UKC

This one came up the other night, what is the biggest island?

Greenland and Australia were both mentioned. went with Greenland.

But someone said Antarctica, and it has got be thinking. Why isn't classed as an island?

In reply to goldmember:

It's too big and is classed as a landmass?

In reply to goldmember:
An island is subcontinent size. Both Antarctica and Australia are continents.
Although its somewhat arbitary eg Greenland not being considered "large" it is consistent.

In reply to goldmember:

Australia is more than three times the size of Greenland, the largest island. Australia is sometimes dubbed "The Island Continent", and sometimes accorded the role of "Earth’s largest island but smallest continent".[1]
Antarctica is a special case: if its ice is considered not as land, but as water, it is not a single land mass, but several land areas of much smaller area, since the ice-bedrock boundary is below sea level in many regions of the continent. If its ice cover were to be lifted, some rock that is currently below sea level would rise as the weight of the ice would be removed,[2] although this would in part be counteracted, and in some areas of the continent overtaken, by eustatic rises in sea level.[

In reply to goldmember:


Apparently under the water it could be 3 Islands.

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

Also

ISLANDS of the WORLD LARGEST

Greenland - (840,004 sq miles) (2,175,600 sq km)
New Guinea - (303,381 sq miles) (785,753 sq km)
Borneo - (288,869 sq miles) (748,168 sq km)
Madagascar - (226,917 sq miles) (587,713 sq km)
Baffin - (194,574 sq miles) (503,944 sq km)
Sumatra - (171,069 sq miles) (443,066 sq km)
Honshu - (88,982 sq miles) (225,800 sq km)
Great Britain - (88,787 sq miles) (229,957 sq km)
Victoria - (85,154 sq miles) (220,548 sq km)
Ellesmere - (71,029 sq miles) (183,965 sq km)

NOTE: Australia is widely considered as a continental landmass, not an island. In reality, it certainly is the largest island, with a size of (2,941,517 sq miles) (7,618,493 sq km).