Islands

There are two main types of islands, continental islands and oceanic islands. Continental islands occur on the continental shelf and are cut off from the mainland by shallow seas. Examples of continental islands we visit are the British Isles, the Falkland Islands, Greenland, Svalbard and coastal islands of Antarctica. Ocean Islands occur on oceanic crust and are surrounded by deep water. They can form in several ways. They can be hotspot volcanoes such as Tristan da Cunha, the Canary Islands, Jan Mayen or the Azores; they can be volcanoes above a subduction zone such as the Aeolian Islands; or they can be due to fragments of continent that have been ripped off due to plate movements such as Sicily and South Georgia. Iceland is a very unusual example of an island and occurs where a mid ocean spreading ridge has drifted above a hotspot causing the spreading to be uplifted above the surface creating a very large oceanic island.

The following trips feature islands:

ANTARCTICA

Antarctica - voyages to Antarctica visit both continental islands and oceanic islands. The coastal islands are continental while islands such the South Shetlands, Peter I, and the Australian and New Zealand sub-Antarctic islands are oceanic.

Azores

(Future tour still under development) Inside and Under the Volcanoes - 5 different Azorean Islands are visited. These are Sao Migeul, Graciosa, Teceira, Pico and Faial.

Canary Islands

Volcanic Island Hopping - 3 different Canary Islands are visited. These are Tenerife, La Gomera and La Palma

England & Wales

Jurassic Coast & the Complete Geological Timescale - visits Great Britain and the Isle of Anglesey known as Ynys Môn in Welsh.

Falkland Islands and South Georgia

Falkland Islands, South Georgia and Antarctica voyages - visits the Falkland Islands and South Georgia.

GREENLAND

Multiple voyages - Greenland is the world's largest island. It is part of the North American continent while Australia is not considered an island because it is a continent in its own right.

Iceland

The Vulcanologist's Dream - visits the main island of Iceland and the Westman Islands. If the weather is clear it is possible to see the island of Surtsey which emerged from the sea in 1967.

Italy

The Classic Volcanoes - visits the Aeolian Islands and Sicily

Jan Mayen

Jan Mayen - is the world's most northerly sub-aerial volcano. This voyage also visits the UK's most remotely inhabited island: Fair Isle and Spitsbergen in the Svalbard archipelago.

Scotland

The Birth of Geology - visits Great Britain, the Isle of Skye, the Isle of Mull and the Isle of Staffa.

Atlantic ODYSSEY

Atlantic Odyssey - this voyage with two parts visits the world's most remotely inhabited island - Tristan da Cunha, and South Georgia, Gough Island, Inaccessible Island, Nightingale Island, Saint Helena, Ascension Island and Praia in the Cape Verde Islands.