query: Final Fantasy XII was released.

pos: Final Fantasy XII is a fantasy role-playing video game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 2 home video console . Released in 2006 , it is the twelfth title in the mainline Final Fantasy series . The game introduced several innovations to the series : an open world split into zones , a seamless battle system , a controllable camera , a customizable `` gambit '' system which lets the player control the artificial intelligence ( AI ) of characters in battle ; and a `` license '' system that determines which abilities and equipment are used by characters . Final Fantasy XII also includes elements from previous games in the series , such as Chocobos and Moogles .   The game takes place in the fictional land of Ivalice , where the empires of Archadia and Rozarria are waging an endless war . Dalmasca , a small kingdom , is caught between the warring nations . When Dalmasca is annexed by Archadia , its princess , Ashe , creates a resistance movement . During the struggle , she meets Vaan , a young adventurer who dreams of becoming a sky pirate in command of an airship . They are quickly joined by a band of allies ; together , they rally against the tyranny of the Archadian Empire .   Final Fantasy XII received critical acclaim , earning numerous `` Game of the Year '' awards in various categories from noted video game publications . Selling more than two million copies in Japan , it became the fourth best-selling PlayStation 2 game of 2006 worldwide . By November 2009 , over 6 million copies of the game were sold worldwide . A sequel , Final Fantasy XII : Revenant Wings , was released for the Nintendo DS in 2007 . A high-definition remaster of the International Zodiac Job System version , subtitled The Zodiac Age , will be released worldwide for the PlayStation 4 in July 2017 .

neg: Chrono Trigger is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square ( now Square Enix ) for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1995 . Chrono Triggers development team included three designers that Square dubbed the `` Dream Team '' : Hironobu Sakaguchi , the creator of Square 's Final Fantasy series ; Yuji Horii , a freelance designer and creator of Enix 's popular Dragon Quest series ; and Akira Toriyama , a freelance manga artist famed for his work with Dragon Quest and Dragon Ball . Kazuhiko Aoki produced the game , Masato Kato wrote most of the plot , while composer Yasunori Mitsuda scored most of the game before falling ill and deferring the remaining tracks to Final Fantasy series composer Nobuo Uematsu . The game 's story follows a group of adventurers who travel through time to prevent a global catastrophe .   Square re-released a ported version by Tose in Japan for the PlayStation in 1999 , later repackaged with a Final Fantasy IV port as Final Fantasy Chronicles in 2001 for the North American market . A slightly enhanced Chrono Trigger , again ported by Tose , was released for the Nintendo DS on November 25 , 2008 , in North America and Japan , and went on sale in Australia on February 3 , 2009 , and in Europe on February 6 , 2009 . The game was never released in PAL territories before the Nintendo DS version .   Chrono Trigger was a critical and commercial success upon release and is frequently cited as one of the best video games of all time . Nintendo Power magazine described aspects of Chrono Trigger as revolutionary , including its multiple endings , plot-related sidequests focusing on character development , unique battle system , and detailed graphics . Chrono Trigger was the third best-selling game of 1995 , and the game 's SNES and PlayStation iterations have shipped 2.65 million copies as of March 2003 . The version for the Nintendo DS sold 790,000 copies as of March 2009 . Chrono Trigger was also ported to i-mode mobile phones , Virtual Console , the PlayStation Network , iOS devices , and Android devices .

neg: Mega Man X6 Mega Man X6 , known as in Japan , is a video game developed and published by Capcom . It is the sixth main entry in the Mega Man X series . The game was first released on the PlayStation in Japan on November 29 , 2001 and was later made available in both North America and Europe .   The plot of Mega Man X6 takes place during the 22nd century where humans and intelligent robots called `` Reploids '' live together . The game follows shortly after the events of Mega Man X5 in which planet Earth was devastated by an attack by the `` Maverick '' leader Sigma and the protagonist Zero sacrificed his own life to save it . As the world recovers , a Maverick known only as the `` Zero Nightmare '' has begun spreading chaos . Zero 's comrade Mega Man X , curious of its name , seeks out this new threat . Like past games in the series , Mega Man X6 is an action-platformer in which the player tackles a series of stages and adds the unique weapon of each boss to X 's arsenal .   Prominent series artist and producer Keiji Inafune was not involved in the game 's production , as he had intended the fifth installment in the series to be the last with Zero 's death . Critically , Mega Man X6 has received mixed to positive reviews . The game was released for the Windows in different parts of Asia in 2002 and 2003 . It was also re-released in 2006 as part of the North American Mega Man X Collection for the GameCube and PlayStation 2 . Mega Man X6 was made available on the PlayStation Network as part of the PSOne Classics line on July 8 , 2015 in Japan .

neg: Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos Ninja Gaiden II : The Dark Sword of Chaos , known in Japan as and as Shadow Warriors II : The Dark Sword of Chaos in Europe ( alternatively known as Shadow Warriors II : Ninja Gaiden II ) , is a side-scrolling platforming video game developed and published by Tecmo for the Nintendo Entertainment System ( NES ) . This is the second installment in the Ninja Gaiden trilogy for the NES and it was released in Japan on , in North America in May 1990 , and in Europe on . The game was later released for the Commodore Amiga and DOS-based PCs by GameTek in 1991 . It was then released for the Virtual Console North America service on for the Wii and on for the Nintendo 3DS .   The events in Ninja Gaiden II take place one year after the events in the first Ninja Gaiden game . It is about an evil emperor named Ashtar who , after hearing of Jaquio 's defeat , devises a plan to take over the world and engulf it in darkness through an evil sword called the Dark Sword of Chaos . A U.S. Army agent named Robert T. Sturgeon recruits the game 's protagonist Ryu Hayabusa and tells him that he is the only person who can stop him . The game received positive praise in previews from Electronic Gaming Monthly and Nintendo Power and continued to receive high ratings and coverage , being nominated for several awards from Nintendo Power in 1991 . Overall , reviewers have said that visuals and controls of Ninja Gaiden II improved over its predecessor while maintaining a high level of difficulty for players ; the game was criticized for having a more generic and predictable plot . The game maintains lasting appeal among players , with one reviewer saying that Ninja Gaiden II is `` a challenging experience the likes of which gamers in the 8-bit era lived and died for '' .

neg: Final Fantasy: Brave Exvius is a free-to-play role-playing game developed by A-lim and published by Square Enix for iOS and Android devices .   A spinoff of the Final Fantasy series , the game marks as the first collaborative effort between Square-Enix and both A-lim and Gumi . It was released in Japan in October 2015 , and worldwide in June 2016 . By the end of 2016 , the app had been downloaded over five million times worldwide .

neg: Front Wing is a Japanese visual novel studio that specializes in the production of adult visual novels . Its main office is located in Taito City , Tokyo . The representative producer and president is Ryūichirō Yamakawa . `` Frontwing '' is the company 's main brand , but it has also released games under affiliated brands `` Survive '' , `` Hotchkiss '' , and `` b-wing '' . These brands have all since merged to become `` Frontwing '' .   Frontwing 's games cover a diverse range of genres , from school love life stories to hardcore adult games , and also games that utilize 3D computer graphics . The 3D content production team , Polygon Mura , is closely involved in the games ' production by seeking ways to incorporate 3D graphics into essentially 2D projects . Several of their games , originally produced for PC , have been ported to consoles . The development of the ported versions is generally done in-house . The company is also active in many other fields , including the development of the dance 3D software Dance X Mixer , taking part in the bi-annual Comic Market , and Niconico live broadcasts .   Since the company 's founding in 1999 as a bishōjo games developer and the release of Frontwing 's first title , Canary ( Canaria : Kono Omoi o Uta ni Nosete ) in August 2000 , it has published over 20 titles in the visual novel genre . The studio 's flagship games include the Netherworld Angel Djibril series , and the Grisaia trilogy which spawned an animated series in 2015 . In regards to the Djibril series , writer Naoki Miyamoto , author of the book `` Adult Games : Introduction to Cultural Studies '' , has pointed out why there is a big demand for such works : `` If the one to fight is a beautiful heroine , the risks she takes stimulate people 's erotic imagination . ''   In 2011 , the first installment of the Grisaia Series , The Fruit of Grisaia , won first place in the Moe Game Award . The second installment , The Labyrinth of Grisaia , won second place in 2012 .   Frontwing marked its first venture into the overseas market May 29 , 2015 , with the English release of The Fruit of Grisaia on Steam . The company has since established its own in-house translation team , which made its debut with the English release of The Leisure of Grisaia on May 18 , 2016 .

