Editing Floating island

{{short description|Island (natural or artificial) made of floating plants, mud, and peat}}
{{other uses}}
[[File:Natural floating island.jpg|thumb|Natural floating island on small lake in [[Finnish Lakeland]]]]
[[File:Uros-floating-islands-puno-peru-aerial.jpg|thumb|Artificial floating island communities of the [[Uru people]]s in [[Lake Titicaca]]]]

A '''floating island''' is a mass of floating aquatic plants, mud, and peat ranging in thickness from several centimeters to a few meters. Sometimes referred to as '''''tussocks''''', '''''floatons''''', or '''''suds''''', floating islands are found in many parts of the world. They exist less commonly as an [[artificial island]]. Floating [[islands]] are generally found on [[marshland]]s, [[lake]]s, and similar [[wetland]] locations, and can be many [[hectare]]s in size.

==Natural occurrences==
[[File:Isola galleggiante Posta Fibreno picc.jpg|thumb|right|Floating island ''La Rota'' in [[Lago di Posta Fibreno|Posta Fibreno lake]], Italy]]
Natural floating islands are composed of vegetation growing on a buoyant mat of plant roots or other organic detritus.
In aquatic regions of Northwestern Europe, several hundred hectares or a couple thousand acres of floating meadows (German ''Schwingrasen'', Dutch ''trilveen'') have been preserved, which are partly used as agricultural land, partly as nature reserves.

They typically occur when growths of [[Typha|cattail]]s, [[Schoenoplectus|bulrush]], [[Cyperaceae|sedge]], and [[Phragmites|reed]]s extend outward from the shoreline of a wetland area. As the water gets deeper the roots no longer reach the bottom, so they use the oxygen in their root mass for [[buoyancy]], and the surrounding vegetation for support to retain their top-side-up orientation. The area beneath these floating mats is exceptionally rich in aquatic lifeforms. Eventually, storm events tear whole sections free from the shore, and the islands thus formed migrate around a lake with changing winds, eventually either reattaching to a new area of the shore or breaking up in heavy weather.

Some [[cenote]]s in northern Mexico have natural floating islands.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iantd.com/articles/94-4kristovich.html/ |title=Zacaton. A History |last=Kristovich |first=Ann |date=2003-04-20 | publisher=International Association of Nitrox and Technical Divers |access-date=2023-05-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030420191836/http://www.iantd.com/articles/94-4kristovich.html/ |archive-date=2003-04-20 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In the Brazilian Amazon, floating islands form in lakes on the floodplains of white-water rivers and are known as Matupá and range in size from a few square meters to a few hectares.<ref name=Freitas>{{cite journal |last1=de Freitas |first1=Carolina T. |last2=Glenn H. |first2= Shepard Jr |last3= Piedade |first3=Maria T. F.|date=April 2, 2015 |title=The Floating Forest: Traditional Knowledge and Use of Matupá Vegetation Islands by Riverine Peoples of the Central Amazon |journal=PLOS ONE |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0122542 |pmid=25837281 |pmc=4383509 |volume=10 |issue=4 |pages=e0122542|bibcode=2015PLoSO..1022542D |doi-access=free }}{{Open access}}</ref>

In [[Crow Wing County, Minnesota]] a floating bog over {{convert|4|acre|spell=in}} in size moved about the area resulting in docks and boat lifts being destroyed. As decaying mass decomposes it releases gases which keep the bog floating.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/floating-island-bog-crow-wing-county-minnesota|title=How Do You Solve a Problem Like a Giant Floating Bog?| first=Andrea|last=Appleton|date=6 March 2018|website=Atlas Obscura}}</ref>

===Pumice rafts===

Another type of natural floating island is the [[pumice raft]], which is created by an explosive [[volcanic eruption]], and can float on the ocean for months or even years before becoming fully saturated and sinking.<ref name=Pumice082019/> They may assist in the migration of plants and animals.<ref name=Pumice082019>{{cite web |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-23/giant-pumice-raft-makes-its-way-to-great-barrier-reef/11444020 |title=Giant pumice raft from underwater volcanic eruption makes its way to Great Barrier Reef |first=Kate|last=McKenna |date=August 23, 2019 |website=abc.net.au |publisher=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |access-date=August 24, 2019}}</ref>

== Artificial floating islands ==
{{further|Artificial island}}
[[File:Loktak Lake1.jpg|thumb|right|Circular [[phumdis]], called ''athampum'', were artificially built for fishing in [[Loktak Lake]]]]

Floating [[artificial island]]s are generally made of bundled reeds, and the best known examples are those of the [[Uros]] people of [[Lake Titicaca]], [[Peru]], who build their villages upon what are in effect huge rafts of bundled [[Totora (plant)|totora]] reeds. The Uros originally created their islands to prevent attacks by their more aggressive neighbours, the [[Inca]]s and [[Colla people|Collas]].

