# Should this really count as an island? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 8, 2018, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-really-count-as-an-island/817501 "2018-07-08T00:24:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-really-count-as-an-island/817501/1 "2018-07-08T00:24:12Z")
After all, we don’t call someplace a peninsula if the beach just slightly corves back away from the overall coastline. > ---
**Author:** ![Procrustus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/procrustus/32/2994_2.png) [@Procrustus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Procrustus)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-really-count-as-an-island/817501/2 "2018-07-08T00:31:20Z")
Seems like as much of an island as Manhattan (and more so than Rhode Island) ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 12:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-really-count-as-an-island/817501/3 "2018-07-08T00:36:40Z")
Looks like it’s completely surrounded by water. Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![mind\_the\_gap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@mind\_the\_gap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mind_the_gap)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-really-count-as-an-island/817501/4 "2018-07-08T00:48:43Z")
There are a lot of those in the Sacramento river Delta. You can almost jump from one to another. Still, as GaryM points out, surrounded by water. Does seem like another term would be great for those “almost not” islands though. ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-really-count-as-an-island/817501/5 "2018-07-08T00:52:25Z")
From the Island Wiki: “An island in a river or a lake island may be called an eyot or ait, and a small island off the coast may be called a holm.” ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-really-count-as-an-island/817501/6 "2018-07-08T01:08:44Z")
Yeah, that’s an island. You have to cross water to get to it, as it’s surrounded by water completely. At least on the aerial map on Google, it is. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-really-count-as-an-island/817501/7 "2018-07-08T01:24:39Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Yeah, that’s an island. You have to cross water to get to it, as it’s surrounded by water completely. At least on the aerial map on Google, it is. Does it count if it becomes an island only by human intervention? I live on a “surrounded by water completely” island which you have to cross water to get to, but it wasn’t a true island until a canal was dug. It’s still called a peninsula. ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-really-count-as-an-island/817501/8 "2018-07-08T01:25:19Z")
Can’t tell by that map as pictured. Gotta got more south to tell if it’s surrounded by water or not. Off hand, I 'd say probably not. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-really-count-as-an-island/817501/9 "2018-07-08T01:42:38Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Does it count if it becomes an island only by human intervention? Why would that make a difference? I figure flames are flames regardless of whether someone started the fire; and I figure a blind guy is a blind guy regardless of whether someone blinded him; and I figure a blinded guy who dies in a fire is — well, _dead_ regardless of whether someone murdered him; and so on. I figure the question is whether it’s an island, not how it got that way. ---
**Author:** ![bibliophage](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bibliophage/32/7615_2.png) [@bibliophage](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bibliophage)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-really-count-as-an-island/817501/10 "2018-07-08T02:01:55Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > Can’t tell by that map as pictured. Gotta got more south to tell if it’s surrounded by water or not. Off hand, I 'd say probably not. You can see the whole thing at [Google maps](https://goo.gl/maps/HDACeawz1aH2). On the map view the smaller channel to the west looks complete. The street view at the bridge about midway along the channel shows plenty of water. But there are stretches both north and south of that bridge that look like they _might_ be dry in the satellite view. ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-really-count-as-an-island/817501/11 "2018-07-08T02:45:35Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > Can’t tell by that map as pictured. Gotta got more south to tell if it’s surrounded by water or not. Off hand, I 'd say probably not. If you click on the picture, you can see the whole thing. It’s surrounded by rivers to the east, west and south. [![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dhirmn0X0AEpPSR.jpg:large) ](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Dhirmn0X0AEpPSR.jpg:large) Maybe when it got its name the rivers were wider, making it more obviously an island. Should an place keep the word island in its name if it has stopped being an island? I think so. ---
**Author:** ![Melbourne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5e925/32.png) [@Melbourne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Melbourne)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 2:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-really-count-as-an-island/817501/12 "2018-07-08T02:48:06Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > Why would that make a difference? I figure flames are flames regardless of whether someone started the fire; and I figure a blind guy is a blind guy regardless of whether someone blinded him; and I figure a blinded guy who dies in a fire is — well, _dead_ regardless of whether someone murdered him; and so on. > > I figure the question is whether it’s an island, not how it got that way. If it’s raining and the road is wet all around your house, are you on an island? I’d say yes, but I’d also say that doesn’t count… ---
**Author:** ![SlackerInc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slackerinc/32/275_2.png) [@SlackerInc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SlackerInc)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-really-count-as-an-island/817501/13 "2018-07-08T03:11:26Z")
I think we need a ratio of land to water as part of the definition. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-really-count-as-an-island/817501/14 "2018-07-08T03:17:04Z")
I suppose it technically is but less in the “Best kind of correct” sense and more in the “I’m Native American because I’m 1/64th Cherokee” sense. Sure you are, Sugar Island… sure you are. ---
**Author:** ![D18](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-really-count-as-an-island/817501/15 "2018-07-08T03:25:02Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Does it count if it becomes an island only by human intervention? I live on a “surrounded by water completely” island which you have to cross water to get to, but it wasn’t a true island until a canal was dug. It’s still called a peninsula. By that logic, the Niagara Penninsula is actually an island at points east of the Welland Canal. Nobody I point that out to agrees with me, though! ---
**Author:** ![D18](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c57346/32.png) [@D18](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D18)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-really-count-as-an-island/817501/16 "2018-07-08T03:31:57Z")
^To late to edit: the same would apply to Ontario, east of the Rideau Canal. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-really-count-as-an-island/817501/17 "2018-07-08T03:55:32Z")
It looks like there are a few areas where you could leap across the river, but yes, technically it is an island because it’s completely surrounded by water. ---
**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-really-count-as-an-island/817501/18 "2018-07-08T04:00:09Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Does it count if it becomes an island only by human intervention? I live on a “surrounded by water completely” island which you have to cross water to get to, but it wasn’t a true island until a canal was dug. It’s still called a peninsula. The big question is “Do you want to live on a peninsula, or an island?” For me, the answer would be “An island, and since I ‘discovered’ it, I get to name it!” ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-really-count-as-an-island/817501/19 "2018-07-08T04:01:37Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > Does it count if it becomes an island only by human intervention? I live on a “surrounded by water completely” island which you have to cross water to get to, but it wasn’t a true island until a canal was dug. It’s still called a peninsula. > [@Peter\_Morris](#): > > Maybe when it got its name the rivers were wider, making it more obviously an island. Should an place keep the word island in its name if it has stopped being an island? I think so. There’s also [Deer Island](https://goo.gl/maps/pUJCCimEawv) near Logan Airport just east of Boston. According to Wikipedia, it was connected to the mainland by the action of a 1938 hurricane. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2018, 11:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-really-count-as-an-island/817501/20 "2018-07-08T11:15:02Z")
I live in Holland. If you are standing on any piece of dry land you are always surround by water on all sides. If your bit of dry land is not made an “island” by the rivers directly around it (because of a connecting bit of land) then zoom out a little and it will be made an “island” just a tiny bit further; the water will complete the circle eventually. This is just regular life, so an island is one bit sitting in one particular body of water. Otherwise everything is an island and chaos ensues. Chaos, I tell you! Chaos! Everyone would have their own private island and where does that leaves us? Calvinism simply does not allow such extravagance. It’s also an island if it’s made by van Oord and it’s still an island if it _would be_ under water if you weren’t diligently pumping. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/should-this-really-count-as-an-island/817501.md?page=2)