Tidal island

Diagram of tidal island at low tide and high tide
St Michael's Mount, Cornwall, at high tide, c. 1900
Cramond Island, Scotland, at high tide: the causeway is submerged, but the anti-boat pylons are still visible

A tidal island is a raised area of land within a waterbody, which is connected to the larger mainland by a natural isthmus or man-made causeway that is exposed at low tide and submerged at high tide, causing the land to switch between being a promontory/peninsula and an island depending on tidal conditions.

Because of the mystique surrounding tidal islands, many of them have been sites of religious worship, such as Mont-Saint-Michel with its Benedictine abbey. Tidal islands are also commonly the sites of fortresses because of the natural barrier created by the tidal channel.

List of tidal islands

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Asia

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Hong Kong

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Iran

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Japan

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Taiwan

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South Korea

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Europe

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Denmark

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Denmark/Germany

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France

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Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy

Germany

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Guernsey

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Iceland

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Grótta in Seltjarnarnes, the Capital Region

Ireland

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Italy

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Jersey

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Spain

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United Kingdom

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Rough Island opposite Rockcliffe, Dumfries & Galloway, Scotland
Worm's Head at the end of Gower, Wales
England
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Northern Ireland
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Gunns Island, connected to Ballyhornan Bay, Northern Ireland at low tide
Scotland
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Wales
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43 (unbridged) tidal islands can be walked to from the UK mainland.[1]

North America

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Canada

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United States

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Bar Island in Maine, U.S.

Oceania

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Australia

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New Zealand

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Rangitoto Island forms a backdrop to a wave-cut platform off Achilles Point, Auckland, New Zealand.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Peter Caton (2011). No Boat Required – Exploring Tidal Islands. Troubador Publishing Limited. ISBN 978-1848767-010.
  2. ^ longpointisland.com Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
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