Creating floating islands?

having a floating island would be a good idea, but how did it go from being part of the land, to being a floating landmass?

in one of my stories, there was a sect of Earth Warriors that believed their world was being held by a Great Bear - the first "person" to control the dirt, rock, sand, and metal. but when an outsider came to their lands, he told them that their Great Bear was a liar and their Earth was still connected to the rest of the earth by the Eternal Tree - the first "being" of this realm.

so you can have floating islands strung throughout your stories, but you need to have some way of connecting them. (like was it once the Moon but is only the only piece left floating around the Earth?)

 

I think the concept of a floating island is great, but I am curious as to the details. What is the reason it needs to float? Does it move and if so, how fast?

In fantasy there are tons of options for how to make it work. Magic is the first thing that comes to mind for enabling it to float, but it may not be the best option. I would think something more mundane would be more realistic, pumice for example is a rock that is less dense than water and thus it floats. If perhaps the majority of the island's base were pumice, it could float freely, though likely not very fast. Most floating islands in the real world are small because they are usually peat, so probably not large enough for even a house.

Another option could be more exotic and fanciful, like an island on the back of a giant turtle or other sea critter. It could be that the island can even go onto land if you do this.

 

Well, if you're looking for a specific example, the Malazan series has Drift Avalii. I think it's more of an island that moves around rather than specifically floating though.

 

CS Lewis uses floating islands in Voyage to Venus and they slide up and down the waves, they are brilliant

 

When I saw the thread title I immediately thought of the Hallelujah Mountains, a floating mountain range on the moon Pandora in the movie Avatar. The mountains float because they contain large amounts of a mineral called unobtanium, which from what I remember of the movie's limited explanation, has gravity-defying properties. (Though how there are deposits under the surface on the moon itself without the structures on top growing unstable is something I have no clue about.) That's a bit more toward sci-fi than fantasy, but it's something to think about, at least.

 

Floating on water or floating in the sky? In either case, do they stay in one place or float on the air or water currents? If they move, then navigation between them would be a headache, also there'd be the risk of two islands crashing into each other.

 

I love fantasy because you can come up with things like floating islands and gods walking the earth and no one would bat an eye. The real question is why. Why are there floating islands? How are there floating islands? Having a cool idea is half the battle, justifying it is another.

That said, I love floating islands but I always run into the same problem. Water. Rainfall would be the primary source of water, but would it be enough? What's the water cycle like for these islands?

 

Final Fantasy XII has large floating portions of their world which contain large portions of the material magicite, which is the basis if their aircraft technology. They are a fascinating concept, and can make for interesting plot devices.