A prison island is an

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

housing a

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

. Islands have often been used as sites of prisons throughout history due to their natural isolation preventing escape.

Prison islands by country

Oceania

Christmas Island Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an States and territories of Australia#External territories, Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean comprising the island of the same name. It is about south o ...

, location of Christmas Island Detention Centre which houses people who have entered Australia as illegal immigrants. Processing centre to determine individuals genuinely seeking asylum and return those who are not. * Cockatoo Island, use as prison began in 1839 * Great Palm Island, Aboriginal prison ( Palm Island Aboriginal Settlement) *

Los Negros Island Los Negros Island is the third largest of the Admiralty Islands. It is significant because it contains the main airport of Manus Province on its eastern coastline, at Momote. It is connected to Lorengau, the capital of the province, on Manus ...

(Papua New Guinea), site of

Manus Regional Processing Centre The Manus Regional Processing Centre, or Manus Island Regional Processing Centre (MIRCP), was one of a number of offshore Australian immigration detention facilities. The centre was located on the PNG Navy Base Lombrum (previously a Royal Aus ...

from 2001 to 2017 *

Norfolk Island Norfolk Island ( , ; ) is an States and territories of Australia, external territory of Australia located in the Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and New Caledonia, directly east of Australia's Evans Head, New South Wales, Evans Head and a ...

penal colony A penal colony or exile colony is a settlement used to exile prisoners and separate them from the general population by placing them in a remote location, often an island or distant colonial territory. Although the term can be used to refer ...

from 1788 to 1814 * Pinchgut Island, prison in the 1790s *

Rottnest Island Rottnest Island (), often colloquially referred to as "Rotto", is a Islands of Perth, Western Australia, island off the coast of Western Australia, located west of Fremantle. A sandy, low-lying island formed on a base of aeolianite limestone, ...

, Aboriginal prison from 1838 to 1931 * St Helena Island, prison from 1867 to 1933 * Sarah Island and neighboring Grummet Island

Bahrain

* Jidda Island, prison from 1930 until the 1970s

Bulgaria

* St. Anastasia Island, used as a prison island for political prisoners between 1925 and 1940

Canada

* Georges Island, prison during the

Seven Years' War The Seven Years' War, 1756 to 1763, was a Great Power conflict fought primarily in Europe, with significant subsidiary campaigns in North America and South Asia. The protagonists were Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and Kingdom of Prus ...

and

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

* Melville Island, prison from 1793 to 1815 and 1856 to the 1930s

Channel Islands

Alderney Alderney ( ; ; ) is the northernmost of the inhabited Channel Islands. It is part of the Bailiwick of Guernsey, a British Crown Dependencies, Crown dependency. It is long and wide. The island's area is , making it the third-largest isla ...

, 1940–1945, four camps built during the

German occupation of the Channel Islands The military occupation of the Channel Islands by Nazi Germany lasted for most of the Second World War, from 30 June 1940 until liberation on 9 May 1945. The Bailiwick of Jersey and Bailiwick of Guernsey are British Crown dependencies in the ...

: two camps of "volunteer" workers ( Lager Borkum, Lager Norderney) and two subcamps of

Neuengamme concentration camp Neuengamme was a network of Nazi concentration camps in northern Germany that consisted of the main camp, Neuengamme, and List of subcamps of Neuengamme, more than 85 satellite camps. Established in 1938 near the village of Neuengamme, Hamburg, N ...

( Lager Helgoland, Lager Sylt). European forced labourers were made to build fortifications on the island

China

* Dongguan Prison occupies most of Xinzhou, an island in the

East River The East River is a saltwater Estuary, tidal estuary or strait in New York City. The waterway, which is not a river despite its name, connects Upper New York Bay on its south end to Long Island Sound on its north end. It separates Long Island, ...

Colombia

* Gorgona Island, prison from 1959 to 1984

Costa Rica

* San Lucas Island, prison from 1873 to 1991

Croatia

* Goli otok, location of the prison and torture camp for political dissidents in

SFR Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

from 1949 to 1988

Eritrea

* Nakura, colonial Italian Nocra prison camp

Fiji

* Nukulau, prison from 2000 to 2006

France

Île Royale The Salvation Islands ( French: ''Îles du Salut'', so called because the missionaries went there to escape plague on the mainland), sometimes mistakenly called the Safety Islands, are a group of small islands of volcanic origin about off the co ...

, 1852–1952, part of the

Devil's Island The penal colony of Cayenne ( French: ''Bagne de Cayenne''), commonly known as Devil's Island (''Île du Diable''), was a French penal colony that operated for 100 years, from 1852 to 1952, and officially closed in 1953, in the Salvation Islan ...

penal colony * Devil's Island (Kourou), 1852–1952, part of the

penal colony * Saint-Joseph Island, 1852–1952, part of the

penal colony * Île Sainte-Marguerite, 1600s–1900s *

Île d'Yeu Ile or ILE may refer to: Ile * Ile, a Puerto Rican singer * Ile District (disambiguation), multiple places * Ilé-Ifẹ̀, an ancient Yoruba city in south-western Nigeria * Interlingue (ISO 639:ile), a planned language * Isoleucine, an amino ...

, 1945–1951, used to imprison

Philippe Pétain Henri Philippe Bénoni Omer Joseph Pétain (; 24 April 1856 – 23 July 1951), better known as Marshal Pétain (, ), was a French marshal who commanded the French Army in World War I and later became the head of the Collaboration with Nazi Ger ...

, collaborationist leader of

Vichy France Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the Battle of France, ...

. * Château d'If, 17th century–1890, famous as a setting for ''

The Count of Monte Cristo ''The Count of Monte Cristo'' () is an adventure novel by the French writer Alexandre Dumas. It was serialised from 1844 to 1846, and published in book form in 1846. It is one of his most popular works, along with ''The Three Musketeers'' (184 ...

