Recursive islands and lakes
A recursive island or lake is an island or a lake that lies within an island or a lake.[1] For the purposes of defining recursion, small continental land masses such as Madagascar and New Zealand count as islands, while large continental land masses do not.
Recursive islands
Islands in lakes

Only a few notable examples are given, including one on Saturn's moon Titan.
| Island | In lake | Country | Size (km2) | Coordinates | notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manitoulin Island | Lake Michigan–Huron | Canada | 2,766 | 45°39′8″N 82°06′32″W | Largest lake island in the world[1][2] |
| René-Levasseur Island | Manicouagan Reservoir | Canada | 2,020 | 51°23′50″N 68°41′30″W | The island is artificial as the lake it is in was made by flooding a smaller existing lake due to the creation of the Daniel-Johnson dam |
| Sääminginsalo | Saimaa | Finland | 1,090 | 61°58′58″N 29°4′53″E | If Sääminginsalo is considered an island, as it is separated from one side by an artificial canal (Raikuu canal). |
| Olkhon Island | Lake Baikal | Russia | 730 | 53°9′24″N 107°23′1″E | |
| Isle Royale | Lake Superior | United States | 535 | 48°0′0″N 88°55′0″W | |
| Ukerewe Island | Lake Victoria | Tanzania | 530 | 2°1′46″S 33°0′36″E | |
| St. Joseph Island | Lake Michigan–Huron | Canada | 365 | 46°13′11″N 83°56′47″W | |
| Drummond Island | Lake Michigan–Huron | United States | 347 | 46°0′0″N 83°40′0″W | |
| Idjwi | Lake Kivu | DR Congo | 340 | 2°9′58″S 29°3′21″E | |
| Kotasaari | Kallavesi | Finland | 285 | 62°52′52″N 28°0′23″E | If Kotasaari is considered an island, as it is separated from one side by an artificial canal (Summa canal). |
| Ometepe | Lake Nicaragua | Nicaragua | 276 | 11°30′0″N 85°35′0″W | Made of two conjoined volcanic islands |
| Zapatera | Lake Nicaragua | Nicaragua | 54 | 11°43′48″N 85°49′12″W | |
| Big island | Great Slave Lake | Canada | About 200 | 61°07′45″N 116°45′24″W | |
| Wizard Island | Crater Lake | United States | 1.3 | 42°56′19″N 122°08′44″W | Crater Lake itself is a caldera formed by the eruption of Mount Mazama; a series of smaller eruptions later formed cinder cones on the caldera floor, of which Wizard Island is the highest, and the only one now visible above the lake's surface.[3] |
| Mayda Insula | Kraken Mare | Titan | 90×150 km | 79° N, 312° W | The first island discovered on another planetary body. |
Islands in lakes on islands

There are nearly 1,000 islands in lakes on islands in Finland alone.[4]
Islands in lakes on islands in lakes
| Name | In lake | On island | In lake | Country | Size (km2) | coordinates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kokkosaari[7] | Kokkohauta | Sääminginsalo | Saimaa | Finland | 0.88 | 61°59′20″N 29°12′55″E | If Sääminginsalo is considered an island, as it is separated from one side by an artificial canal (Raikuu canal). Claimed by some to be the world's largest island in a lake in an island in a lake. Another island, Suursaari (62°5′28″N 28°59′28″E) in Hanhijärvi, is also located in Sääminginsalo, and it is about half the size of Kokkosaari. |
| unnamed island | Lake Chaunoy (Lac du Chaunoy)[8] | René-Levasseur Island | Manicouagan Reservoir | Canada | 0.44 | 51°33′5″N 68°49′8″W | René-Levasseur Island is an artificial island, formed when the Manicouagan reservoir was flooded in 1970. Additionally, there exists more than 10 other smaller islands in lake Chaunoy, the largest of which is less than a tenth of the size of the one mentioned here. |
| Treasure Island | Lake Mindemoya | Manitoulin Island | Lake Michigan–Huron | Canada | 0.4 | 45°45′50″N 82°10′41″W | Largest natural island on a lake on an island on a lake. |
| Kakawaie Island | Lake Kagawong | Manitoulin Island | Lake Michigan–Huron | 0.24 | 45°48′45″N 82°18′22″W | ||
| Ryan Island[9] | Siskiwit Lake | Isle Royale | Lake Superior | United States | 0.141 | 48°0′36″N 88°46′15″W | Largest island in the largest lake on the largest island in Lake Superior |
