An islet ( / ˈ aɪ l ə t / EYE -lət ) is generally a small island . Definitions vary, and are not precise, but some suggest that an islet is a very small, often unnamed, island with little or no vegetation to support human habitation . It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral ; may be permanent or tidal (i.e. surfaced reef or seamount ); and may exist in the sea , lakes , rivers or any other sizeable bodies of water .
4-588: Telikiai (or Meang ) is an islet of Nui atoll in the Pacific Ocean state of Tuvalu . Meang means "west". The islet features in the legends of the Tekaunibiti family, whose members went to catch birds on the islet and found three teanti-ma-aomata (half-spirit and half-human creatures) and captured two. 7°11′50″S 177°8′52″E / 7.19722°S 177.14778°E / -7.19722; 177.14778 This Tuvalu location article
8-592: A few square feet to several square miles, with no specific rule pertaining to size. Whether an islet is considered a rock or not, it can have significant economic consequences under Article 121 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea , which stipulates that "Rocks which cannot sustain human habitation or economic life of their own shall have no exclusive economic zone or continental shelf ." One long-term dispute over
12-473: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Islet As suggested by its origin islette , an Old French diminutive of "isle", use of the term implies small size, but little attention is given to drawing an upper limit on its applicability. The World Landforms website says, "An islet landform is generally considered to be a rock or small island that has little vegetation and cannot sustain human habitation", and further that size may vary from
16-529: The status of such an islet was that of Snake Island (Black Sea) . The International Court of Justice jurisprudence however sometimes ignores islets, regardless of inhabitation status, in deciding territorial disputes; it did so in 2009 in adjudicating the Romania-Ukraine dispute , and previously in the dispute between Libya and Malta involving the islet of Filfla . There are thousands of islets on Earth: approximately 24,000 islands and islets in
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