A portion of land nearly surrounded by water and connected with a larger body by an isthmus also : a piece of land jutting out into the water whether with or without a well-defined isthmus
A body of water nearly surrounded by water, and connected with a larger body by a neck or isthmus; any tract of land jutting out into the water
piece of land almost surrounded by water, or extending far out into the water PLAIN a flat stretch of land PLANET a "wanderer" one in nine bodies of orbit around the sun
A peninsula is a long narrow piece of land which sticks out from a larger piece of land and is almost completely surrounded by water. I had walked around the entire peninsula. a piece of land almost completely surrounded by water but joined to a large area of land (paeninsula, from paene + insula ). Indochinese Peninsula Alaska Peninsula Arabian Peninsula Balkan Peninsula Banks Peninsula Bicol Peninsula Boothia Peninsula Delmarva Peninsula Door Peninsula Eyre Peninsula Gaspé Peninsula Gazelle Peninsula Iberian Peninsula Izu Peninsula Kalaupapa Peninsula Kamchatka Peninsula Kathiawar Peninsula Kola Peninsula La Guajira Peninsula Leizhou Peninsula Luichow Peninsula Lei chou Peninsula Liaodong Peninsula Liao tung Peninsula Malay Peninsula Musandam Peninsula Nicoya Peninsula Noto Peninsula Paraguaná Peninsula Scandinavian Peninsula Seward Peninsula Shandong Peninsula Shantung Peninsula Shan tung Peninsula Sharik Peninsula Cape Bon Peninsula Sinai Peninsula Tasman Peninsula Taymyr Peninsula Ungava Peninsula Yamal Peninsula Yorke Peninsula Yucatán Peninsula
An elongated portion of land nearly surrounded by water and connected to a larger body of land, usually by a NECK or an isthmus
A large peninsula in Southern Europe protruding into the Mediterranean Sea and shaped like a boot. The mountain range of Apennines runs across it from north to south. Occupied by Italy
A peninsula in the Middle East, bordered on by Jordan, the Syrian desert and Iraq to the north, the Persian Gulf to the northeast, the Gulf of Oman to the east, the Arabian Sea (part of the Indian Ocean) to the south (southeast), the Gulf of Aden to the south, the Red Sea to the west (southwest) extending north into the Gulf of Aqaba, and north along the Red Sea Rift to the Mediterranean Sea on the west (northwest). It consists mainly of Saudi Arabia, and may be geologically defined as the Arabian plate, also as the Arabian subcontinent
A large peninsula in southeastern Europe surrounded by water on three sides: the Adriatic Sea to the west, the Mediterranean Sea (including the Ionian and Aegean Seas) to the south and the Black Sea to the east. Its northern boundary is often given as the Danube, Sava and Kupa rivers
A peninsula located in the extreme southwest of Europe which includes modern day Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar, bordered on the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea, and on the north and west by the Atlantic Ocean, with the Pyrenees forming the northeast edge of the peninsula, connecting it to the rest of Europe
A peninsula situated in the extreme southwest of Europe, comprising (politically) Spain, Portugal, Andorra, Gibraltar, and a very small area of France, delineated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenées and from other landmasses by the Atlantic Ocean, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Strait of Gibraltar
A peninsula in the far north of Russia, part of the Murmansk Oblast. It borders upon the Barents Sea on the North and the White Sea on the East and South
A peninsula of south-central to southwest Alaska. It is a continuation of the Aleutian Range between the Bering Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Peninsula, southwestern Alaska, U.S. It stretches about 500 mi (800 km) between the Pacific Ocean and Bristol Bay. The volcanic Aleutian Range runs along its entire length. It is the site of Katmai National Park and Preserve, Aniakchak National Monument and Preserve, and the Becherof, Alaska Peninsula, and Izembek national wildlife refuges
or Arabia Peninsular region, southwest Asia. With its offshore islands, it covers about 1 million sq mi (2.6 million sq km). Constituent countries are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, and, the largest, Saudi Arabia. It is generally arid and is covered almost entirely by the Arabian Desert. The modern economy is dominated by the production of petroleum and natural gas. The world's largest proven reserves of those minerals are in the Arabian Peninsula. Its political consolidation was begun by the Prophet Muhammad, and it was the centre of the orthodox caliphate until 661, when that office passed to the Umayyad dynasty in Damascus. After 1517 much of the region was dominated by the Ottoman Empire, though the peninsula's people, who had remained largely tribal and nomadic, revolted repeatedly until the World War I (1914-18), when the Ottoman Empire dissolved. Thereafter, individual nation-states followed their own histories, though many maintained close ties with European powers such as the United Kingdom
{i} Arabia, peninsula between the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf (includes Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait)
