A desert island or uninhabited island is an island that has yet to be (or is not currently) populated by humans. Uninhabited islands are often used in movies or stories about shipwrecked people, and are also used as stereotypes for the idea of "paradise". Some uninhabited islands are protected as nature reserves and some are privately owned. Devon Island in Canada is claimed to be the largest uninhabited island in the world.
Small coral atolls or islands usually have no source of fresh water, but at times a fresh water lens (Ghyben-Herzberg lens) can be reached with a well.
Read more about Desert Island: Terminology, List of Some Currently Uninhabited Islands, In Literature and Popular Culture, Historical Castaways
Famous quotes containing the words desert and/or island:
“The Mojave is a big desert and a frightening one. It’s as though nature tested a man for endurance and constancy to prove whether he was good enough to get to California.”
—John Steinbeck (1902–1968)
““Our island home
Is far beyond the wave;we will no longer roam.””
—Alfred Tennyson (1809–1892)