Check out these interesting Islands, very interesting info! Includes the Alcatraz Island, Easter Island, Sealand, Surtsey & the Gunkanjima! Alcatraz Island (sometimes informally referred to as simply Alcatraz or by its pop-culture name, The Rock) is a small island located in the middle of San Francisco Bay in California, United States. It served as a lighthouse, then a military fortification, then a military prison followed by a federal prison until 1963, when it became a national recreation area. The first European to discover the island was Juan de Ayala in 1775, who charted the San Francisco Bay and named the island "La Isla de los Alcatraces", which means "Island of the Pelicans". Easter Island is one of the world's most isolated inhabited islands. It is 3,600 km (2,237 miles) west of continental Chile and 2,075 km (1,290 miles) east of Pitcairn. Nowdays, it is a Chilean-governed island, and is a world heritage site with much of the island protected by the Rapa Nui National Park. The Principality of Sealand is an island and a micronation located on HM Fort Roughs, a former Maunsell Sea Fort located in the North Sea 10 km (six miles) off the coast of Suffolk, England, in what is claimed as territorial waters using a twelve-nautical-mile radius. Off the coast of Iceland on the morning of 14 November 1963, the crew of a lone fishing trawler spotted an alarming sight. Off to the southwest of the Ísleifur II, a column of dark smoke was rising from the water. Concerned that it could be another boat on fire, the captain directed his vessel towards the scene. Once there, however, they found not a boat but a series of violent explosions producing ash. This was an unmistakable indication of a volcanic eruption taking place underwater, close to the surface. Very aware of the potential danger but eager to watch, the crew kept their boat nearby. It was indeed a remarkable event that they would witness a small part of over the course of that morning: the formation of a brand-new island. Gunkanjima is one among 505 uninhabited islands in the Nagasaki Prefecture about 15 kilometers from Nagasaki itself. The island was populated from 1887 to 1974 as a coal mining facility. The island's most notable features are the abandoned concrete buildings and the sea wall surrounding it. It is known for its coal mines and their operation during the industrialization of Japan. Mitsubishi bought the island in 1890 and began the project, the aim of which was retrieving coal from the bottom of the sea. They built Japan's first large concrete building, a block of apartments in 1916 to accommodate their burgeoning ranks of workers, and to protect against typhoon destruction. 
5. ALCATRAZ ISLAND (USA): home to the first lighthouse on the Pacific Coast
The discovery of gold in California in 1848 brought thousands of ships to San Francisco Bay, creating an urgent need for a navigational lighthouse. In response, Alcatraz lighthouse #1 was erected and lit in the summer of 1853. Because of its natural isolation in the middle of a bay, surrounded by cold water and strong sea currents, Alcatraz was soon considered by the U.S. Army as an ideal location for holding captives. Alcatraz was the Army's first long-term prison, and it was already beginning to build its reputation as a tough detention facility by exposing inmates to harsh conditions and iron fisted discipline. Due to rising operational costs because of its location, the Military Department decided to close this famous prison in 1934, and it was subsequently taken over by the Department of Justice and later became the famous federal prision and finally a recreation area.
4. EASTER ISLAND (Polynesian triangle, Chile): world heritage site and one of the most isolated inhabited islands in history
First settled by a small party of Polynesians, Easter Island is one of the youngest inhabited territories on Earth, and for most of its history it was the most isolated inhabited territory on Earth. Its inhabitants the Rapanui have endured famines, epidemics, civil war, slave raids and colonialism; have seen their population crash on more than one occasion, and created a cultural legacy that has brought them fame out of all proportion to their numbers.
3. SEALAND (Principality): World's smallest island
Sealand's claims to sovereignty and legitimacy are not recognised by any country, yet it is sometimes cited in debates as an interesting case study of how various principles of international law can be applied to a territorial dispute.
2. SURTSEY (Iceland): The emerging island
Although now quite visible, the eruption lasted for much, much longer than the Ísleifur II would have been able to watch. After several days, the volcano had broken the water's surface, forming an island over 500 meters long and 45 meters tall. Even though the rough tides of the North Atlantic might have soon eroded the new island away, it was named Surtsey, meaning 'Surtur's island' - Surtur (or Surtr) being a fire giant of Norse mythology. The island proved to be tenacious, however. The eruption was ongoing and Surtsey increased in size more quickly than the ocean could wear it down. In the meantime two other nearby volcanic eruptions produced the beginnings of islands, but neither lasted very long. By April 1964, though, the most violent parts of the eruption were over and Surtsey remained.
1. GUNKANJIMA (Japan): the Ghost (and forbidden) Island
In 1959, its population density was 835 people per hectare for the whole island, or 1,391 per hectare for the residential district, one of the highest population density ever recorded worldwide. As petroleum replaced coal in Japan in the 1960s, coal mines began shutting down all over the country, and Hashima's mines were no exception. Mitsubishi officially announced the closing of the mine in 1974, and today it is empty and bare, which is why it's called the Ghost Island. Travel to Hashima is currently prohibited.
