Archipelago!

ARCHIPELAGO

it is a chain or cluster of islands. the word archipelago literally means "chief sea", from greek arkhon & pelagoes. in antiquity , the archipelago was the proper name for the aegean sea & later shifted to islands. archipelago are usually found in the open sea; less commonly , a large land mass may neighbour them. Scotland has more than 700 islands surrounding the mainland. archipelago are often volcanic, forming along mid-ocean ridges but there are many other processes involved in their construction, including erosion & deposition. the 4 largest modern states that are mainly archipelagos are : japan, philippiness, new zealand, indonesia. the largest archipelago in the world by size is in northern canada situated in the artic ocean.