ARCHIPELAGO

群岛

An archipelago is a cluster of islands that is formed tectonically. The etymological origin of the word translates as chief sea, referring to the Aegean Sea with its numerous islands. It now commonly refers to any island group, or to a sea containing a large number of scattered islands. Five large nations that are mainly archipelagos are Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines, and the United Kingdom.

群岛是在地壳构造上的一个岛屿群。这个词的词源翻译为“主要的海”，指的是爱琴海及其众多岛屿。现在，它通常指的是任何一个岛屿群，或者是包含大量分散岛屿的海域。五个主要群岛的大国是印度尼西亚、日本、新西兰、菲律宾和英国。

Archipelago may also refer to a group of human settlements scattered within a region. This type of clustered pattern is typically found in agriculture areas where several settlements are distributed in relatively close proximity.

群岛也可以指分散在一个区域内的一组人类定居点。这种集群式的模式通常出现在农业地区，那里的几个聚落分布在相对接近的地方。