page_title: Lagos
section_title: Island
hierarchical_section_title: Lagos / Geography / Cityscape / Island
caption_attribution_description: This is an image of "African people at work" from Nigeria
context_page_description: Lagos is the most populous city in Nigeria and the African continent. Lagos is a major financial centre for all of Africa and is the economic hub of Lagos State. The megacity has the fourth-highest GDP in Africa and houses one of the largest and busiest seaports on the continent. It is one of the fastest growing cities in the world.
  Lagos initially emerged as a home to the Awori subgroup of the Yoruba of West Africa and later emerged as a port city that originated on a collection of islands, which are contained in the present day Local Government Areas of Lagos Island, Eti-Osa, Amuwo-Odofin and Apapa. The islands are separated by creeks, fringing the southwest mouth of Lagos Lagoon, while being protected from the Atlantic Ocean by barrier islands and long sand spits such as Bar Beach, which stretch up to 100 km east and west of the mouth. Due to rapid urbanization, the city expanded to the west of the lagoon to include areas in the present day Lagos Mainland, Ajeromi-Ifelodun and Surulere. This led to the classification of Lagos into two main areas: the Island, which was the initial city of Lagos, before it expanded into the area known as the Mainland.
context_section_description: The Island is a loose geographical term that is used to define the area of Lagos that is separated from the "mainland" by the main channel draining the lagoon into the Atlantic Ocean, which forms Lagos Harbour. The Island is mainly a collection of islands that are separated from each other by creeks of varying sizes and are connected together by bridges. The smaller sections of some creeks have been dredged and built over. This part of Lagos is the area where most business activities and entertainment events in Lagos takes place. It also houses most of the upscale residential areas in Lagos. The Local Government Areas (LGAs) that are considered to be in the Island include Lagos Island, Eti-Osa. The major upscale island neighbourhoods within these LGAs include Ikoyi and Victoria Island. Three major bridges join the island to the mainland. They are the Carter Bridge, which starts from Iddo; the Eko Bridge (formerly called the Second Mainland Bridge); and the Third Mainland Bridge, which passes through densely populated mainland suburbs to the Lagos Lagoon.
caption: Victoria Island
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