101 articles
Machias Seal Island
Machias Seal Island: small disputed island in the Bay of Fundy claimed by both Canada and the United States, with a lighthouse manned since 1832, a 1944 migratory bird sanctuary hosting over 1,000 puffin pairs, and contested gray-zone lobster waters.
Magdalen Islands
The Magdalen Islands (Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Menagoesenog) are a 190 km² sandbar-linked Quebec archipelago in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, 105 km from Prince Edward Island, with about 12,800 inhabitants, Acadian roots, a CTMA ferry lifeline to Souris, and endemic wildlife.
Mansel Island
Mansel Island, an uninhabited 3,180 km² limestone island in northeastern Hudson Bay, Qikiqtaaluk Region, Nunavut; one of three large northern Hudson Bay islands with Southampton and Coats, unoccupied since 1945.
Martha's Vineyard
Martha's Vineyard is a 95-square-mile island about six kilometers south of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, with six towns, about 20,000 year-round residents swelling past 100,000 in summer, Steamship Authority ferries from Woods Hole, and a severe year-round housing shortage.
McNeil Island
McNeil Island, in Pierce County, Washington, housed a unique prison from 1875 to 2011 that evolved into the Special Commitment Center and a wildlife preserve.
Merritt Island, Florida
Merritt Island, Florida: unincorporated Brevard County CDP between the Indian and Banana rivers, population 34,518 (2020), home to Kennedy Space Center and the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on its northern portion.
Mex Island
Mex Island is a small island in Aleutians West Census Area, Alaska, near Amchitka in the Rat Islands, at 51.47232° N, 179.02916° E, elevation 19 m; it appears on maps of the Amchitka underground nuclear test monitoring network.
Nantucket
Nantucket, also called "The Faraway Land" in Wampanoag, is an island, town, and county 30 miles off Cape Cod, Massachusetts: 14 miles long, a former whaling capital, now an upscale summer resort.
Newfoundland (island)
Newfoundland (island): large North Atlantic island forming, with Labrador, the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Known for L'Anse aux Meadows Norse site, Beothuk history, 903-km Trans-Canada Highway, and Marine Atlantic ferries.
Nootka Island
Nootka Island, British Columbia: 526 sq km island on the NW side of Nootka Sound off Vancouver Island's west coast; home of Yuquot (Friendly Cove), the Mowachaht village and 1923 national historic site; formerly Isla de Mazarredo.
Nunivak Island
Nunivak Island: volcanic Bering Sea island off western Alaska, third largest off the Alaskan coast, home to Mekoryuk village and the muskox herd reintroduced from Greenland in the 1930s, source of Alaska's muskox translocations.
Oak Island
Oak Island (Nova Scotia) is a privately owned Mahone Bay island tied to the Money Pit treasure legend dating to 1795; no treasure has been proven, early accounts lack contemporary evidence, and the story is now popularized by The Curse of Oak Island.
Orcas Island
Orcas Island, the largest of Washington's San Juan Islands at about 57 square miles, lies in the Salish Sea; its Mount Constitution rises 2,409 feet, and Eastsound is its main village.
Percé Rock
Percé Rock (rocher Percé), a reddish limestone monolith off Percé, Quebec, at the tip of the Gaspé Peninsula; 471 m long, 75–88 m high, with a sea arch, sandbar link, 1919 bird sanctuary status, and protected national park setting.
Plum Island (New York)
Plum Island, New York: 840-acre island in Long Island Sound off Orient Point, federal since 1899 as Fort Terry, home of the Plum Island Animal Disease Center from 1954, now slated for preservation after NBAF replaced it.
Porcher Island
Porcher Island, a 531 sq km island in Hecate Strait off the Skeena River mouth southwest of Prince Rupert, British Columbia; Gitxaala (Kitkatla) territory with communities Oona River, Hunts Inlet, and Humpback Bay, historic gold mines, and the Gitxaala Nii Luutiksm/Kitkatla Conservancy.
Prescott Island
Prescott Island: name of two official Canadian islands, one between Porcher and Stephens Islands, British Columbia, and one uninhabited Arctic island in Peel Sound, Nunavut; also a Minnesota river islet.
Prince of Wales Island (Alaska)
Prince of Wales Island is the largest island of Alaska's Alexander Archipelago and third largest in the U.S., 2,577 sq mi with about 6,000 residents, Tongass forest roads, and Hollis-Ketchikan ferry access.
Princess Royal Island
Princess Royal Island, British Columbia: a roughly 2,200 km2 uninhabited island on BC's north coast in the Great Bear Rainforest, Kitasoo/Xai'xais territory, known for Kermode spirit bears, wolves, Laredo Inlet conservancy, and the Butedale cannery.
Roanoke Island
Roanoke Island: island in Dare County, North Carolina, between Roanoke and Croatan Sounds, not a barrier island; site of the 1585 and 1587 English colonies including the Lost Colony, home to Manteo and Wanchese.
Saint Helena Island (South Carolina)
Saint Helena Island is a rural Sea Island in Beaufort County, South Carolina, home to the country's largest Gullah community, the Penn Center civil rights landmark, and a cultural protection overlay zoning district.
San Clemente Island
San Clemente Island: southernmost of California's Channel Islands, about 64 miles west of San Diego, Navy-owned since 1934 and its primary Pacific Fleet SEAL training area, with 17 endemic protected plants and a 2023 five-species delisting.
San Nicolas Island
San Nicolas Island (Tongva: Haraasnga) is the most remote of California's eight Channel Islands, Navy-owned and closed to the public. Home of the Nicoleño people and the Lone Woman who inspired Island of the Blue Dolphins.
Santa Catalina Island (California)
Santa Catalina Island (Pimu), southernmost-lying California Channel Island, 21 miles long with Avalon as its only city. Known for 60+ endemic species, the Wrigley-era Casino, and the Catalina Island Conservancy managing 88% of the island.
Sea Island, Georgia
Sea Island, Georgia: private resort barrier island in Glynn County, linked by causeway to St. Simons Island. Developed by Howard Coffin from 1926 around The Cloister; 2,000 acres, Forbes Five-Star hotels, G8 2004 site.
Sea Islands
Sea Islands: chain of tidal and barrier islands on the South Carolina, Georgia, and northern Florida Atlantic coast, home of rice, indigo, and Sea Island cotton plantations and the Gullah Geechee people.
Siesta Key, Florida
Siesta Key, Florida: an 8-mile barrier island off Sarasota on the Gulf coast, famed for 99% quartz sand that stays cool, Siesta Beach's 950-space free lot, lifeguards, and top rankings including No. 28 on the 2026 World's 50 Best Beaches list.
South Aulatsivik Island
South Aulatsivik Island (Aulatsivik, Newark Island) is a 456 km2 island in the Nain archipelago, Labrador, about 10 km from Nain; largest Labrador Coast island, spruce forests, Inuit archaeology to 7065 BP.
St. Lawrence Island
St. Lawrence Island is an island in the northern Bering Sea, closer to Russia than mainland Alaska, home to about 1,700 Yupik people in Gambell and Savoonga.
St. Simons, Georgia
St. Simons Island, Georgia: the largest and most populated of the Golden Isles barrier islands in Glynn County, never privately owned, with about 16,800 residents, a historic 1810 lighthouse, and an armored, eroding oceanfront.