As opposed to a coral cay,
a continental island is an island that is built of landmass that is
part of a continental shelf.
Fitzroy Island. Poster by AllPosters. Click on thumbnail
to buy
It is not accumulated coral material like
in coral cays, or the coral ring that is left after a volcano sinks
down to the ocean like in atolls.
Fraser Island. Poster by AllPosters. Click on thumbnail to
buy
It is
simply on the same land as the
adjacent continent, a higher part of the continental shelf that is
sticking out of the water.
Hinchinbrook Island. By AllPosters. Click on thumbnail to
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Those islands are often larger than coral
cays and atolls. They also tend to be hillier (if it's in a
hilly
area
of course), and they sometimes have more and thicker vegetation.
Magnetic Island. Poster by AllPosters. Click on thumbnail
to buy
Some
continental islands in Australia are Kangaroo
Island off the coast of South Australia, Fraser
Island off the coast of Hervey Bay, Great Keppel Island off
the
coast of Rockhampton, Magnetic
Island
outside Townsville, Hinchinbrook
Island outside Cardwell, Dunk
Island off the coast of Mission
Beach, and Fitzroy Island off the coast of Cairns.
Note:
This site uses
British English, which is the English we use in Australia. You will
find words like "traveller", "harbour" and "realise", and they are all
correct in the language used in Australia.
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