Top 5 World's Most Amazing Islands
The little girl who had eight limbs
By Mail Foreign Service She was born with a unique body - eight limbs and two torsos fused at the hips. Now Lakshmi Tatma, the Indian toddler whose plight touched the world, has grown up and started school. Two years after a ground-breaking operation to separate her from a parasitic twin, Lakshmi is a lively and bubbly four-year-old. She loves playing cricket with her older brother, has a tendency to boss around her newfound friends and remains firmly a daddy's girl. 'When I think of the way she was, never in a million years would Lakshmi have been able to go to school or have the life she does today,' said her mother Poonam, 26. 'All the things she's capable of now were impossible two years ago. 'I often try to think what she might be like today if she hadn't had the operation - she couldn't even sit up before and now she runs around like other children.' Born in a dusty farming village in India's poorest state, Lakshmi was revered as a deity and worshipped from birth. Villagers, who believed she was the reincarnation of the Hindu goddess of wealth and fertility, would seek her blessing daily and leave gifts at her bedside. But Lakshmi's resemblance to her mythological namesake came at a terrible price. She could not walk, stand, or even sit. The little girl was joined to a headless parasitic twin that had stopped developing in her mother's womb. Doctors were convinced she could not have survived into adulthood. Now fully recovered from the 27-hour operation to save her, Lakshmi is almost unrecognisable from her former self. Beneath the surface, however, lurk a series of medical problems that threaten her future and will require years of surgery. Six months after the complex operation to remove Lakshmi's parasitic twin, doctors discovered she had developed scoliosis, or a curvature of the spine. Without a complex operation to correct her spine doctors have warned her back will be forced into increasingly severe deformities as she grows, possibly leaving her disabled. Separately, Lakshmi requires an operation to 'detether' her spine after it was discovered she was born with abnormal tissue connecting the spinal cord to her nervous system. In a further operation orthopaedic surgeons must perform a procedure to 'close her hips', which are set too far apart and result in an unusual 'gaited' walk. Finally, plastic surgeons will need to find a way to create buttocks for Lakshmi, which did not form in the womb because of the unique way she was connected to her parasitic twin. In the same operation surgeons will have to fix related problems with her bladder and intestines. 'Lakshmi has come such a long, long way but we're very scared for the future,' said her mother Poonam. Brave: Lakshmi Tatma, dressed in her school uniform and standing proudly on her own two feet, smiles at her home in Jodhpur earlier this month Miracle recovery: Lakshmi plays with her younger sister Saraswati as her mum Poonam looks on at their home this month Daddy's girl: Lakshmi and her dad Shambu at their home this month. Lakshmi's parents are still fearful for her future, despite the success of the operation Born to impoverished parents in the frequently lawless state of Bihar, in India's volatile northeast, Lakshmi faced an uncertain future until a wealthy doctor heard of her plight and offered to operate on her for free. Orthopaedic surgeon Dr Sharan Patil, owner of the Sparsh Hospital in Bangalore 2,000 miles south, travelled to Lakshmi's remote village in 2007 to meet the child and offer her parents the chance of a lifetime. After more than a month planning the separation, Dr Patil's team attempted the first operation of its kind in the world. Hundreds of journalists camped outside the hospital throughout the 27-hour surgery. Lakshmi's fame, having spread from her tiny village around the world, prompted Sucheta Kriplani Shiksha Niketan (SKSN), a charitable school looking after disabled children in the desert state of Rajasthan, to offer her parents a place to live and the chance of an education for Lakshmi and her brother Mithilesh. Dr Bhairoon Singh Bhati, the secretary of SKSN, said: 'Lakshmi is a special case for us. She's a very challenging case because you can never tell from her medical history when she might next fall ill. 'Her scoliosis is an example of the problems Lakshmi faces because we had no way of knowing she would develop a curvature of the spine. 'Similarly, despite all the problems she still faces we have no way of knowing what may crop up in the future. 'The biggest difficulty caring for Lakshmi is that she's a unique case - there's never been a child like her before so we have nothing to refer back to.' Under Dr Bhati's guidance Lakshmi has started school, joining her elder brother as the only members of their family to ever receive an education.
Pictured: The little girl who had eight limbs and was worshipped as a deity starts school
Last updated at 6:20 PM on 27th January 2010
Amazing Smallest Girl in the World Collection
Smallest Girl in India
Kenadie Jourdin-Bromley. So small, yet has needs so substantial. As explained by her
Kenadie Jourdin-Bromley weighed 2 lbs, 8 ounces when she was born in February 2003. She was not expected to live more than a day, but she has survived. She continued to defy doctors expectations and at the age of 8 months, Kenadie was finally diagnosed with primordial dwarfism, a genetic condition that is believed to affect only about 100 people in the world. She isn't expected to grow past about 30 inches or weigh more than 8 pounds. Her special needs expenses are substantial. If you wish, you can help through a Paypal donation. Link. .
World's smallest bundle of joy turns into a real handful
Neonatalogist Jonathan Muraskas places his hand next to Rumaisa Rahman, known to be the smallest baby in the world to survive birth.
Photo: Reuters
A premature infant believed to be the smallest baby ever to survive was called "a great blessing" by her mother, who is preparing to take the girl and her twin sister home from the hospital.
The baby, named Rumaisa, weighed 244 grams (8.6 ounces) - less than a can of soft drink - when she was delivered by caesarean section on September 19 at Loyola University Medical Centre in Chicago.
Rumaisa is 37 grams (1.3 ounces) smaller than the previous record holder, who was born at the same the hospital in 1989, according to a hospital spokeswoman, Sandra Martinez.
Rumaisa, her twin, Hiba, and their Indian-born parents were introduced on Tuesday at a news conference at the hospital. The girls were bundled in identical striped blankets.
Their mother, Mahajabeen Shaik, who had her C-section after 26 weeks of pregnancy, said she didn't "have the words to say how thankful I was" when she first got to hold her children in their second month in the world.
"It's a blessing, it's a great blessing," she said. Hospital officials said they are doing so well that Hiba, who weighed 563 grams at birth, could be released from the hospital by the end of this month, with Rumaisa, who now weighs 1.18 kilograms, following as early as the first week of January.
