a group of many islands is called what
An archipelago (/ÉrkÉ¨ËpÉlÉÉ¡oÊ/ ark-i-PEL-É-goh), sometimes called an island group or island chain, is a chain, cluster or collection of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek á¼ÏÏÎ¹- â arkhi- (chief) and ÏÎ­Î»Î±Î³Î¿Ï â pelagos (pÃ©lagos) sea through The italian. arcipelagorchipelagos may be found isolated in bodies of water or neighboring a large land mass. For example, Scotland has more than 700 islands surrounding its mainland which constitute an archipelago.