neg: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim The Elder Scrolls V : Skyrim is an open world action role-playing video game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks . It is the fifth main installment in The Elder Scrolls series , following The Elder Scrolls IV : Oblivion , and was released worldwide for Microsoft Windows , PlayStation 3 , and Xbox 360 on November 11 , 2011 . The game 's main story revolves around the player character and their quest to defeat Alduin the World-Eater , a dragon who is prophesied to destroy the world . The game is set two hundred years after the events of Oblivion , and takes place in the fictional province of Skyrim . Over the course of the game , the player completes quests and develops the character by improving skills . The game continues the open world tradition of its predecessors by allowing the player to travel anywhere in the game world at any time , and to ignore or postpone the main storyline indefinitely .   Skyrim was developed using the Creation Engine , rebuilt specifically for the game . The team opted for a unique and more diverse game world than Oblivions Imperial Provence of Cyrodiil , which game director and executive producer Todd Howard considered less interesting by comparison . The game was released to critical acclaim , with reviewers particularly mentioning the character development and setting , and is considered to be one of the greatest video games of all time . The game shipped over seven million copies to retailers within the first week of its release , and sold over 30 million copies across all platforms . Three downloadable content ( DLC ) add-ons were released -- Dawnguard , Hearthfire , and Dragonborn -- which were repackaged into The Elder Scrolls V : Skyrim -- Legendary Edition , which was released in June 2013 . The Elder Scrolls V : Skyrim -- Special Edition , a remastered version of the game , was released for Windows , Xbox One , and PlayStation 4 in October 2016 , which includes all three DLC expansions and a minor graphical upgrade , along with additional features such as modding capabilities on consoles . A port for the Nintendo Switch is planned for release in 2017 .

neg: Battle Fantasia is a fighting video game developed by Arc System Works . Originally released in Japanese arcades in April 2007 , the title was ported to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 home consoles in Japan in May 2008 , with a North American Xbox 360-exclusive version released in English in September 2008 by Aksys Games . It was later released in Europe in March 2009 for both systems by 505 Games . A Microsoft Windows version , ported in collaboration with DotEmu and distributed via Steam , was released on July 7 , 2015 . The game 's development was headed by Emiko Iwasaki , who had previously served as illustrator for the company 's Guilty Gear series , and utilizes three-dimensional character models restricted to two-dimensional battlefields . Battle Fantasia retains a number of features of its predecessor including fast-paced gameplay , colorful anime-style graphics , and over-the-top effects , yet was designed to be a more basic representation of the fighting genre .   The game is notable for its stylistic departure from many fighting games , and is set in a fantasy world depicted as a storybook , and borrows many superficial elements from role-playing games including damage represented as numbers and a text-heavy story mode , which involves a number of heroes answering the call to battle to stop an evil force from once again attempting to destroy the world . Battle Fantasia met with relatively low sales in Japan and received mostly average reviews from critics due to the title 's minimal marketing and lack of robust console features .

neg: King Arthur: The Role-Playing Wargame King Arthur : The Role-Playing Wargame is a real-time tactics and role-playing video game developed by NeocoreGames and published by Paradox Interactive in North America , Ubisoft in Europe , and E-Frontier in Japan . It seeks to blend elements of the real-time tactics , role-playing , and grand strategy genres into one . A sequel titled King Arthur II : The Role-Playing Wargame ( not to be confused with the original 's Japanese title , which was released in July 2010 ) was released online in Europe on September 20 , 2011 , and then worldwide in 2012 .

neg: Nintendo Nintendo Co. , Ltd. is a Japanese multinational consumer electronics and video game company headquartered in Kyoto , Japan . Nintendo is one of the world 's largest video game companies by market capitalization . Founded on 23 September 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi , it originally produced handmade hanafuda playing cards . By 1963 , the company had tried several small niche businesses , such as cab services and love hotels . The word Nintendo can be roughly translated from Japanese to English as `` leave luck to heaven '' .   Abandoning previous ventures in favor of toys in the 1960s , Nintendo then developed into a video game company in the 1970s , ultimately becoming one of the most influential in the industry and Japan 's third most-valuable company with a market value of over $ 85 billion . From 1992 until 2016 , Nintendo was also the majority shareholder of Major League Baseball 's Seattle Mariners .   , Nintendo has cumulative sales of over 670.43 million hardware units and 4.23 billion software units . The company has created and released some of the best-known and top-selling video game franchises , such as Mario , The Legend of Zelda , and Pokémon .

neg: Music of Final Fantasy XIV The music for the MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV was composed by Nobuo Uematsu , a regular contributor to the music of the Final Fantasy series . Several other composers including Masayoshi Soken and Naoshi Mizuta contributed music for updates to the game . The music for the game 's reboot , Final Fantasy XIV : A Realm Reborn , was primarily composed by Soken , who was the sound director for both releases of the game . Music from both releases of the game has been released in several albums , though no album contains music from both XIV and A Realm Reborn . A pair of mini-albums containing a handful of selected tracks from XIV , Final Fantasy XIV : Battle Tracks and Final Fantasy XIV : Field Tracks , were released by Square Enix in 2010 when XIV first launched . A soundtrack album titled Final Fantasy XIV - Eorzean Frontiers , containing most of the music that had been released by that point for XIV , was digitally released in 2012 . A final soundtrack album for the original release of the game , Before Meteor : Final Fantasy XIV Original Soundtrack , was released in 2013 just before the launch of A Realm Reborn , and contains all of the music that was composed for XIV throughout its lifetime . The latest soundtrack album , Final Fantasy XIV : A Realm Reborn Original Soundtrack , was released in 2014 , and contains all of the music for A Realm Reborn released up to that point .   The soundtracks for both releases of the game were well received by critics . Uematsu 's mix of orchestral and rock tracks for XIV were praised , though the delayed release of a full album drew criticism . Soken 's work on A Realm Reborn , including both his original tracks as well as themes carried over from XIV and previous Final Fantasy games , were heavily praised by reviewers for the game . Music from the initial release of the game has been played in the international Distant Worlds Final Fantasy concert series , and books of sheet music for piano arrangements of music from the game have been produced .

neg: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles : My Life as a Darklord , released in Japan as , is a tower defense video game developed and published by Square Enix for the Wii and distributed through the WiiWare download service . The game is part of the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles series .   The game follows the Darklord as she defends her mobile tower from waves of attacks as it travels across the kingdom . Unlike most tower defense games the game is played from a side view of the tower , as the player places units and traps to attempt to prevent enemies from reaching the top of the tower and the Dark Crystal kept there . The game received generally positive reviews , with critics generally praising the game 's gameplay and presentation while critiquing a perceived lack of depth to the game .

neg: List of Tales media The Tales series , known in Japan as the , is a franchise of fantasy Japanese role-playing video games published by Bandai Namco Games ( formerly Namco ) , and developed by its subsidiary , Namco Tales Studio ( formerly Wolf Team ) until 2011 and presently by Bandai Namco . First begun in 1995 with the development and release of Tales of Phantasia for the Super Famicom , the series currently spans fifteen main titles , multiple spin-off games and supplementary media in the form of manga series , anime series , and audio dramas .   While entries in the series generally stand independent of each other with different characters and stories , they are commonly linked by their gameplay , themes and high fantasy settings . Most of the main Tales games have been localized for North America and Europe , although almost all of the spinoff titles have not been released abroad . While generally seen as a niche series in English speaking regions , Tales is considered a high-profile property in Japan , just behind other series such as Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest . As of December 2013 , the series has sold 16 million units worldwide .

neg: TaleWorlds Entertainment TaleWorlds Entertainment is an independent Turkish game development company located in Ankara , Turkey , founded in 2005 . TaleWorlds is an official brand of İkisoft Software Company and have been developing PC games under the brand `` TaleWorlds Entertainment '' since 2005 . The company 's first game , Mount & Blade , was completed in September 2008 , its second game Mount & Blade : Warband was released on March 29 , 2010 , and its third game was Mount & Blade : With Fire & Sword was released on May 3 , 2011 .  Their studio is located in Middle East Technical University ( METU ) - Technopolis . The studio is currently working on Mount and Blade II : Bannerlord as confirmed in a PC Gamer interview by Designer and Producer Mikail Yazbeck .

neg: Dissidia 012 Final Fantasy is a 2011 fighting game published by Square Enix for the PlayStation Portable as part of the Final Fantasy series . It was developed by the company 's 1st Production Department and released in Japan on March 3 , 2011 . The game is both a prequel and remake of Dissidia Final Fantasy , revealing what occurred before the events of its predecessor , and was released on March 22 , 2011 in North America .   The game initially focuses on the twelfth war between the gods Chaos and Cosmos who have summoned several warriors from parallel worlds to fight for them . Upon ending the twelfth cycle , the game remakes the thirteenth war from the original Dissidia Final Fantasy and adds multiple sidestories . Fights in Dissidia 012 were given the ability to counteract enemies ' strongest attacks by using assisting characters , while navigation is now done through a traditional-styled Final Fantasy world map .   Development of the game started in August 2009 with the Square staff wishing to improve the gameplay from the first game to provide players with more entertaining features as well as balance several parts . Dissidia 012 has been well received , with publications calling it one of the best PlayStation Portable games .

