A floating island in fiction is a landmass that floats in a body of water (such as Vadanis in The Guardian Cycle of novels), or in the sky (such as Angel Island from Sonic The Hedgehog). By contrast, a flying island is an island that flies, or floats, above the surface of the earth (such as the flying continent of Laputa in Castle in the Sky). These islands are usually free-floating and are sometimes directed by the whim of their inhabitants, whilst others may be permanently anchored.
Floating islands are usually held aloft by one (or more) of the following means:
- lighter-than-air gas, such as helium or hydrogen.
- a lodestone, magnet, crystal, or other mineral.
- magic.
- advanced science or technology — anti-gravity, propellers/balloons, or some other form of technological levitation .
Famous quotes containing the words floating and/or island:
“People who treat other people as less than human must not be surprised when the bread they have cast on the waters comes floating back to them, poisoned.”
—James Baldwin (1924–1987)
“Know that, on the right hand of the Indies, there is an island called California, very near to the Terrestrial Paradise, which was peopled with black women.... Their arms were all of gold.”
—For the State of California, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)