miles / 541 sq km. The smallest island on which one million or more
people live is Manhattan, in New York City, with 1.48 million inhabitants
living in 22 sq mi / 57 sq km (67,000 per sq mi / 26,000 per sq km). Least densely populated The least densely
populated inhabited American island is Kuiu Island, Alaska, which has 10
inhabitants (as of the 2000 census) sharing 750 sq miles / 1,942 sq km. Each
inhabitant thus has 75 sq miles / 194 sq km apiece. This is 5 million times less than the
density of Manhattan. A number of
large, inhabited Alaskan islands have less than 20 residents. The smallest
island on which one million or more people live is Manhattan, in New York City,
with 1.48 million inhabitants living in 22 sq mi / 57 sq km (67,000 per sq mi
/ 26,000 per sq km). MISCELLANEOUS The tallest
American island is Hawaii, which rises 13,796 feet / 4,205 meters
from sea level to the top of Mauna Kea.
It is the second tallest of the world’s islands. Wild Horse
Island, in Flathead Lake, Montana, is currently the tallest American lake
island, rising 853 feet / 260 meters above lake level. When the Great Salt
Lake is higher than its current level, Utah’s Antelope Island detaches from
shore and achieves a height of some 2,396 feet above the lake. Unusually high water levels restore
Stansbury Island’s insular status, and make it the highest lake island, at 2,440
feet. Gregory Butte
rises some 951 feet / 290 meters from Lake Powell in Utah, but due to drought
it is not currently an island. Bridges The largest
American island connected to the mainland by a bridge or causeway is Long
Island, New York, at 1,401 sq miles / 3,629 sq km. The most common
name for islands in the United States is "Big Island”; 140 American
islands share that name. Smallest divided
by borders The smallest
island shared by the United States with another country is the west island in
Boundary Lake, North Dakota, at about 3 acres / 1.1 ha. It is shared with Canada. See also islands divided by international borders. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Return to main World Island
Info menu Contact Joshua
Calder at jcalder[at]erols.com with questions or suggestions. © 1995-2007
Joshua Calder US island superlatives,
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population / lake islands / largest American / American geography /
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