neg: Fantasy General Fantasy General is a hex-based fantasy game published by Strategic Simulations in 1996 . Its structure was taken from the computer wargame Panzer General with some modifications to the base system . It was the second in the Five Star General series . It allows gaming against other human players by email . It was published on GOG.com in May 2015 , after GOG Ltd acquired the copyright to the title .

neg: Mortal Kombat (2011 video game) Mortal Kombat is a fighting video game developed by NetherRealm Studios and published by Warner Bros. . Interactive Entertainment . The game is the ninth main installment in the Mortal Kombat series and is a reboot of the franchise . The game was released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 systems in April 2011 , and a PlayStation Vita port was released in May 2012 . An expanded version of the game , titled Mortal Kombat : Komplete Edition , was released for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in February 2012 and for Microsoft Windows in July 2013 .   Although beginning during the events of Mortal Kombat : Armageddon , the plot is a retcon to the earliest period in the Mortal Kombat series , the events of Mortal Kombat , Mortal Kombat II and Mortal Kombat 3 ( as well as the latter title 's two updates ) . The storyline involves the divine protector of Earth , Raiden , attempting to change the aftermath of the events of Armageddon by contacting his past self as he faces defeat at the hands of the evil emperor of Outworld , Shao Kahn . While having characters and levels rendered in three-dimensions , the gameplay distances itself from the fully 3D graphics one seen in the last four games , bearing closer resemblance to that of the 2D era of the series , using a camera that is perpendicular to the two-dimensional playing field .   Upon release , Mortal Kombat received very positive reviews and won several awards for fighting game of the year . It was also a commercial success , selling more than two million copies in the first month alone . Due to its extremely violent content , the game was banned in Australia due to the lack of appropriate ratings category , and South Korea , and it has been reportedly indexed in Germany ; the Australian ban was later lifted due to the introduction of an R18 classification and the game was released with many other R rated games in May 2014 . Mortal Kombat was followed by the sequel Mortal Kombat X in 2015 .

neg: Twelfth Night XII Twelfth Night is a studio album released by UK neo-progressive band Twelfth Night in 1986 . Although officially untitled , it is known informally as both XII and The Virgin Album . The number `` XII '' was printed vertically on the album cover with the words `` Twelfth Night '' inserted horizontally between the two `` I 's '' . Some discographies quote the album 's title as X , apparently misinterpreting the `` I 's '' as simply horizontal lines framing the band 's name .

neg: Sword Girls Sword Girls is a online Korean collectible card game developed by Zeonix , released in 2011 . The game art was influenced by manga art style .  The official online game is currently available only in Korean . There were online Japanese and English versions as well but both have since shut down , leaving the Korean version and several smartphone spin-off games as the only ones available for play . The online version has a connected smaller version called Sword Girls S for smartphones .

neg: Myst V: End of Ages Myst V : End of Ages is a 2005 adventure video game , the fifth installment in the Myst series . The game was developed by Cyan Worlds , published by Ubisoft , and released for Macintosh and Windows PC platforms on September 20 , 2005 . As in previous games in the series , End of Agess gameplay consists of navigating worlds known as `` Ages '' via the use of special books and items which act as portals . On each Age , the player solves puzzles and discovers story clues hidden in the Ages or written down in diaries and journals . The player 's actions in the game decide the fate of the ancient D'ni civilization .   In a departure from previous titles in the Myst series , End of Ages replaces pre-rendered environments with worlds rendered in real-time 3D graphics , allowing players to freely navigate the Ages . The faces of actors were digitally mapped onto three-dimensional character models to preserve realism . Cyan paid attention to making the game more accessible to new players by the addition of multiple methods of navigation and an in-game camera . Myst creator Rand Miller decided to give players the ability to decide the fates of the game 's characters as a gift to Myst fans .   End of Ages was positively received upon release . Despite complaints such as lessened interactivity compared to previous games and poorer graphics , publications including Macworld , Computer Gaming World , and The Washington Post judged the game a fitting end to the series . After End of Agess release , Cyan abruptly announced the end of software development and the layoff of most of its staff , but was able to rehire much of the development team a few weeks later . Including End of Agess sales , the Myst franchise had sold more than 12 million copies by November 2007 .

neg: Music of Final Fantasy X The music of the video game Final Fantasy X was composed by regular series composer Nobuo Uematsu , along with Masashi Hamauzu and Junya Nakano . It was the first title in the main Final Fantasy series in which Uematsu was not the sole composer . The Final Fantasy X Original Soundtrack was released on four Compact Discs in 2001 by DigiCube , and was re-released in 2004 by Square Enix . Prior to the album 's North American release , a reduced version entitled Final Fantasy X Original Soundtrack was released on a single disk by Tokyopop in 2002 . An EP entitled feel/Go dream : Yuna & Tidus containing additional singles not present in the game was released by DigiCube in 2001 . Piano Collections Final Fantasy X , a collection of piano arrangements of the original soundtracks by Masashi Hamauzu and performed by Aki Kuroda , was released by DigiCube in 2002 and re-released by Square EA in 2004 . A collection of vocal arrangements of pieces from the game arranged by Katsumi Suyama along with radio drama tracks was released as Final Fantasy X Vocal Collection in 2002 by DigiCube .   The theme song for the game is titled `` Suteki da ne '' , which was performed by Japanese folk singer Ritsuki Nakano , known as `` RIKKI '' . The song was released as a single by DigiCube in 2001 and was re-released by Square Enix in 2004 . The game 's music was well received overall ; reviewers praised the additions to the soundtrack by the two new composers for the series . They especially praised Hamauzu , both for his work in the original soundtrack and in arranging the themes for Piano Collections Final Fantasy X. Several tracks , especially `` Suteki da ne '' and `` To Zanarkand '' , remain popular today , and have been performed numerous times in orchestral concert series , as well as been published in arranged and compilation albums by Square as well as outside groups .


query: The Dodecanese contain 15 large islands plus 150 smaller islands.

pos: Dodecanese The Dodecanese ( -LSB- doʊdɪkəˈniːz -RSB- Δωδεκάνησα , Dodekánisa , -LSB- ðoðeˈkanisa -RSB- , literally `` twelve islands '' ) are a group of 15 larger plus 150 smaller Greek islands in the southeastern Aegean Sea , off the coast of Asia Minor ( Turkey ) , of which 26 are inhabited . Τhis island group generally defines the eastern limit of the Sea of Crete . They belong to the wider Southern Sporades island group .   The most historically important and well-known is Rhodes , which has been the area 's dominant island since Antiquity . Of the others , Kos and Patmos are historically the more important ; the remaining eleven are Agathonisi , Astypalaia , Kalymnos , Karpathos , Kasos , Leipsoi , Leros , Nisyros , Symi , Tilos , and Kastellorizo . Other islands in the chain include Alimia , Arkoi , Chalki , Farmakonisi , Gyali , Kinaros , Levitha , Marathos , Nimos , Pserimos , Saria , Strongyli , Syrna and Telendos .

neg: Kornati The Kornati ( -LSB- kɔ̝rnǎːti -RSB- ) archipelago of Croatia , also known as the Stomorski islands , is located in the northern part of Dalmatia , south from Zadar and west from Šibenik , in the Šibenik-Knin county . With 35 km length and 140 islands , some large , some small , in a sea area of about 320 km ² , the Kornati are the densest archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea . From northwest to southeast ( from the island of Balabra to Samograd ) , and from northeast to southwest ( from Gangarol to Mana ) they stretch for 13 km . The name of the archipelago is the plural form of the name of the largest island , called Kornat .

neg: Great Andaman Great Andaman is the main archipelago of the Andaman Islands of India . It comprises seven major islands . From north to south , these are North Andaman , Interview Island , Middle Andaman , Long Island , Baratang Island , South Andaman , and Rutland Island .

neg: Bass Islands (French Polynesia) The Bass Islands ( Îles ( de ) Bass or Îlots ( de ) Bass ) consist primarily of Rapa Iti and Marotiri . They are usually considered to be the southernmost of the Austral Islands , although this classification is one of geographic and political expediency more so than because of similarities between them and the rest of the Austral Islands . The Bass Islands , lying several degrees outside the tropics , are the southernmost islands in French Polynesia .   Geologically , the Bass Islands are distinguished from the Austral Islands in that their vulcanism appears to be much more recent .   Culturally , the Bass Islands appear to have been colonized about the same time as Tahiti and the Marquesas , and the culture and language ( Rapan ) appear to have diverged about the same time as well , indicating that they developed in relative isolation almost from the time of first settlement .   Rapa , sometimes called Rapa Iti ( Little Rapa , to distinguish it from `` Rapa Nui '' ( Big Rapa ) , a name for Easter Island ) , is the largest and only inhabited island of the Bass Islands . An older name for the island is Oparo . Its area is 40 km2 with a population of almost 500 and a max elevation of 650 m. Its main town is Ahuréi .   Marotiri is a group of four uninhabited volcanic rocks protruding from the sea ( and several submerged rocks ) , forming the southeastern end of the Austral Islands of French Polynesia . Marotiri is also known as Bass Rocks ( Îlots de Bass in French ) , maybe according to the name of the European explorer George Bass . Marotiri is very isolated , located at , about 725 mi west-south-westward of Pitcairn Island . The closest island is Rapa Iti , 75 km further northwest , but separated from it by an ocean depth of more than 1,500 meters . The rocks are part of the municipality of Rapa and uninhabitable by people . They form an important bird sanctuary .