| unnamed island | Second Lake | Drummond Island | Lake Michigan–Huron | United States | 0.044 | 46°03′2″N 83°35′55″W | |
| unnamed island[10] | Mackaysee Lake | Chambers Island | Green Bay, Lake Michigan | United States | 0.009 | 45°11′41″N 87°20′43″W | |
| unnamed island | Frith Lake | Kelvin Island | Lake Nipigon | Canada | 0.0013 | 49°52′29″N 88°40′53″W | |
| Piiroonsaari[7] | Saravesi | Kotasaari | Kallavesi | Finland | 0.22 | 62°50′41″N 28°4′36″E | If Kotasaari is considered an island, as it is separated from one side by an artificial canal (Summa canal). |
| Suurisaari[7] | Oininki | Äitsaari | Saimaa | Finland | 0.14 | 61°18′57″N 28°38′1″E | |
| Ukonsaari[7] | Kulkemus | Partalansaari | Pihlajavesi (Saimaa) | Finland | 0.12 | 61°40′9″N 28°23′43″E | |
| unnamed island | Lake Cancy | René-Levasseur Island | Manicouagan Reservoir | Canada | 0.011 | 51°33′21″N 68°50′52″W | |
| unnamed island | Lac des Pigamons | Îlots Walcott | Lake Mistassini | Canada | 0.0002 | 51°07′18″N 73°21′34″W | |
| unnamed island | unnamed lake | Wilson island | Great Slave Lake | Canada | 0.011 | 61°50′7″N 112°46′57″W | |
| Raaskasaari | Kylliönjärvi | Viljakansaari | Pihlajavesi (Saimaa) | Finland | 0.05 | 61°33′53″N 28°22′56″E | |
| Unnamed island | Unnamed lake | Kållandsö | Vänern | Sweden | 0.0027 | 58°41′52″N 13°11′18″E | There is a second island in the lake, almost the exact same size |
| Ösjöholmen | Ösjön | Ammerön | Revsundssjön | Sweden | 0.008 | 62°51′57″N 15°10′23″E | |
| unnamed island | unnamed lake | Tynnelsö | Mälaren | Sweden | 0.0005 | 59°25′1″N 17°04′44″E | |
| unnamed island | unnamed lake | unnamed island | Lake Kovdozero | Russia | 0.0162 | 66°45′23″N 31°58′37″E | |
| unnamed island | unnamed lake | Shaganappie Island | Wollaston Lake | Canada | 0.0066 | 58°22′22″N 102°57′51″W | |
| unnamed island | Calder Lake | Malcolm Island | Reindeer Lake | Canada | 0.0154 | 56°58′24″N 102°8′1″W | |
| unnamed island | unnamed lake | Ispatinow Island | Cree Lake | Canada | 0.00019 | 57°27′40″N 106°40′47″W | |
| unnamed island | unnamed lake | Blanchet Island | Great Slave Lake | Canada | 0.01 | 61°59′40″N 112°30′56″W | Several small islands in this lake |
| unnamed island | Vanooyen Lake | Shakespeare Island | Lake Nipigon | Canada | 0.0182 | 49°39′36″N 88°24′10″W | There is a second, smaller island in this lake |
| unnamed island | Margaret Lake | Elk Island | God's Lake | Canada | 0.00095 | 54°39′32″N 94°10′44″W | Several small islands in this lake |
| unnamed island | unnamed lake | Ile Guillaume Couture | Lac Mistassini | Canada | 0.0017 | 50°55′1″N 73°37′32″W | |
| unnamed island | unnamed lake | Ile Tchapahipane | Lac Mistassini | Canada | 0.00125 | 51°4′34″N 73°25′25″W | |
| unnamed island | unnamed lake | Pie Island | Lake Superior | Canada | 0.0086 | 48°13′58″N 89°3′26″W | Two islands of similar size are in this lake |
| unnamed island | Muir Lake | St Ignace Island | Lake Superior | Canada | 0.00325 | 48°48′28″N 88°2′3″W | |
| unnamed island | Antler Lake | St Ignace Island | Lake Superior | Canada | 0.0041 | 48°48′59″N 88°0′5″W | Two islands of similar size are in this lake |
| unnamed island | Williamson Lake | St Ignace Island | Lake Superior | Canada | 0.00425 | 48°48′4″N 88°1′39″W | |
| unnamed island | Molinski Lake | Simpson Island | Lake Superior | Canada | 0.01 | 48°49′13″N 87°42′51″W | |
| unnamed island | Caribou Lake | Simpson Island | Lake Superior | Canada | 0.00465 | 48°45′51″N 87°39′33″W | |
| unnamed island | Veronica Lake | Slate Islands | Lake Superior | Canada | 0.0065 | 48°39′28″N 86°59′23″W | |
| unnamed island | Michi Lake | Michipicoten Island | Lake Superior | Canada | 0.0037 | 47°44′28″N 85°54′29″W | There are 3 islands in total in this lake |
| unnamed island | Channel Lake | Michipicoten Island | Lake Superior | Canada | 0.0084 | 47°43′50″N 85°48′0″W | A second, smaller island is immediately to the west of this one. |