A peninsula of southeast Europe bounded by the Black Sea, the Sea of Marmara, and the Aegean, Mediterranean, Ionian, and Adriatic seas. The Balkan States include Albania, Bulgaria, continental Greece, southeast Romania, European Turkey, Yugoslavia, and the former Yugoslavian republics Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia. Formerly part of the Roman and Byzantine empires, the region fell to the Ottoman Turks by 1500. The Balkan Wars (1912-1913 and 1913), treaties signed after World War I, and nationalist movements in the early 1990s led to the present country boundaries. Peninsula, southeastern Europe. Located between the Adriatic Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Aegean and Black seas, it contains many countries, including Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, Serbia and Montenegro, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Greece, and European Turkey. From 168 BC to AD 107, part of the area was incorporated into Roman provinces, including Epirus, Moesia, Pannonia, Thrace, and Dacia. It was subsequently settled by Slavic invaders, Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, and Slavonized Bulgars, the last of whom were pushed into the Balkan region in the 6th century. It was gradually organized into kingdoms, many of which were overrun by the Ottoman Turks in the 14th-15th century. The factional strife that occurred there from the early 20th century, provoking the continual breakups and regroupings of different states, introduced the word balkanize into English
Peninsula, South Island, New Zealand, extending about 35 mi (55 km) into the Pacific Ocean. Originally an island formed by two contiguous volcanic cones, the peninsula was visited in 1770 by Capt. James Cook, who named it for Joseph Banks. Christchurch is situated at its base
Peninsula, southeastern Luzon, Philippines. It has a lengthy coastline with large subpeninsulas. Its area is about 4,660 sq mi (12,070 sq km). It includes the Bicol Plain, a large lowland area important in rice production. It is densely populated though largely rural. It is the homeland of the Bicol, the country's fifth largest ethnolinguistic group, and it has been a stronghold of Philippine communists
Peninsula, Nunavut, Canada. Almost an island, it is the northernmost point of the North American mainland, reaching 71°58 N, and was formerly the location of the north magnetic pole. With an area of 12,483 sq mi (32,330 sq km), it extends into the Arctic Ocean and is separated from Baffin Island by the Gulf of Boothia and from Prince of Wales Island by the Franklin Strait. It was discovered in 1829 by James Clark Ross, who named it Boothia Felix for Sir Felix Booth, the expedition's financier. It is sparsely populated
Peninsula, eastern U.S. Extending between Chesapeake and Delaware bays, it is about 180 mi (290 km) long and up to 70 mi (110 km) wide. Encompassing parts of the states of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia hence its name it includes Maryland's Eastern Shore. Fishing and tourism are economically important to the area
A peninsula of eastern Wisconsin between Green Bay and Lake Michigan. It is a cherry-growing region. Peninsula, northeastern Wisconsin, U.S. Located between Green Bay and Lake Michigan, it was named for a strait at its tip known as La Porte des Mortes ("Death's Door"). About 80 mi (130 km) long and 25 mi (40 km) wide at its base, the peninsula was visited in the 17th century by French traders and missionaries. It is now a year-round vacation area, and tourism is a major business. The whole peninsula is popularly known as Door County, though Door is but one of four counties on the peninsula
A peninsula of southern Australia between Spencer Gulf and the Great Australian Bight. Large promontory, South Australia. Projecting into the Indian Ocean, the peninsula is about 200 mi (320 km) long and lies between the Great Australian Bight and Spencer Gulf. Wheat, sheep, and barley are raised there; iron is extracted in the Middleback Ranges to the northeast. There are numerous resort and fishing towns along the coasts
A peninsula of eastern Quebec, Canada, between Chaleur Bay and the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. Mountainous and heavily wooded, the peninsula is known for its picturesque coastal villages as well as its hunting and fishing. Jacques Cartier landed here in 1534
Peninsula, extending northeast from the island of New Britain, Papua New Guinea. Located in the South Pacific Ocean, the Gazelle Peninsula is about 50 mi (80 km) wide but tapers to 20 mi (32 km) where it joins the mainland. From coastal plains its surface rises to 7,999 ft (2,438 m) at Mount Sinewit in the central Baining Mountains. The peninsula is volcanically active and highly fertile, with cocoa and copra plantations along the coast. The area is the most populous portion of New Britain and was the base of German settlement late in the 19th century
