Is Australia an island or peninsula?

Answer 1

Australia is a continent, (the world's smallest), a country (the world's sixth largest) and numerous islands. It comprises the mainland of the Australian continent, which is a continent, the island of Tasmania and numerous smaller islands in the Indian, Pacific and southern Oceans.

As a landform, it could be considered an island as it is entirely surrounded by water and not joined onto any other land mass. For this reason, it is often referred to as an island continent. Australia is too big to be formallyclassified as an island. The world's largest island is Greenland.

Another reason why Australia is also considered a continent is because it sits on its own tectonic plate. This is different from Greenland, which uses the same land mass as North America. That is why the geological appearances are much different in Australia from anywhere else. A place like Greenland shares the same geologic attributes as North America.

Answer 2

Australia is neither an island not a peninsula. Although surrounded by water and not attached to any other land mass, geographically Australia qualifies as being too large for an "island". It is a continent. It is sometimes referred to as an island continent because it is entirely surrounded by water.

The world's largest island is actually Greenland.