neg: Banda Islands The Banda Islands ( Kepulauan Banda ) are a volcanic group of ten small volcanic islands in the Banda Sea , about 140 km south of Seram Island and about 2000 km east of Java , and are part of the Indonesian province of Maluku . The main town and administrative centre is Bandanaira , located on the island of the same name . They rise out of 4 to deep ocean and have a total land area of approximately 180 km2 . They have a population of about 15,000 . Until the mid-19th century the Banda Islands were the world 's only source of the spices nutmeg and mace , produced from the nutmeg tree . The islands are also popular destinations for scuba diving and snorkeling .

neg: THUMS Islands The THUMS Islands or Astronaut Islands are a set of four artificial islands in San Pedro Bay off the coast of Long Beach , California . They were built in 1965 to tap into the East Wilmington Oil Field . The landscaping and sound walls were designed to camouflage the operation and reduce noise , and they are the only decorated oil islands in the United States .   After a 1964 court case that gave the state of California mineral rights to the area , the islands were built at an estimated cost of $ 22 million in 1965 , the islands were operated by THUMS , a consortium named after the parent companies who bid for the island contract : Texaco , Humble ( now Exxon ) , Union Oil , Mobil , and Shell . The rim of the islands are made of 640,000 tons of boulders from Catalina Island , and the islands were then filled with 3.2 million cubic yards of dredged material from the bay . The islands contain significant landscaping , a waterfall , and tall structures concealing the drilling rigs , including one known as The Condo and mistaken for `` a ritzy hotel '' by those on land . The structures are lit in colored lights at night . The aesthetic mitigation cost $ 10 million at time of construction , and was overseen by theme park architect Joseph Linesch . They were described by a Los Angeles Times writer as `` part Disney , part Jetsons , part Swiss Family Robinson '' .   In 1975 , the state of California and the city of Long Beach sued the THUMS oil companies for artificially depressing oil prices . A federal jury cleared Exxon of all charges , and the other four oil companies settled out of court for `` hundreds of millions of dollars '' .   The islands and operation were purchased by Occidental Petroleum in 2000 .   Since 1967 , they have been known as the Astronaut Islands , having been renamed in honor of four American astronauts who lost their lives in the service of NASA . Island Freeman ( Theodore C. `` Ted '' Freeman ) is named for the first astronaut to perish in active duty ( piloting a T-38 Talon jet trainer ) . Island Grissom ( Virgil I. `` Gus '' Grissom ) , Island White ( Edward H. White II ) , and Island Chaffee ( Roger B. Chaffee ) are named after the Apollo 1 astronauts ( launch pad accident ) .   A peak of 148495 oilbbl/d were produced in 1969 . 300 Moilbbl of oil were pumped from THUMS by 1974 , the 500 millionth barrel of crude oil was pumped in 1980 . By 1992 , the pumping volume was 44444 oilbbl of oil per day through the water injection method of oil recovery , producing low-grade crude oil . By April 2002 , the 900 millionth barrel of oil was pumped . The pumped oil contained 20 % water in 1965 , and by 1994 it was 92 % water .   Island Grissom is the closest to land , containing waterfalls and more sculptured screens than the other islands . The screens and decorations also serve to deter the public from swimming to the islands ( trespassers are subject to arrest ) .   Island Freeman is the largest of the islands , at 12 acre .

neg: Comoros The Comoros ( -LSB- ˈkɒməroʊz -RSB- جزر القمر , ) , officially the Union of the Comoros ( Comorian : Udzima wa Komori , Union des Comores , الاتحاد القمري ) , is a sovereign archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean located at the northern end of the Mozambique Channel off the eastern coast of Africa between northeastern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar . Other countries near the Comoros are Tanzania to the northwest and the Seychelles to the northeast . Its capital is Moroni , on Grande Comore . The Union of the Comoros has three official languages -- Comorian , Arabic and French . The religion of the majority of the population is Islam .   At 1660 km2 , excluding the contested island of Mayotte , the Comoros is the third-smallest African nation by area . The population , excluding Mayotte , is estimated at 798,000 . As a nation formed at a crossroads of different civilisations , the archipelago is noted for its diverse culture and history . The archipelago was first inhabited by Bantu speakers who came from East Africa , supplemented by Arab and Austronesian immigration .   The country consists of three major islands and numerous smaller islands , all in the volcanic Comoros archipelago . The major islands are commonly known by their French names : northwestern-most Grande Comore ( Ngazidja ) ; Mohéli ( Mwali ) ; and Anjouan ( Nzwani ) . In addition , the country has a claim on a fourth major island , southeastern-most Mayotte ( Maore ) , though Mayotte voted against independence from France in 1974 , has never been administered by an independent Comoros government , and continues to be administered by France ( currently as an overseas department ) . France has vetoed United Nations Security Council resolutions that would affirm Comorian sovereignty over the island . In addition , Mayotte became an overseas department and a region of France in 2011 following a referendum passed overwhelmingly .   It became part of the French colonial empire in the 19th century before becoming independent in 1975 . Since declaring independence , the country has experienced more than 20 coups d'état or attempted coups , with various heads of state assassinated . Along with this constant political instability , the population of the Comoros lives with the worst income inequality of any nation , with a Gini coefficient over 60 % , while also ranking in the worst quartile on the Human Development Index . about half the population lived below the international poverty line of US$ 1.25 a day . The Comoros is a member state of the African Union , Francophonie , Organisation of Islamic Cooperation , Arab League ( of which it is the southernmost state , being the only member state of the Arab League with a tropical climate and also entirely within the Southern Hemisphere ) and the Indian Ocean Commission .

neg: List of European islands by population This is a list of islands in Europe ordered by population . The list is not complete and it includes random definitions of `` island '' . Södertörn in Sweden is included , even though it is a part of the mainland only divided from it by a small canal . If the same criteria were applied generally , all of Spain and Southern France would form an island of more than 50 million people , separated from the mainland by Canal du Midi in the same way that Södertörn is separated from mainland Sweden .

neg: List of islands in the Houtman Abrolhos This is a list of islands in the Houtman Abrolhos , an island chain off the west coast of Australia . It is complete with respect to the 1996 Gazetteer of Australia . It is widely reported that the Houtman Abrolhos contains 122 islands , but only 93 islands had gazetted names in 1996 . In the gazetteer of 2011 Hartley Island appears no more , but Barge Rock , Second Sister and Shag Rock appear , which raises the number of gazetted names to 96 ( 30 in the Wallabi Group , 38 in the Pelsaert Group and 28 in the Easter Group ) .   In addition to the gazetted islands , six island groups have been gazetted . The three main groups are the Wallabi Group , the Easter Group and the Pelsaert Group . In addition , the Easter Group contains a group known as the Eastern Islands , and the Pelsaert group contains groups known as the Mangrove Group and the Numbered Islands .   The Inventory of the Land Conservation Values of the Houtman Abrolhos mentions many more unofficially named islets , 16 in the Wallabi Group , 26 in the Eastern Group and 15 in the Pelsaert Group , plus the subgroups of the Jackson Islets ( 7 islets without individual names or numbers ) and The Coral Patches ( 13 islets without individual names or numbers ) , also in the Pelsaert Group .   This makes for a total of 173 known islands , islets and above-water rocks with land area in the Houtman Abrolhos .

neg: Šćedro Šćedro ( -LSB- ʃtɕědro -RSB- ) is an island in the Adriatic Sea with an area of 8.36 km2 , 2.7 km off the south coast of the island of Hvar , Croatia , opposite the settlement of Zavala . The name comes from štedri , meaning charitable in old Slavonic , because the island offers two deep , well-protected coves . The Latin name of Šćedro was Tauris from which derived the Italian Tauricola or Torcola .   According to the Hvar Statute of 1331 , the island was communal property and reserved for use as a pasture . The island is very fertile , and has a milder climate then Hvar and , thanks to night dew , was even used to grow grain .   A Dominican monastery was founded in the Bay of Mostir ( 1465 ) , together with a hospice for sailors , and abandoned in the 18th century . There is an old quarry at Stare Stine , and gypsum from the island was used in the Baroque chapels of Hvar cathedral .   Around 30 people live on the island in summer . The old settlements of Mostir and Nastane are now largely abandoned , except for restaurants and other tourist facilities in the summer season .