| unnamed island | unnamed lake | unnamed island | Knielinger See | Germany | 0.0003 | 49°01′52.5″N 8°18′34.3″E | The greater islands looks like a pregnant kangaroo, and the smaller island looks like its embryo. River Rhine is floating west to the lake "Knielinger See" in Knielingen |
| Unnamed | Unnamed | Wizard Island | Crater Lake | United States | |||
Islands in lakes on islands in lakes on islands
| Name | In lake | On island | In lake | On island | Country | Size (km2) | Coordinates | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Small islet | Not specified | Not specified | Nettilling Lake | Baffin Island | Canada | 0.04 | 66°41′15″N 70°28′48″W | There are more islands in lakes on the 'level 2' island in Nettling Lake. |
| Small islet | Not specified | Not specified | Not specified | Victoria Island | Canada | 0.016 | 69°47′32″N 108°14′26″W | The sometime cited name Inception Island is not an official name |
| Small islet | Aek Natonang (Locally Sidihoni Lake[12]) | Samosir | Lake Toba | Sumatra | Indonesia | 0.013125 | 2°33′52″N 98°53′0″E | Two islands, the largest of which is 175m by 75m |
| Small islet | Unnamed lake | Glover Island | Grand Lake | Newfoundland | Canada | 0.0075 | 48°47′48″N 57°39′28″W | There are several (at least seven) other, even smaller, islets in the lake |
| Small islet | Different Unnamed lake | Glover Island | Grand Lake | Newfoundland | Canada | 0.0023 | 48°43′8″N 57°46′23″W | In a lake 11 km south west to the lake that contains the larger island. There are no other island in this islands lake |
| Small islet | Unnamed lake | unnamed island | Meelpaeg Reservoir | Newfoundland | Canada | 0.0001 | 48°18′44″N 56°30′48″W | There are 3 other smaller islands in the same lake |
| unnamed island | Arethusa Pool | Mou Waho | Lake Wānaka | South Island | New Zealand | 0.000225 | 44°33′15″S 169°05′3″E | There are 2 islands in this lake, both less than 25m across |
| Small islet | Not specified | Eilean Sùbhainn | Loch Maree | Great Britain | United Kingdom | 0.000225 | 57°41′24″N 5°29′9″W | Two islets, each of which is 15m by 15m |
| Small islet | Not specified | Not Specified | Kooryet Lake | Banks Island (British Columbia) | Canada | about 0.0001 | 53°21′7″N 129°59′30″W | A number of small islets, the largest of which is only 10m across |
| Unnamed island | Name of lake unknown | Samosir | Lake Toba | Sumatra | Indonesia | 0.0004 | 2°38′11″N 98°50′14″E | Lake that island is on is believed to have a name but as of yet has not been identified |
| Unnamed island | unnamed lake | unnamed island | Jubilee Lake | Newfoundland | Canada | 0.00002 | 48°3′50″N 55°10′24″W | Several small islets, the largest of which is approximately 5m across |
| Small islet | unnamed lake | Cayo pajaro | Laguna de Leche | Cuba | Cuba | 0.000832 | 22°13′31″N 78°40′2″W | There are several other islets in the lake, all approximately ½ the size of the specified islet |
Until 2020,[13] Vulcan Point was an island that existed in Main Crater Lake on Volcano Island in Lake Taal on Luzon in the Philippines. [14] Main Crater Lake evaporated during the 2020 Taal Volcano eruption.[13] But eventually, the water in Taal Lake has returned and has a new island. Vulcan Point became a peninsular.
Islands in lakes on islands in lakes on islands in lakes
Only one lake is known to have such islands.
| Name | In lake | On island | In lake | On island | In lake | Country | Size
(km²) |
Coordinates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed | Unnamed | Unnamed | Unnamed | Unnamed | Lake Yathkyed | Canada | 62°39′04″N 97°47′15″W | [15] |
Moose Boulder was claimed to exist in the seasonal pond of Moose Flats on Ryan Island in Siskiwit Lake on Isle Royale in Lake Superior in the United States.[16] In 2020, an expedition to the island found that it was a hoax, as apparently was the seasonal pond.[17]
Recursive lakes

Lakes on islands
Only a few notable examples are listed.