or Iberia Peninsula, southwestern Europe, occupied by Spain and Portugal. Its name derives from its ancient inhabitants whom the Greeks called Iberians, probably after the Ebro (Iberus) River, the peninsula's second longest river. The Pyrenees form a land barrier in the northeast from the rest of Europe, and in the south at Gibraltar the peninsula is separated from North Africa by a narrow strait. Its western and northern coasts are bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, and its eastern coast by the Mediterranean Sea. It includes Cape da Roca, in Portugal, the most westerly point of continental Europe
Peninsula, central Honshu, Japan. It extends 37 mi (60 km) into the Pacific Ocean and consists largely of volcanic rock and highly eroded volcanoes. It is part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, and its hot springs and warm winter climate are major tourist attractions
Promontory on the northern shore of Molokai island, Hawaii, U.S. Occupying a 10-sq-mi (26-sq-km) plateau, it is isolated from the rest of the island by 2,000-ft (600-m) cliffs. Kalawao village, now abandoned, was the site of the original leper colony (see leprosy) established by King Kamehameha V in 1866; Father Damien ministered to the lepers there 1873-89. The entire peninsula is now the state leprosarium, administered by Hawaii's health department
Peninsula, eastern Russia. It lies between the Sea of Okhotsk on the west and the Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea on the east. It is 750 mi (1,200 km) long and 300 mi (480 km) across at its widest point, and it has an area of 140,000 sq mi (370,000 sq km). Mountain ranges extend along it; of its 127 volcanoes, 22 are active, including Klyuchevskaya Volcano (15,584 ft [4,750 m]), the highest peak in Siberia
Peninsula, southwestern Gujarat state, west-central India. Occupying an area of 23,000 sq mi (60,000 sq km), it is bounded by the Arabian Sea on the southwest. It was first occupied in prehistoric times and was settled in the 3nd-2nd millennium BC by Harappan peoples. It was ruled by many great dynasties beginning with the Mauryan empire in the 3rd century BC. The area came under Muslim rule in the 13th century and became part of the Mughal Empire in the 16th century. Many of its small princely states came under British protection after 1820. Made a part of Gujarat state in 1960, it is the site of a national park that contains the last wild Asiatic lions in India
Promontory, northern Russia. It separates the White and Barents seas; it occupies 40,000 sq mi (100,000 sq km) and extends across the Arctic Circle. It consists of rock more than 570 million years old. The winter climate is severe; the largest town is the ice-free port of Murmansk on the northern coast. It has the world's largest deposits of apatite, used for fertilizer production
Peninsula, northwestern coast of South America. It is bounded by the Caribbean Sea to the north and west and the Gulf of Venezuela to the southeast. Much of the peninsula lies in Colombia, and the rest is in Venezuela. Ríohacha, Colom. (pop., 1999 est.: 88,577), is its principal town; nearby natural gas fields are connected by pipeline with Barranquilla to the southwest
or Lei-chou Peninsula conventional Luichow Peninsula Peninsula off the southwestern coast of Guangdong province, southeastern China. Separated from Hainan Island by the Hainan Strait, it includes Kwangchowan, a territory leased by France from 1898 to 1945. Occupied by Japan in World War II, it was returned to Chinese control in 1946
or Liao-tung Peninsula Peninsula, extending from the southern coastline of Liaoning province, northeastern China. It partly separates the Bo Hai (Gulf of Chihli) on the west from Korea Bay on the east. It forms part of a mountain belt that continues in the Changbai Mountains; on the peninsula the range is known as the Qian Mountains. Near the southern tip of the peninsula lies the port of Dalian
Peninsula, Southeast Asia. Comprising the mainland portion of Malaysia and southwestern Thailand, it occupies an area of 70,000 sq mi (181,300 sq km), has a width of 200 mi (322 km), and extends south for 700 mi (1,127 km) to Cape Balai, the southernmost point of the Asian continent; the island country of Singapore lies just south across the Johore Strait. Its central mountain range, rising to 7,175 ft (2,187 m) at Mount Tahan, divides the peninsula lengthwise and is the source of many rivers. Both its western and eastern coasts are exposed to monsoons. It has large tracts of tropical rainforest and is a major producer of rubber and tin
Northeastern extension of the Arabian Peninsula. It partially separates the Gulf of Oman from the Persian Gulf to form the Strait of Hormuz to the north. Part of Oman, it is divided from the rest of the country by the United Arab Emirates. It is a mountainous region with a rocky coast that is hazardous to passing ships. Fishing is the main industry, and there are reserves of petroleum and natural gas off the western coast. The port town of Db al-in is on the southeastern coast
Peninsula, western Costa Rica. It is bounded to the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, to the northeast by the Cordillera de Guanacaste, and to the southeast by the Gulf of Nicoya. It measures about 85 mi (140 km) from northwest to southeast. Descendants of the pre-Columbian Chorotega-Mangues Indians reside in villages on the peninsula