The [[Aztec]] capital, [[Tenochtitlan]], was surrounded with ''[[chinampa]]s'', small artificial islands used for agriculture known as "floating gardens" (though not really floating). Floating gardens on a large scale have been demonstrated with [[aquaponics]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aquabiofilter.com | title=Aquaponics floating biofilter grows rice on fish ponds| first=Tom |last=Duncan |website=Aqua BioFilter | access-date=2014-01-20}}</ref> systems in China growing rice, wheat and canna lily on islands<!--, with some installations exceeding {{convert|10000|m2|acres|abbr=on}}. Wrong: the 10,000 m2 figure in the following source refers to "China's combined stormwater and sewerage system", not specifically floating gardens-->.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.wme.com.au/categories/water/oct5_09.php |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091025163619/http://www.wme.com.au/categories/water/oct5_09.php |url-status=dead |archive-date=2009-10-25 |first=Tom |last=Duncan |title=Waste Management and Environment – Floating new ideas| magazine=WME Magazine |access-date= 2014-01-20}}</ref>

[[Spiral Island]] was a more modern one-person effort to build an artificial floating island, on the Caribbean coast of [[Mexico]]. Modern artificial islands mimicking the floating reedbeds of the Uros are increasingly used by [[local government]]s and [[drainage basin|catchment]] managers to improve [[water quality]] at source, reducing [[pollutants]] in surface water bodies and providing [[biodiversity]] [[habitat]]. Examples include [[Gold Coast City Council]]<ref name="GCCC">{{cite web|url=http://www.goldcoast.qld.gov.au/environment/floating-reed-beds-10086.html | title=City of Gold Coast Floating Reedbeds | publisher=Gold Coast City Council | access-date=2014-01-20}}</ref> in Australia. Artificial floating reedbeds are commonly anchored to the shoreline or bottom of water body, to ensure the system does not float away in a storm event or create a hazard.

During [[World War II]], the British [[Project Habakkuk]] proposed the construction of [[aircraft carrier]]s made of ice-like [[Pykrete]]. Its size and speed made it more of an artificial [[iceberg]] or island than a ship.

Commercial development of floating islands has begun taking place. Floating habitat islands were installed with [[salicornia]] salt marsh plants at [[Sydney Olympic Park, New South Wales|Sydney Olympic Park Authority]] in 2011<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sopa.nsw.gov.au/resource_centre/park_news/2012_park_news/floating_islands_support_waterbird_populations |title=Floating islands support waterbird populations |publisher=Sydney Olympic Park Authority |date=2012-08-15 |access-date=2014-01-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141012011227/http://www.sopa.nsw.gov.au/resource_centre/park_news/2012_park_news/floating_islands_support_waterbird_populations |archive-date=2014-10-12 |url-status=dead }}</ref> providing nesting sites for local and migratory birds including [[black swan]]s, [[black-winged stilt]]s, [[red-necked avocet]]s, [[Pacific black duck]]s and [[chestnut teal]]s, using the Aqua Biofilter product.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aquabiofilter.com/guidecasestudies.html | title=Floating habitat islands |website=Aqua BioFilter | date=17 July 2011 | access-date=2014-01-20}}</ref> The world's largest vegetated floating islands {{convert|4|acre|order=flip}} in size were installed in 2004 using Aqua Biofilter product with [[canna (plant)|canna]] at [[Lake Tai]], China using materials including a combination of polyurethane open cell filter foam, closed cell polyethylene flotation foam, bamboo and coconut fibre filter foam mix with wicking ability to supply water to plant roots.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://permaculturenews.org/2014/10/14/worlds-largest-aquaponics-project-chinas-third-largest-aquaculture-lake/ |first=Tom |last=Duncan | title=World's Largest Aquaponics Project, in China's Third Largest Aquaculture Lake |publisher=Permaculture Research Institute |date=2014-10-14 |access-date=2014-10-28}}</ref>

