What is the Difference between Cay, Peninsula, Atoll, Isle, Island, Continent, Archipelago
Plant Earth is unique, due to the presence of life. Water is one of the reasons of life on this planet. Water covers a large part of earth but land is the place used for living and other purposes. Water bodies also hold few pieces of lands, like cay, island and many others. Here we are describing difference between them.
Cay
Cay is small Sandy Island, which is formed on the surface of coral reefs. Cays are usually low in elevation. Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans are home for cays as they have tropical environments. Cay provides agricultural and residential land to the people living near them.
Peninsula
A piece of land which is surrounded by water from three sides, but connected with main land from one side is called as peninsula. This area is home for many unique plant and animal species.
Atoll
When a coral island surrounds a lagoon, it is called as Atoll. It could be many islands encircling a lagoon too. Sometimes island do not surround the lagoon completely, but even in this condition we will call it Atoll.
Isle and Island
Isle and Island are the same. It is the situation, when a part of land is surrounded by water from all sides. Islands are usually found in seas but large rivers also have islands. Ecosystem of island is completely different as compared to nearby main land.
Continent
There are seen pieces of very large land masses on the surface of earth. These pieces are called as continents. These are Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe and Australia.
Archipelago
A cluster of islands is called as archipelago. These island clusters are usually formed as a result of volcanic activity. Other reasons for their appearance include land elevation, erosion and deposition.
Cay vs Peninsula vs Atoll vs Isle vs Island vs Continent vs Archipelago
Isle or island is the situation when a small part of land is surrounded by water from all sides. If island is present on coral reef it is called as cay and if it surrounds a lagoon we call it atoll. If a piece of land is surrounded by water from three sides but connected with main land from one side, it is called peninsula. A group of islands is called archipelago and continent is different from all of them, as it is a very large land mass.