Peninsula, Honshu, Japan. Jutting north into the Sea of Japan (East Sea), it encloses Toyama Bay. The largest peninsula on the northern Honshu coast, it extends north for 50 mi (80 km) and has a width of about 19 mi (30 km). The town of Wajima, on the peninsula's northern coast, is known for its women pearl divers and its production of elaborate lacquerware. Parts of the peninsula were designated national park land in 1968
A peninsula of northern Europe comprising the countries of Norway and Sweden. Large promontory, northern Europe. Occupied by Norway and Sweden, it is about 1,150 mi (1,850 km) long, with an area of 290,000 sq mi (750,000 sq km), and it extends south from the Barents Sea. It is largely mountainous; its eastern side slopes gently to the Baltic Sea, while the western side has mountains reaching the coast and is deeply dissected by fjords
A peninsula of western Alaska projecting into the Bering Sea just below the Arctic Circle. Peninsula, western Alaska, U.S. Its tip, Cape Prince of Wales, on the Bering Strait, is the most westerly point of North America. The peninsula is about 180 mi (290 km) long and 130 mi (209 km) wide; its highest peak is 4,720 ft (1,439 m), in the Kigluaik Mountains. The city of Nome is on its southern coast
or Shan-tung Peninsula conventional Shantung Peninsula Peninsula, eastern China. Occupying the eastern section of Shandong province, it extends northeastward between the Bo Hai (Gulf of Chihli) and the Yellow Sea. The terrain is hilly, with elevations around 600 ft (180 m), rising to 3,707 ft (1,130 m) in the Lao Mountains. Fishing is important along the coast, and fruit is grown in the hills. Iron ore, magnesite, and gold are abundant. Some of China's best ports are located along the peninsula's rocky, indented coast
or Cape Bon Peninsula Peninsula, northeastern Tunisia. Extending northeast into the Mediterranean Sea, it is about 50 mi (80 km) long. During World War II (1939-45), it was occupied by German troops in retreat from Egypt and Libya (1943); they soon surrendered to the Allied Powers there
A peninsula linking southwest Asia with northeast Africa at the northern end of the Red Sea between the Gulf of Suez and the Gulf of Aqaba. Long held by the Egyptian kings, Israel occupied the peninsula in 1956 and from 1967 to 1982, when it was returned to Egypt under the terms of the Camp David Accords (1978) and an Egyptian-Israeli treaty (1979). Peninsula, northeastern Egypt. Located between the Gulfs of Suez and Aqaba at the northern end of the Red Sea, it covers some 23,500 sq mi (61,000 sq km). Its southern region is mountainous and includes Mount Sinai, while its northern two-thirds is an arid plateau known as the Sinai Desert. Inhabited since prehistoric times, it is famous as the purported route of the Israelite Exodus from Egypt. For centuries, its northern coast was the main trade route between Egypt and Palestine. From the 1st century AD until the rise of Islam in the 7th century, it was part of the Roman Empire and its successor, the Byzantine Empire. It was ruled by various Islamic dynasties until the 16th century, when it became part of the Ottoman Empire. Turned over to Egypt at the end of World War I in 1918, it was the scene of heavy fighting during the Suez Crisis (1956), the Six-Day War, (1967), and the Yom Kippur War (1973) and was occupied by Israel from 1967 until 1982, when it was then returned to Egypt. See Arab-Israeli wars
Peninsula, southeastern Tasmania, Australia. About 26 mi (42 km) long by 20 mi (32 km) wide, it has sea cliffs and unusual rock formations. First explored in 1642, it was not settled until a penal colony was established at Port Arthur in 1830. Its partly restored ruins are now a tourist attraction, and the peninsula is part of Australia's National Estate
Peninsula, north-central Siberia, northern Russia. It lies between the Kara Sea, the Laptev Sea, and the Vilkitsky Strait and includes Cape Chelyuskin, the northernmost point of Asia. Its central part is crossed by the Taymyra River, which is 400 mi (644 km) long. It occupies an area of approximately 150,000 sq mi (400,000 sq km). The Byrranga Mountains, in its centre, reach a height of about 3,800 ft (1,150 m)
Northern part of New Quebec district, northern Quebec, Canada. It is bounded by the Hudson Strait, Ungava Bay, Labrador, the Eastmain River, and Hudson Bay. Physiographically, it is part of the Canadian Shield
Peninsula between the Kara Sea and the Gulf of Ob, northwestern Siberia, west-central Russia. It has a total length of 435 mi (700 km), a maximum width of 150 m (240 km), and an area of 47,100 sq mi (122,000 sq km). There are large natural gas deposits on its western coast
A narrow peninsula of southern Australia bounded by Spencer Gulf. Promontory, southeastern South Australia. It is located between Spencer Gulf to the west and Gulf Saint Vincent and Investigator Strait to the east and south. It extends southward 160 mi (260 km) and is 20-35 mi (32-56 km) wide. Sighted by the English in 1802, it was named for Charles P. Yorke, first lord of the Admiralty
a peninsular region of eastern Canada between Hudson Bay and the Labrador Sea; contains most of Quebec and the mainland part of Newfoundland and Labrador