What's the digfference between a "Key" and an island?

Question

What's the digfference between a "Key" and an island?

Answer 1

A key (also called a "cay" but still pronounced as "key") is actually a special type of island which is formed on the surface of coral reefs.  Ocean currents pick up reef debris (particles that have broken off the reef as well as skeletal remains of reef dwellers) and, due to tidal flows, deposit them in a particular area.  Eventually, these debris (which simply looks like sand to us) accumulate, and an island (known as a "key") forms.  Heron Island, Australia is a great example of a key:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heron_Islan...

An island is a much more general term meaning a piece of land which is completely surrounded by water.  Islands are generally either continental, meaning they are part of a larger continent's continental shelf (like Greenland, for example) or volcanic, meaning they are formed from the lava of an underwater volcano.  As we've already learned, though, an island can also be formed from reef debris (and then it's known as a "key").

Hope that clears things up!

- PhD Student in Geography

Answer 2

Keys are derived from the Spanish name for small islands. There is no geographical difference. They are found in areas in which explorers from Spain were the original Europeans that did the naming (like the string of small islands south of Florida).

Answer 3

i believe a key is joined to the mainland and an island is totally surrounded by water

Answer 4

Wikipedia: island

Brampton Island just off Queensland

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Brampton Island just off Queensland

A small island in the Adriatic Sea

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A small island in the Adriatic Sea

An island (IPA: /aɪ.lɪnd/) or isle (IPA: /aɪ.ʌl/) is any piece of land that is completely surrounded by water, above high tide, and isolated from other significant landmasses. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls are called islets. A key or cay is another name for a small island or islet. An island in a river or lake may be called an eyot, IPA [aɪət]. There are two main types of islands: continental islands and oceanic islands. There are also artificial islands. A grouping of geographically and/or geologically related islands is called an archipelago.

The word island comes from Old English Ä«(e)gland (literally, "watery land"). However, the spelling of the word was modified in the 15th century by association with the etymologically unrelated Old French loanword isle

Answer 5

the difference between a Key and an Island is that the Keys don't have any fresh water of their own