A commercially produced floating island was installed in the [[North American river otter|river otter]] enclosure at [[Zoo Montana]] in 2007.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://floatingislandinternational.com/pdf/Zoo-otters.pdf |title=Zoo Montana installs a BioHaven in Otter enclosure |publisher=Floating Island International |date=19 September 2007 |access-date=2010-06-29 }}{{dead link|date=January 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> In 2009 and the beginning of 2010, a few larger islands were launched to provide nesting habitat for [[Caspian tern]] colonies. The largest of the islands, at a record-setting {{convert|44000|sqft|m2|abbr=on}}, was launched into the water at [[Sheepy Lake]]. These islands are a collaboration between the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers]], [[Oregon State University]], and Floating Islands West, a Floating Island International license holder.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.birdresearchnw.org/Feature-Story/348002.aspx/ |first1=Stacy |last1=Moore |first2=Sarah |last2=Austing |title=Floating Island Constructed for Caspian Tern Nesting at Summer Lake Wildlife Refuge |publisher=Bird Research Northwest |date=1998-03-22 |access-date=2010-06-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725074836/http://www.birdresearchnw.org/Feature-Story/348002.aspx/ |archive-date=2011-07-25 }}</ref>

A US Army Corps of Engineers project was built in 2012 in [[The Hideout, Pennsylvania]], as part of a [[watershed management]] project. The floating island was created to mimic nature; help improve water quality, including reducing [[phosphorus]] levels; and buffer habitats against surges in nutrients and pollution.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.wayneindependent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121012/NEWS/121019927/1001/NEWS |first=Kelly |last=Waters |title=Watershed management project |work=Wayne Independent |date=2012-10-16}}</ref>

Buoyancy in artificial floating reedbeds is commonly provided by polyethylene or polyurethane foam, or polyethylene plastic containing air voids. Growth media include coconut fibre; mats made of polyester or recycled PET bottles; synthetic geotechnical mat; jute; soil; and sand.{{Citation needed|date=January 2014}}

Artificial floating islands are sometimes made by planting cattails and other plants on floating plastic rafts in order to reduce phosphorus levels in the water.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2011/sep/02/clear-inspiration/ |first=Becky |last=Kramer |title=Floating wetlands clear inspiration |work=The Spokesman-Review}}</ref> In [[Cleveland]]'s [[Cuyahoga River]] floating rafts were made to restore fish populations.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blog.cleveland.com/metro/2011/09/greening_the_cuyahoga_river_ma.html|title=Greening the Cuyahoga River: Man-made floating plant islands the latest scheme in recovery efforts|first=Michael|last=Scott|work=Metro News|location=Cleveland, Ohio|date=2011-09-03}}</ref>

Artificial floating islands have been sought out as structures for different habitational and industrial purposes,<ref name="c357">{{cite web | title=Floating islands to work and live on | website=CORDIS | date=2020-10-22 | url=https://cordis.europa.eu/article/id/422445-floating-islands-to-work-and-live-on | access-date=2024-08-13}}</ref> e.g. floating [[oil rig]]s.

== Locations ==
===Africa===
* [[Lake Victoria]], [[Uganda]]
* [[Lake Kyoga]], [[Uganda]]
* [[Lake Malawi]], Africa<ref>{{cite journal |last=Oliver |first=Michael K. |url=https://www.academia.edu/2998745 |title=Floating islands: a means of fish dispersal in Lake Malawi, Africa |journal=Copeia |year=1982 |volume=1982 |issue=4 |pages=748–754 |access-date=2013-04-05|doi=10.2307/1444082 |jstor=1444082 }}</ref>
* [[Lake Upemba]], Democratic Republic of the Congo
* [[Lake Chad]], Chad, Niger, Nigeria and Cameroon
* [[Hartbeespoort Dam]], North West, South Africa

===Asia===
[[File:Yüzen adalar.jpg|thumb|[[Floating islands (Bingöl)]] in Turkey]]

* [[Loktak Lake]] in [[Manipur]] state, India
* [[Prashar Lake]] at [[Mandi, Himachal Pradesh|Mandi]] in [[Himachal Pradesh]] state, India
* [[Chamli gul]], Takab, Iran
* [[Maldives Floating City]], Maldives
* [[Inle Lake]], Myanmar
* [[Çat Lake]], Çelikhan, [[Adıyaman]], Turkey
* [[Aksakal Lake]], Solhan, [[Bingöl]], Turkey

===Australia===

* [[Lagoon of Islands]], Tasmania, Australia<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.apstas.com/Lagoon_of_Islands.html |first=Keith |last=Corbett |title=Lagoon of Islands |work=The Unique Flora of Tasmania |publisher=Hobart District Group of The Australian Plants Society – Tasmania Inc. |access-date=2013-04-14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304064919/http://www.apstas.com/Lagoon_of_Islands.html |archive-date=2016-03-04 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== Europe ===
* [[Danube Delta]], Romania
* [[Lake Visitor]], Montenegro
* [[Marais Audomarois]], France
* [[Lago di Posta Fibreno]], Italy
* [[Vlasina Lake]], Serbia
* [[Semeteš Lake]], Serbia
* Lake Kraljevac ,Serbia
* [[Sommen]], Sweden
* Das schwimmende Land, [[Waakhausen]], Germany
* Schwimmendes Moor, [[Jade, Germany]]
* [[Waterland]], The Netherlands
* [[Lochan Saorach]], Scotland
* [[Swiebodzinka]], Poland{{Citation needed|date=August 2023}}