neg: British Overseas Territories The 14 British Overseas Territories ( BOT ) are territories under the jurisdiction and sovereignty of the United Kingdom . They are the parts of the British Empire that have not been granted independence or have voted to remain British territories . These territories do not form part of the United Kingdom and , with the exception of Gibraltar , are not part of the European Union . Most of the inhabited territories are internally self-governing , with the UK retaining responsibility for defence and foreign relations . The rest are either uninhabited or have a transitory population of military or scientific personnel . They share the British monarch ( Elizabeth II ) as head of state .   The term `` British Overseas Territory '' was introduced by the British Overseas Territories Act 2002 , replacing the term British Dependent Territory , introduced by the British Nationality Act 1981 . Prior to 1 January 1983 , the territories were officially referred to as British Crown Colonies . With the exceptions of the British Antarctic Territory and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands ( which host only officials and research station staff ) and the British Indian Ocean Territory ( used as a military base ) , the Territories retain permanent civilian populations . Permanent residency for the 7,000 or so civilians living in the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia is limited to citizens of the Republic of Cyprus .   Collectively , the Territories encompass a population of about 250,000 people and a land area of about 667018 sqmi . The vast majority of this land area , 660000 sqmi , constitutes the almost uninhabited British Antarctic Territory , while the largest territory by population , Bermuda , accounts for almost a quarter of the total BOT population . At the other end of the scale , three territories have no civilian population ; the Antarctic territory , the British Indian Ocean Territory ( from which the Chagos Islanders were controversially removed ) and South Georgia . Pitcairn Islands , settled by the survivors of the Mutiny on the Bounty , is the smallest settled territory with 49 inhabitants , while the smallest by land area is Gibraltar on the southern tip of the Iberian peninsula . The United Kingdom participates in the Antarctic Treaty System and , as part of a mutual agreement , the British Antarctic Territory is recognised by four of the other sovereign nations making claims to Antarctic territory .   Although the Crown dependencies of Jersey , Guernsey and the Isle of Man are also under the sovereignty of the British monarch , they are in a different constitutional relationship with the United Kingdom . The British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies are themselves distinct from the Commonwealth realms , a group of 15 independent countries ( and the United Kingdom ) which each also have Elizabeth II as their reigning monarch , and from the Commonwealth of Nations , a voluntary association of 52 countries mostly with historic links to the British Empire ( which also includes all Commonwealth realms ) .   the Minister responsible for the Territories excluding the Falkland Islands , Gibraltar and the Sovereign Base Areas is Baroness Anelay , Minister of State for the Commonwealth and the UN . The other three territories are the responsibility of Sir Alan Duncan MP , Minister of State for Europe and the Americas .

neg: Phocis Phocis ( -LSB- ˈfoʊsɪs -RSB- Φωκίδα , -LSB- foˈciða -RSB- , Φωκίς -LSB- pʰɔːkís -RSB- ) is one of the regional units of Greece . It is part of the administrative region of Central Greece . It stretches from the western mountainsides of Parnassus on the east to the mountain range of Vardousia on the west , upon the Gulf of Corinth . It is named after the ancient region of Phocis , but the modern regional unit also includes parts of ancient Locris and Doris .

neg: Lombok Lombok is an island in West Nusa Tenggara province , Indonesia . It forms part of the chain of the Lesser Sunda Islands , with the Lombok Strait separating it from Bali to the west and the Alas Strait between it and Sumbawa to the east . It is roughly circular , with a `` tail '' ( Sekotong Peninsula ) to the southwest , about 70 km across and a total area of about 4,514 km ² . The provincial capital and largest city on the island is Mataram . It is somewhat similar in size and density with neighboring Bali and shares some cultural heritage , but is administratively part of Nusa Tenggara Barat along with sparsely populated Sumbawa . It is surrounded by a number of smaller islands locally called Gili .   The island was home to some 3.17 million Indonesians as recorded in the decennial 2010 census ; the latest estimate ( for January 2014 ) gives the population as 3,311,044 .

neg: Thermaic Gulf The Thermaic Gulf is a gulf of the Aegean Sea located immediately south of the Thessaloniki regional unit , east of Pieria and Imathia , and west of Chalkidiki . It was named after the ancient town of Therma , which was situated on the northeast coast of the gulf ( Therma was later renamed Thessalonica ) . Near Thessaloniki , the length ( north-south ) of the gulf is about 100 km , while its width ( east-west ) is about 5 km . The length of the gulf in its northern part ( from its northern extent down to `` megalo emvolo '' cape ) is estimated to stretch 15 km , while after `` megalo emvolo '' cape towards the south , its length extents a further 50 km . Cape Kassandra lies to the southeast end of the gulf .   To the Romans , the gulf was also known as Thermaicus or Thermaeus sinus ( `` Gulf of Therma '' ) and as Macedonicus sinus ( `` The Gulf of Macedon '' , or `` The Macedonian Gulf '' ) . One of its modern names is the `` Gulf of Salonica '' , named after the city of Thessaloniki which sprawls around and along the northeastern coast of the gulf .   Places that lie by the gulf include Sani , Kassandreia , ancient Potidaea , Nea Moudania , Agia Triada , Neoi Epivates , Peraia , Kalochori , Methoni , Pydna , Paralia Katerinis and Olympiaki Akti . The rivers emptying into the gulf are the Pineios , Aliakmon , Loudias , Gallikos and Axios ; several streams including one near Pydna also empty into the gulf . The Thermaic Gulf was significantly larger in classical times , with many ancient seaside cities ( e.g. Pella ) are now found several kilometers inland . The extensive silting mainly affects the northern and western parts of the gulf , which receive the bulk of alluvial outflow . The gulf is home to a large number of famous , pristine beaches , which include Sani Beach . However , there are no beaches on the northwest coast , where wetlands stretch from Methone ( northwest coast ) to Thessaloniki 's western suburb of Kalochori .   The Port of Thessaloniki is the gulf 's largest and busiest port , while another twelve small ports provide sea transport in , out and around the Thermaic gulf . Major road networks of northern Greece such as the A1/E75 motorway ( Athens - Lamia - Thessaloniki ) encircles the western portion of the gulf , while the A25 ( Thessaloniki - Nea Moudania motorway ) almost encircles the eastern part of it .   Category : Gulfs of the Aegean Sea  Category : Gulfs of Greece  Category : Geography of ancient Chalcidice  Category : Geography of ancient Mygdonia  Category : Bottiaea  Category : Geography of ancient Pieria  Category : Thessaloniki  Category : Landforms of Thessaloniki ( regional unit )  Category : Landforms of Central Macedonia  Category : Landforms of Pieria ( regional unit )  Category : Landforms of Imathia  Category : Landforms of Chalkidiki

neg: Ionian Sea The Ionian Sea ( Ιόνιο Πέλαγος , -LSB- iˈonio ˈpelaɣos -RSB- , Mar Ionio , -LSB- mar ˈjɔːnjo -RSB- , Deti Jon , -LSB- dɛti jɔ : n -RSB- ) is an elongated embayment of the Mediterranean Sea , south of the Adriatic Sea . It is bounded by southern Italy including Calabria , Sicily , and the Salento peninsula to the west , southern Albania to the north , and the west coast of Greece .   All major islands in the sea belong to Greece . They are collectively referred to as the Ionian Islands , the major ones being Corfu , Zakynthos , Kephalonia , Ithaca , and Lefkada .  There are ferry routes between Patras and Igoumenitsa , Greece , and Brindisi and Ancona , Italy , that cross the east and north of the Ionian Sea , and from Piraeus westward . Calypso Deep , the deepest point in the Mediterranean at -5267 m , is located in the Ionian Sea , at . The sea is one of the most seismically active areas in the world .

neg: Geography of São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe is a small nation composed of an archipelago located in the Gulf of Guinea of equatorial Atlantic Ocean . The nation 's main islands are São Tomé Island and Príncipe Island , for which the country is named . These are located about 300 and , respectively , off the northwest coast of Gabon in West Africa . The nation 's geographic coordinates are a latitude of 1 ° 00 ′ N and a longitude of 7 ° 00 ′ E.   São Tomé and Príncipe constitute one of Africa 's smallest countries , with 209 km of coastline . Both are part of an extinct volcanic mountain range , which also includes the island of Bioko in Equatorial Guinea to the northeast and Mount Cameroon on the mainland coast further northeast . São Tomé is 50 km long and 30 km wide and the more mountainous of the two islands . Its peaks reach 2024 m - Pico de São Tomé . Principe is about 30 km long and 6 km wide , making it the smaller of the two . Its peaks reach 948 m - Pico de Príncipe . This makes the total land area of the country 1001 km2 , about five times the size of Washington , D.C. . Both islands are crossed by swift streams radiating down the mountains through lush forest and cropland to the sea . Both islands at a distance of 150 km2 . The equator lies immediately south of São Tomé Island , passing through an islet Ilhéu das Rolas .   The Pico Cão Grande ( Great Dog Peak ) is a landmark volcanic plug peak , located at in southern São Tomé . It rises dramatically over 300 m above the surrounding terrain and the summit is 663 m above sea level .