Lakes on islands in lakes
Lakes on islands in lakes on islands
| Name | On island | In lake | On island | Country | Size (km2) | Coordinates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed | Unnamed | Nettilling Lake | Baffin Island | Canada | 1.55 | 66°23′15″N 69°38′41″W | |
| Unnamed | Glover Island | Grand Lake | Newfoundland | Canada | 1.40 | 48°48′9″N 57°39′41″W | |
| Arethusa Pool | Mou Waho | Lake Wānaka | South Island | New Zealand | 0.05 | 44.5541°S 169.0838°E | |
| Unnamed lake | unnamed island | Jubilee Lake | Newfoundland | Canada | 0.025 | 48°3′50″N 55°10′24″W | |
| Unnamed lake | unnamed island | Mölnorträsk | Fårö | Sweden | 0.00006 | 57°55′45″N 19°08′29″E | Extremely small |
| Unnamed lake | Unnamed island | Unnamed lake | Baffin Island | Canada | small | 70°41′14″N 80°34′18″W | |
| Molemole | Motu'a'ali | Motu Si'i | Niuafo'ou | Tonga | 0.02 | 15.594888°S 175.649157°W |
Lakes on islands in lakes on islands in lakes
Only one such lake is known.
| Name | On island | In lake | On island | In lake | Country | Size (km2) | Coordinates | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unnamed | Not Specified | Not Specified | Not Specified | Lake Yathkyed | Canada | 0.013 | 62°39′5.8″N 97°47′11.8″W | There is, even further, an island in that lake, making it the only such island in the world that has been discovered so far. |
See also
Islands portal
Lakes portal
Notes
- Was a peninsula until 1906 when a canal was dug, separating it from the mainland.[5]
References
- Records, Guinness World (August 28, 2018). 2019 Guinness World Records. pp. 40–41. ISBN 978-1-912286-43-0.
- January 2012, Natalie Wolchover 24 (January 24, 2012). "World's Largest Island-in-a-lake-on-an-island-in-a-lake-on-an-island Seen on Google Earth". livescience.com.
- "Crater Lake, Oregon". NASA Earth Observatory. September 18, 2006.
- "Suomen saaristo- ja vesistömatkailusta" (PDF). valtioneuvosto.fi / Julkaisut.
- "Samosir Island - Everything you Need to Know about Samosir Island".
- "Volcano Island | volcano, Philippines". Encyclopedia Britannica.
- Shoreline - lakes (Ranta10), 2020. Finnish Environment Centre, ELY centres. Released under CC-BY-4.0.
- "Lac Du Chaunoy, Quebec Map". geodata.us.
- "GNIS Detail - Ryan Island". geonames.usgs.gov.
- "Islands within Chambers Island's Lake Mackaysee Now Protected by Door County Land Trust". November 8, 2018.
- "Island in a Lake on an Island in a Lake on an Island". earthobservatory.nasa.gov. February 22, 2015. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
- "Aek Natonang Lake – A Sub-Lake of Pangururan". www.toba.indonesia-tourism.com. Retrieved August 12, 2020.
- Freedman, Andrew; Meko, Tim; Karklis, Laris (January 17, 2020). "Taal volcano's crater lake is nearly empty". Washington Post.
- "Some interesting islands and lakes". Topografisch Verbond Elbruz. Archived from the original on September 19, 2013. Retrieved February 1, 2014.
- , 62°39′03″ N, 97°47′21″ W
- "Largest island on the largest lake in the world". Albert Lea Tribune. July 21, 2009. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
- Taub, Matthew (March 10, 2020). "The Intrepid Mother and Son Who Unraveled a Geographic Hoax". Atlas Obscura.
- "Shara-Nur lake". BaikalNature Tour Operator. May 11, 1975. Retrieved March 13, 2020.
- "GNIS Detail - Lake Desor". geonames.usgs.gov.
- "GNIS Detail - Lake Richie". geonames.usgs.gov.
- Valenzuela, Orlando. "Puerta laguna misteriosa [Door to mysterious lagoon]". El Nuevo Diario (in Spanish).
- "Global Volcanism Program | Zapatera". Smithsonian Institution | Global Volcanism Program.