===North America===
====United States====
''Listed alphabetically by state''
* [https://geohack.toolforge.org/geohack.php?params=59_44_24_N_154_14_53.3_W Unnamed Lake], [[Alaska]]
* Bolton Lakes, [[Bolton, Connecticut]] and [[Vernon, Connecticut]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bolton (Connecticut) Historical Society|url=http://www.boltoncthistory.org/rovingislands.html|access-date=2020-11-23|website=www.boltoncthistory.org|date=8 June 2004 }}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite news|last=Belluck|first=Pam|title=And Sometimes, the Island Is Marooned on You |date=6 November 2005|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/06/us/and-sometimes-the-island-is-marooned-on-you.html|access-date=2020-11-23|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>
* [[Lake Yarbo]], [[Winter Garden, Florida]]
* [[Lake Buckeye]], [[Winter Haven, Florida]]
* [[Lake Idyl]], Winter Haven, Florida
* Yoshi Island [[Lake Mary Jane, Florida|Lake Mary Jane]], [[Orlando, Florida]]
* [[Umbagog Lake]], New Hampshire and Maine
* Mill Pond, [[Alton, New Hampshire]]
* Island Pond, [[Springfield, Massachusetts]]
* Cranberry Island, [[Buckeye Lake, Ohio]]
* Lake Sadawga, [[Whitingham, Vermont]]<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/evening-express-all-afloat/142102409/ |title=All Afloat |newspaper=[[Evening Express (Portland, Maine)|Evening Express]] |location=[[Portland, Maine]] |page=1 |date=June 17, 1969 |accessdate=February 25, 2024 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref>
* [[Kettle Moraine]], Wisconsin<ref name=":0" />
* Prairie Lake, [[Barron County, Wisconsin]]<ref>{{cite news |last=Keen |first=Kevin |url=http://www.wqow.com/story/15222430/floating-island-on-the-verge-of-break-its-tethers |title=UPDATE: Floating island on the verge of breaking its tethers |work=WQOW TV |date=2011-07-30 |access-date=2011-08-09 |archive-date=2016-03-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303233548/http://www.wqow.com/story/15222430/floating-island-on-the-verge-of-break-its-tethers |url-status=dead }}</ref>
* [[Duwamish River]], [[Seattle, Washington]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://livingshorelines.be.uw.edu/project-background/floating-wetlands-project/ | title=Duwamish Floating Wetlands – Living Shorelines }}</ref>
* [[Shilshole Marina]], [[Seattle, Washington]]<ref>{{cite web | url=https://greenfutures.be.uw.edu/2022/01/19/marine-floating-wetland/ | title=Marine Floating Wetlands | date=19 January 2022 }}</ref>

====Elsewhere====
* [[El Zacaton]], [[Tamaulipas]], [[Mexico]]
* [[Lake Ontario]], [[Ontario]], Canada and [[New York (state)|New York]], United States<ref name=":0" />

===South America===
* [[Lake Titicaca]], Bolivia and Peru
* [[El Ojo]], [[Argentina]]<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.infobae.com/tendencias/2016/09/05/el-ojo-la-isla-circular-que-se-mueve-sola-en-el-delta-del-parana/|title=El Ojo: la isla circular que se mueve sola en el Delta del Paraná|work=Infobae|access-date=2017-07-23|language=es}}</ref>

== See also ==
* [[Artificial island]]
* [[Crannog]]
* [[Freedom Ship]]
* [[Great Raft]]
* [[Perelandra]]
* [[Pumice raft]]
* [[Seasteading]]
* [[Floating cities and islands in fiction]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== External links ==
{{Commons category|Floating islands}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050515015215/http://alexuk.com/travel/inca/index_13.htm Inca Heartland]: A site with numerous pictures of floating artificial islands on Lake Titicaca.
* [http://monolith.com.au/travel/peru.html Tourism Keeping Peruvian Islands Afloat] article by Roderick Eime
* [https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/DRIFTING-INTO-A-DEBATE-Disagreement-on-whether-2597250.php "Disagreement on whether to tether island that floats free in Massachusetts pond"]: ''[[San Francisco Chronicle]]''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090506064836/http://www.fijitimes.com/story.aspx?id=114978 Floating on an island]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Floating Island}}
[[Category:Islands by type]]
[[Category:Floating islands| ]]
[[Category:Islands of Uganda]]