neg: Timor Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia , north of the Timor Sea . The island is divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part and Indonesia , on the western part . The Indonesian part , also known as West Timor , constitutes part of the province of East Nusa Tenggara . Within West Timor lies an exclave of East Timor called Oecusse District . The island covers an area of 30,777 km2 . The name is a variant of timur , Malay for `` east '' ; it is so called because it lies at the eastern end of the Lesser Sunda Islands .

neg: South Aegean The South Aegean is one of the thirteen regions of Greece . It consists of the Cyclades and Dodecanese island groups in the central and southeastern Aegean Sea .

neg: Megara Gulf The Megara Gulf ( Greek : Κόλπος Μέγαρων Kolpos Megaron ) is a gulf that is in the northern part of the Saronic Gulf of the Aegean Sea . The total length is approximately 20 km long from north east to west and about 6 to 10 km wide from north to south . It begins at Agioi Theodoroi and stretches eastward to the cape south of the village of Pachi in Megara and a small strait near Salamis Bay , and south to the area around Lamprino on the island of Salamis . Places on the shore include Agioi Theodoroi , Kineta , Pachi , and Kanakia on Salamis . Islets include Pachi and Pachaki ( meaning Little Pachi ) south of Pachi and Kanaki near Kanakia . Cape Petritis covers the southeast forming a bay boundary stretching to the northwestern part of the island near a small strait .   Farmlands and flatlands covers the northern part except for the area of Kakia Skala and mountains to the east . The road linking with places in the south of the island lie to the east and another further north .

neg: Geography of Fiji -RSB-   Fiji is a group of volcanic islands in the South Pacific , lying about 4,450 km ( 2,775 mi ) southwest of Honolulu and 1,770 km ( 1,100 mi ) north of New Zealand . Of the 332 islands and 522 smaller islets making up the archipelago , about 106 are permanently inhabited . Viti Levu , the largest island , covers about 57 % of the nation 's land area , hosts the two official cities ( the capital Suva , and Lautoka ) and most other major towns , such as Nausori , Vaileka , Ba , Tavua , Kororvou , Nasinu , and Nadi ( the site of the international airport ) , and contains some 69 % of the population . Vanua Levu , 64 km to the north of Viti Levu , covers just over 30 % of the land area though is home to only some 15 % of the population . Its main towns are Labasa and Savusavu . In the northeast it features Natewa Bay , carving out the Loa peninsula .   Both islands are mountainous , with peaks up to 1300 m rising abruptly from the shore , and covered with tropical forests . Heavy rains ( up to 304 cm or 120 inches annually ) fall on the windward ( southeastern ) side , covering these sections of the islands with dense tropical forest . Lowlands on the western portions of each of the main islands are sheltered by the mountains and have a well-marked dry season favorable to crops such as sugarcane .   Other islands and island groups , which cover just 12.5 % of the land area and house some 16 % of the population , include Taveuni southeast off Vanua Levu and Kadavu Island , south off Viti Levu ( the third and fourth largest islands respectively ) , the Mamanuca Group ( just off Nadi ) and Yasawa Group ( to the north of the Mamanucas ) , which are popular tourist destinations , the Lomaiviti Group ( just off Suva ) with Levuka , the former capital and the only major town on any of the smaller islands , located on the island of Ovalau , and the remote Lau Group over the Koro Sea to the east near Tonga , from which it is separated by the Lakeba Passage .   Two outlying regions are Rotuma , 400 km to the north , and the uninhabited coral atoll and cay Ceva-i-Ra or Conway Reef , 450 km to the southwest of main Fiji . Culturally conservative Rotuma with its 2000 people on 44 km2 geographically belongs to Polynesia , and enjoys relative autonomy as a Fijian dependency .   Fiji Television reported on 21 September 2006 that the Fiji Islands Maritime and Safety Administration ( FIMSA ) , while reviewing its outdated maritime charts , had discovered the possibility that more islands could lie within Fiji 's Exclusive Economic Zone .   More than half of Fiji 's population lives on the island coasts , either in Suva or in smaller urban centers . The interior is sparsely populated because of its rough terrain .

neg: Isleño Isleño ( -LSB- izˈleɲo -RSB- , pl . isleños ) is the Spanish word meaning `` islander . '' The term was applied to the Canary Islanders to distinguish them from Spanish mainlanders known as `` peninsulars '' ( links = no ) . The Isleños are the inhabitants of the Canary Islands , and by extension the descendants of Canarian settlers and emigrants to present-day Louisiana , Texas , Cuba , the Dominican Republic , Venezuela , Puerto Rico , and other parts of the Americas . In these places , the name , which formerly referred to a general category of people , now refers to the specific cultural identity of Canary Islanders or their descendants throughout Latin America and in Louisiana , where they are still called isleños . Another name for Canary Islander in English is `` Canarian . '' In Spanish , an alternative is canario or isleño canario .   The term isleño is still used in Latin America , at least in those countries which had large Canarian populations , to distinguish a Canary Islander from a peninsular ( continental Spaniard ) . By the early 19th century there were more people of Canarian extraction in the Americas than in the Canary Islands themselves , and the number of descendants of those first immigrants is exponentially larger than the number who originally migrated . The Americas were the destination of most Canarian immigrants , from their discovery by Europeans in the 15th century until the 20th century , when substantial numbers went to the Spanish colonies of Ifni , Western Sahara and Equatorial Guinea in Africa during the first half of the century . Beginning in the 1970s , they began to emigrate to other European countries , although emigration to the Americas did not end until the early 1980s .   The cultures of Cuba , the Dominican Republic , Puerto Rico , Venezuela , and Uruguay partially have all been influenced by Canarian culture , as have the dialects of Spanish spoken in all but Uruguay . Although almost all descendants of Canary Islanders who emigrated to the Americas from the 16th to the 20th century are incorporated socially and culturally within the larger populations , there remain a few communities that have preserved at least some their ancestors ' Canarian culture , as in Louisiana , San Antonio in Texas , Hatillo , Puerto Rico San Carlos de Tenerife ( now a neighborhood of Santo Domingo ) in the Dominican Republic and San Borondón in Peru .


query: Tanzania borders the Indian Ocean.

pos: Tanzania Tanzania -LSB- ˌtænzəˈniːə -RSB- , officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania ) , is a country in Eastern Africa within the African Great Lakes region . Parts of the country are in Southern Africa . It is bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north ; Rwanda , Burundi , and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west ; Zambia , Malawi , and Mozambique to the south ; and by the Indian Ocean to the east . Mount Kilimanjaro , Africa 's highest mountain , is in northeastern Tanzania .   Tanzania 's population of 51.82 million ( 2014 ) is diverse , composed of several ethnic , linguistic , and religious groups . Tanzania is a presidential constitutional republic , and since 1996 , its official capital city has been Dodoma , where the President 's Office , the National Assembly , and some government ministries are located . Dar es Salaam , the former capital , retains most government offices and is the country 's largest city , principal port , and leading commercial centre . Tanzania is a one party dominant state with the socialist-progressive Chama Cha Mapinduzi ( CCM ) party in power . From its formation until 1992 , it was the only legally permitted party in the country . This changed on 1 July 1992 , when amendments to the Constitution and a number of laws permitting and regulating the formation and operations of more than one political party were enacted by the National Assembly . Elections for president and all National Assembly seats were last held in October 2015 . The CCM holds approximately 75 % of the seats in the assembly .   Prehistoric population migrations include Southern Cushitic speakers , who are ancestral to the Iraqw , Gorowa , and Burunge and who moved south from Ethiopia into Tanzania . Based on linguistic evidence , there may also have been two movements into Tanzania of Eastern Cushitic people at about 4,000 and 2,000 years ago , originating from north of Lake Turkana . Archaeological evidence supports the conclusion that Southern Nilotes , including the Datoog , moved south from the present-day South Sudan-Ethiopia border region into central northern Tanzania between 2,900 and 2,400 years ago . These movements took place at about the same time as the settlement of the iron-making Mashariki Bantu from West Africa in the Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika areas . They brought with them the west African planting tradition and the primary staple of yams . They subsequently migrated out of these regions across the rest of Tanzania , between 2,300 and 1,700 years ago . European colonialism began in mainland Tanzania during the late 19th century when Germany formed German East Africa , which gave way to British rule following World War I . The mainland was governed as Tanganyika , with the Zanzibar Archipelago remaining a separate colonial jurisdiction . Following their respective independence in 1961 and 1963 , the two entities merged in April 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania .   Tanzania is mountainous and densely forested in the northeast , where Mount Kilimanjaro is located . Three of Africa 's Great Lakes are partly within Tanzania . To the north and west lie Lake Victoria , Africa 's largest lake , and Lake Tanganyika , the continent 's deepest lake , known for its unique species of fish . The eastern shore is hot and humid , with the Zanzibar Archipelago just offshore . The Kalambo water falls in the southwestern region of Rukwa are the second highest uninterrupted fall in Africa and are located near the southeastern shore of Lake Tanganyika on the border with Zambia . The Menai Bay Conservation Area is Zanzibar 's largest marine protected area .   Over 100 different languages are spoken in Tanzania , making it the most linguistically diverse country in East Africa . Among the languages spoken in Tanzania are all four of Africa 's language families : Bantu , Cushitic , Nilotic , and Khoisan . Swahili and English are Tanzania 's official languages . A highly multilingual country , Swahili is used in parliamentary debate , in the lower courts , and as a medium of instruction in primary school ; and English is used in foreign trade , in diplomacy , in higher courts , and as a medium of instruction in secondary and higher education , although the Tanzanian government plans to discontinue English as a language of instruction altogether . In connection with his Ujamaa social policies , President Nyerere encouraged the use of Swahili ; as a means of unifying the country 's many ethnic groups . Approximately 10 % of Tanzanians speak Swahili as a first language , and up to 90 % speak it as a second language . Most Tanzanians thus speak both Swahili and a local language ; many educated Tanzanians are trilingual ; also speaking English . The widespread use and promotion of Swahili is contributing to the decline of smaller languages in the country . Young children increasingly speak Swahili as a first language , mostly in urban areas .   Tanzania-Malawi relations have been tense because of a dispute over the countries ' Lake Nyasa ( Lake Malawi ) border . An unsuccessful mediation regarding this issue happened in March 2014 . The two countries agreed in 2013 to ask the International Court of Justice ( ICJ ) to resolve the dispute should mediation be unsuccessful . Malawi , but not Tanzania , has accepted the compulsory jurisdiction of the ICJ .

neg: Pate Island Pate ( Paté ) Island ( -LSB- ˈpate -RSB- ) is located in the Indian Ocean close to the northern coast of Kenya , to which it belongs . It is the largest island in the Lamu Archipelago , which lie between the towns of Lamu and Kiunga in the former Coast Province . The island is almost completely surrounded by mangroves .   From the 7th century , Paté island was an early site of Arabic colonisation . It was the centre of the Pate sultanate from the 13th -- 19th centuries . The Swahili port of Pate long vied with Lamu and Takwa ( on Manda Island ) for economic dominance of the area , and came into prominence around the 14th century . It was subjugated by Lamu , however , in the late 19th century .   Public transportation is provided by a few mini buses ( known as matatus ) . The main administrative centre on the island , with the police station , is Faza .

neg: Lake Rukwa Lake Rukwa is an endorheic lake in the Rukwa Valley of southwestern Tanzania . The alkaline Lake Rukwa lies midway between Lake Tanganyika and Lake Nyasa at an elevation of about 800 m , in a parallel branch of the rift system . Almost half of the lake lies in Uwanda Game Reserve .   The lake has seen large fluctuations in its size over the years , due to varying inflow of streams . Currently it is about 180 km long and averages about 32 km wide , making it about 5760 km2 in size . In 1929 it was only about 48 km long , but in 1939 it was about 128 km long and 40 km wide . The lake may at times have been even higher and linked Lake Tanganyika with Lake Malawi ; ancient shorelines suggest a final date of overflow into Tanganyika of 33,000 BP .

neg: Sumbawanga Sumbawanga is a city located in western Tanzania . It is the capital of Rukwa Region . The regional population is approximately 150,000 based on a 2002 census . Sumbawanga lies in the territory of the Wafipa Fipa tribe and so many people speak Kifipa , as well as Kiswahili , the most widely used language of Tanzania . The name of the town literally translates as `` throw away your witchcraft '' , thought to be a warning from local spiritual `` healers '' to any bringing in superstitions and practices relating to spiritual healers from other areas ; there are still some healers who practice both in town and in the surrounding smaller villages on the plateau . The town has the largest hospital in the region , Rukwa General Hospital , which is government funded , as well as the smaller Dr. Atiman Hospital administrated and run by the Catholic Diocese of Sumbawanga .   The town acts as a supply and commercial center for the Rukwa Region and some governmental agencies are to be found there , notably the transport department for the region . Sumbawanga has both Libori and Moravian conference centres . A modest-size market is in the town centre where local produce may be found . This includes maize , rice , fruit , poultry and fish ( from Lake Tanganyika and Lake Rukwa ) . Many imported plastic goods and electronics are available as well as bicycles and spares . Although there are several fuel outlets , supply can be quite erratic because of the difficulties of transport from the coast .   The local economy is largely dependent on agriculture and small locally owned businesses . There is very limited industry or production in the town . Significant improvement could be expected if the road to Mbeya was sealed to enable reliable all-weather access year round . This road , and its continuation north to Mpanda and Tabora or Kigoma , can become impassable at the height of the wet season ( Feb-Mar ) . The Tanzanian government does have contracts in place for upgrading large sections of these roads . The town can be reached by flights operated by Auric Air or by bus from Mbeya which lies to the south with train links to the town of Kapiri Mposhi in Zambia , to Dar es Salaam . Rail is also available through Tabora from Mpanda in the north . Mpanda also has an airport with a 2km sealed runway .   Sumbawanga has many schools and colleges , including Chem Chem Secondary School , Sumbawanga Secondary School , St. Aggrey Chanji High School , Mazwi Secondary School , St. Aggrey Teaching College , Musoma Utalii College , and Chem Chem Teaching College .

neg: Chwaka Bay Chwaka Bay is a large indentation in the central east coast of the Tanzanian island of Unguja - the largest island of the Zanzibar Archipelago . The bay contains several small islands , and the towns of Chwaka and Kae are situated on its coast .   The southwest corner of the bay forms part of the Jozani-Chwaka Bay National Park .

neg: Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is , geographically , the area of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara . According to the UN , it consists of all African countries that are fully or partially located south of the Sahara . It contrasts with North Africa , whose territories are part of the League of Arab states within the Arab world . Somalia , Djibouti , Comoros and Mauritania are geographically in Sub-Saharan Africa , but are likewise Arab states and part of the Arab world .   The Sahel is the transitional zone between the Sahara and the tropical savanna ( the Sudan region ) and forest-savanna mosaic to the south .   Since probably 3500 BCE , the Saharan and Sub-Saharan regions of Africa have been separated by the extremely harsh climate of the sparsely populated Sahara , forming an effective barrier interrupted by only the Nile in Sudan , though the Nile was blocked by the river 's cataracts . The Sahara pump theory explains how flora and fauna ( including Homo sapiens ) left Africa to penetrate the Middle East and beyond . African pluvial periods are associated with a `` wet Sahara '' phase during which larger lakes and more rivers existed .   The use of the term has been criticized because it refers to the South only by cartography conventions and projects a connotation of inferiority ; a vestige of colonialism , which some say , divided Africa into European terms of homogeneity .

neg: Kigoma Region Kigoma Region is one of Tanzania 's 30 administrative regions . The regional capital is the city of Kigoma . According to the 2012 national census , the region had a population of 2,127,930 , which was higher than the pre-census projection of 1,971,332 . For 2002-2012 , the region 's 2.4 percent average annual population growth rate was tied for the fourteenth highest in the country . It was also the sixteenth most densely populated region with 57 people per square kilometer . With a size of 45066 km2 , the region is slightly smaller than Estonia ( 45227 km2 ) .

neg: Mangapwani Mangapwani is a town on the Tanzanian island of Unguja , the main island of Zanzibar . It is located on the northwest coast , 25 kilometres north of the Zanzibari capital of Stone Town .   The town 's name means `` Arabian Shore '' in swahili , a name which probably dates from the black-market slavery days of the 1840s to 1880s . The shoreline here contains numerous caves , some of which were used for holding slaves at that time . Among the caves is a popular attraction , the Coral Cavern , which is located two kilometres south of the town .

neg: Kilimanjaro National Park Kilimanjaro National Park is a Tanzanian national park , located 300 km south of the equator and in Kilimanjaro Region , Tanzania . The park is located near the city of Moshi . The park includes the whole of Mount Kilimanjaro above the tree line and the surrounding montane forest belt above 1820 m . It covers an area of 1688 sqkm , 2 ° 50 ' -- 3 ° 10 'S latitude , 37 ° 10 ' -- 37 ° 40 ' E longitude . The park is administered by the Tanzania National Parks Authority ( TANAPA ) .   The park generated US $ 51 million in revenue in 2013 , the second-most of any Tanzanian national park , and was one of only two Tanzanian national parks to generate a surplus during the 2012-13 budget year . ( The Ngorongoro Conservation Area , which includes the heavily visited Ngorongoro Crater , is not a national park . ) The fees for park usage and for climbing Mount Kilimanjaro during the 2015-16 budget year are published on the Internet . TNPA has reported that the park recorded 58,460 tourists during the 2012-13 budget year , of whom 54,584 were foreigners . Of the park 's 57,456 tourists during the 2011-12 budget year , 16,425 hiked the mountain , which was well below the capacity of 28,470 as specified in the park 's General Management Plan .

neg: Nairobi River Nairobi River is a river flowing through the Kenyan capital Nairobi . It is the main river of the Nairobi river basin , a complex of several parallel streams flowing eastwards . All of the Nairobi basin rivers join east of Nairobi and meet the Athi River , eventually flowing to the Indian ocean . These rivers are mostly narrow and highly polluted , though recent efforts have seen fruitful gains in cleaning up the river .   The main stream , Nairobi River , bounds the northern city centre , where it is partly canalized .

neg: Ligunga Ligunga is a town in southern Tanzania near the border with Mozambique .

neg: Trade unions in Tanzania The trade unions of Tanzania have a total membership of approximately 370,000 . 350,000 of these belong to the Trade Union Congress of Tanzania , another 15,000 to the Zanzibar Trade Union Congress , and 2,400 are members of the Tanzania Fishing Crew and Allied Workers ' Union .

neg: Timor Timor is an island at the southern end of Maritime Southeast Asia , north of the Timor Sea . The island is divided between the sovereign states of East Timor on the eastern part and Indonesia , on the western part . The Indonesian part , also known as West Timor , constitutes part of the province of East Nusa Tenggara . Within West Timor lies an exclave of East Timor called Oecusse District . The island covers an area of 30,777 km2 . The name is a variant of timur , Malay for `` east '' ; it is so called because it lies at the eastern end of the Lesser Sunda Islands .

neg: Chama Cha Mapinduzi presidential primaries, 2015 The Chama Cha Mapinduzi ( CCM ) presidential primaries , 2015 took place in July 2015 to determine CCM 's nominee for the Presidency of Tanzania for the 2015 election . The Chama Cha Mapinduzi ( Party of the Revolution ) is the country 's dominant ruling party , and the longest reigning ruling party in Africa .   Incumbent president and 2010 nominee Jakaya Kikwete is ineligible for re-election due to term limits . He is looking forward to his retirement , and has described the presidency as being both `` stressful and thankless '' . Kikwete , who also serves as the party 's National Chairman , said that he was not backing anyone as his preferred and chosen successor .   More than forty candidates ( including 12 Cabinet Members ) collected the nomination forms . On 12 July , Minister of Works John Magufuli was selected as the party 's presidential nominee , and is most likely to win the presidential election .

neg: Bunda District Bunda is one of the seven districts of Mara Region in the United Republic of Tanzania , East Africa . It is bordered to the North by the Musoma Rural District and Butiama District , to the east by Serengeti District , to the South by Bariadi District and Busega District , and to the west by Lake Victoria . The district administration town is also called Bunda , located on the north-south trans-national all tarmac highway from Kenya to Zambia via Tarime and the lakeside municipalities of Musoma , Mwanza , and thereon to Mbeya in southern Tanzania . The district has four divisions , namely : Kenkombyo , Nansimo , Serengeti and Chamuriho .   Bunda Town , a small town 70 km south of Musoma and west of the Serengeti National Park serves as the district 's capital . According to the 2012 Tanzania National Census , the population of Bunda District was 335,061 .

neg: List of companies of Mozambique Mozambique , officially the Republic of Mozambique , is a country in Southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east , Tanzania to the north , Malawi and Zambia to the northwest , Zimbabwe to the west , and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest .   The economy of Mozambique has developed since the end of the Mozambican Civil War ( 1977 -- 1992 ) , but the country is still one of the world 's poorest and most underdeveloped . The resettlement of civil war refugees and successful economic reform have led to a high growth rate : the country enjoyed a remarkable recovery , achieving an average annual rate of economic growth of 8 % between 1996 and 2006 and between 6 % -- 7 % from 2006 to 2011 . Also , more than 1,200 state-owned enterprises ( mostly small ) have been privatised . Preparations for privatisation and/or sector liberalisation are underway for the remaining parastatal enterprises , including telecommunications , energy , ports , and railways.done

neg: Mahale Mountains The Mahale Mountains are a mountain range in western Tanzania , on the eastern shore of Lake Tanganyika . They rise to 2,462 m at Mount Nkungwe and are protected by the Mahale Mountains National Park , being known for wildlife including chimpanzees and lions .   Category : Mountain ranges of Tanzania

neg: Menouthias Menouthias ( Μενουθιάς in Ancient Greek ) is ancient trading town most commonly identified with either Pemba Island , Mafia Island or Zanzibar in Tanzania or east Africa , that existed from at least 50 B.C. Along with Rhapta and Azania , the settlement is mentioned in early Greek writings , such as the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea , which describes Rhapta as `` the last marketplace of Azania , '' two days ' travel south of the Menouthias islands .

neg: Mambwe people The Mambwe are an ethnic and linguistic group from Rukwa Region , Tanzania and northeastern Zambia . In 1987 the Mambwe population in Tanzania was estimated to number 63,000 . The number of Mambwe in Zambia has not been independently estimated , though the combined number of Mambwe and Lungu in Zambia was estimated to be 262,800 in 1993 . The mambwe people of Zambia are known to be great businessmen . They also distinguish the last names for males and females , like the Namwanga people , by applying prefixes `` Si '' and `` Na '' to be the first two letters of the last name e.g. Sinyangwe ( Male ) & Nanyangwe ( Female ) , Sikasula ( Male ) & Nakasula ( Female ) , Sinkamba ( Male ) & Nankamba ( Female ) , Simusokwe ( Male ) & Namusokwe ( Female ) , Sikasote ( Male ) & Nakasote ( Female ) , Simfukwe ( Male ) & Namfukwe ( Female ) , Sinkala ( Male ) & Nankala ( Nankala ) , Simbela ( Male ) & Nambela ( Female ) sichilima ( male ) nachilima ( female ) etc. .  A meal of beans ( `` choli '' ) and okra ( `` kumbi '' ) are a mambwe staple and delicacy .   The Mambwe language and Cilungu , the Lungu language , are distinguished by minor dialect differences . The Mambwe people are known to be polygamous ( impali ) , although this trend is slowly changing with religious affiliations , and advancements in modern schooling and trends . Like other African people , marriage is very important , although girls are known to marry earlier , often with pressure coming from parents and other relatives .   Category : Ethnic groups in Tanzania  Category : Ethnic groups in Zambia  Category : Indigenous peoples of East Africa

neg: White Tanzanians White Tanzanian is a term which can apply to people from Tanzania who are of European , White African 's or Arab descent and who do not regard themselves , or are not regarded as , being part of another racial group . 20,000 belong to different European groups . Arab-Tanzanians first arrived as a result of coastal trading , while small numbers of German government officials and missionaries arrived during the existence of German East Africa . Limited European immigration to Tanzania has also taken place .

neg: History of Zanzibar People have lived in Zanzibar for 20,000 years . History proper starts when the islands became a base for traders voyaging between the African Great Lakes , the Arabian peninsula , and the Indian subcontinent . Unguja offered a protected and defensible harbor , so although the archipelago had few products of value , Omanis and Yemenis settled in what became Zanzibar City ( Stone Town ) as a convenient point from which to trade with towns on the Swahili Coast . They established garrisons on the islands and built the first mosques in the African Great Lakes .   During the Age of Exploration , the Portuguese Empire was the first European power to gain control of Zanzibar , and kept it for nearly 200 years . In 1698 , Zanzibar fell under the control of the Sultanate of Oman , which developed an economy of trade and cash crops , with a ruling Arab elite and a Bantu general population . Plantations were developed to grow spices ; hence , the moniker of the Spice Islands ( a name also used of Dutch colony the Moluccas , now part of Indonesia ) . Another major trade good was ivory , the tusks of elephants that were killed on the Tanganyika mainland - a practice that is still in place to this day . The third pillar of the economy was slaves , which gave Zanzibar an important place in the Arab slave trade , the Indian Ocean equivalent of the better-known Triangular Trade . The Omani Sultan of Zanzibar controlled a substantial portion of the African Great Lakes coast , known as Zanj , as well as extensive inland trading routes .   Sometimes gradually , sometimes by fits and starts , control of Zanzibar came into the hands of the British Empire . Part of the political impetus for this was the movement for the abolition of the slave trade . In 1890 , Zanzibar became a British protectorate . The death of one sultan and the succession of another of whom the British did not approve later led to the Anglo-Zanzibar War , also known as the shortest war in history .   The islands gained independence from Britain in December 1963 as a constitutional monarchy . A month later , the bloody Zanzibar Revolution , in which several thousand Arabs and Indians were killed and thousands more expelled and expropriated , led to the Republic of Zanzibar and Pemba . That April , the republic merged with the mainland Tanganyika , or more accurately , was subsumed into Tanzania , of which Zanzibar remains a semi-autonomous region . Zanzibar was most recently in the international news with a January 2001 massacre , following contested elections .