Greece

Agios Efstratios Agios Efstratios or Saint Eustratius (), colloquially Ai Stratis (), anciently Halonnesus or Halonnesos (), is a small Greek island in the northern Aegean Sea about southwest of Lemnos and northwest of Lesbos. The municipality has an area of 43. ...

, *

Gyaros Gyaros ( ), also locally known as Gioura (), is an arid, unpopulated, and uninhabited Greek island in the northern Cyclades near the islands of Andros and Tinos, with an area of . It is a part of the municipality of Ano Syros, which lies primari ...

, prison and torture camp after the Greek Civil War * Makronisos, political prison from 1920s to 1970s

Hong Kong

* Hei Ling Chau **Hei Ling Chau Addiction Treatment Centre, 1975–present **Hei Ling Chau Correctional Institution, 1994–present **Lai Sun Correctional Institution, 1984–present **Nei Kwu Correctional Institution, 2002–present * Tai A Chau **Tai A Chau Detention Centre, 1991–96

India

Ross Island Ross Island is an island in Antarctica lying on the east side of McMurdo Sound and extending from Cape Bird in the north to Cape Armitage in the south, and a similar distance from Cape Royds in the west to Cape Crozier in the east. The isl ...

, prison from 1858 to 1945 * Viper Island, former British prison

Indonesia

Buru Buru (formerly spelled Boeroe, Boro, or Bouru) is the third largest island within the Maluku Islands of Indonesia. It lies between the Banda Sea to the south and Seram Sea to the north, west of Ambon Island, Ambon and Seram Island, Seram island ...

, prison in 1960s–1970s *

Nusa Kambangan Nusa Kambangan is an island located in Indonesia, separated by a narrow strait from the south coast of Java. The closest port is Cilacap in Central Java province. It is known as the place where the fabled ''wijayakusuma'', which translates as th ...

, notorious prison island off the southern coast of Java, containing a number of prisons

Ireland

Dalkey Island Dalkey Island ( ) () is an island for which the nearby village of Dalkey is named ( meaning "thorn island", with ''ey'' the Old Norse (Viking) version of "island"). It is an uninhabited island located in the county of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, ...

, used in the 10th century as a holding area for

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

prior to sale by the

Vikings Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Spike Island, County Cork Spike Island () is an island of in Cork Harbour, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Originally the site of a monastic settlement, the island is dominated by an 18th-century bastion fort now named Fort Mitchel. The island's strategic location withi ...

, a prison from as early as the 17th century (current structure is an 18th century bastion fort named Fort Mitchel). It closed in 2004 and is now a museum.

Isle of Man

Hutchinson Internment Camp Hutchinson Internment Camp was a World War II Internment, internment camp in Douglas, Isle of Man, Douglas, Isle of Man, particularly noted as "the artists' camp" due to the thriving artistic and intellectual life of its internees. Location and ...

, 1940–1945, in the southeast of the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

. Held Austrian and German internees until 1944, when it became a

POW camp A prisoner-of-war camp (often abbreviated as POW camp) is a site for the containment of enemy fighters captured as prisoners of war by a belligerent power in time of war. There are significant differences among POW camps, internment camps, an ...

Italy

* Asinara, prison from World War I until 1997 *

Elba Elba (, ; ) is a Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean island in Tuscany, Italy, from the coastal town of Piombino on the Italian mainland, and the largest island of the Tuscan Archipelago. It is also part of the Arcipelago Toscano National Park, a ...

, held

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

from 1814 to 1815 * Gorgona, site of Gorgona Agricultural Penal Colony since 1869 *

Pianosa Pianosa () is an island in the Tuscan Archipelago in the Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy. It is about in area, with a coastal perimeter of . Geography In Roman times, the island was named ''Planasia'' (plain) because of its flatness – its highest po ...

, prison from 1856 to 1998 *

Ponza Ponza (Italian: ''isola di Ponza'' ) is the largest island of the Italy, Italian Pontine Islands archipelago, located south of Cape Circeo in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is also the name of the commune of the island, a part of the province of Latina ...

, prison during Fascist era * Santo Stefano Island, prison from 1797 to 1965; 'Italy’s Alcatraz' *

Ustica Ustica (; ) is a small Italian island in the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is about across and is situated north of Capo Gallo, Sicily. Roughly 1,300 people live in the ''comune'' (municipality) of the same name. There is a regular ferry service ...

, prison from Fascist era until the 1950s

Japan

Hachijō-jima is a volcano, volcanic Islands of Japan, Japanese island in the Philippine Sea. It is about south of the special wards of Tokyo. It is part of the Izu Islands, Izu archipelago and within the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park. Its only municipalit ...

, prison until the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...

* Kami-shima, prison during the Edo period

Madagascar

* Nosy Lava

Malaysia

* Jerejak Island, location of the Jerejak Rehabilitation Centre from 1969 to 1993; called the 'Alcatraz of Malaysia'

Maldives

* Dhoonidhoo

Mexico

* Islas Marías, site of Islas Marías Federal Prison from 1905 to 2019

Montenegro

Grmožur Grmožur () is a fortified islet in Lake Skadar, located near the village of Godinje, in the Montenegrin municipality of Bar. The island was nicknamed the Island of Snakes by the local population, and the Island of Birds by ornithologists, sin ...

, a fortified islet in

Lake Skadar Lake Skadar or Lake Scutari (, ; cnr-Cyrl-Latn, Скадарско језеро, Skadarsko jezero, )also called Lake Shkodra (and ''Lake Shkodër'')lies on the border of Albania and Montenegro, and is the largest lake in Southern Europe. It is n ...

which served as a prison * Mamula, location of the

Fascist Italian Italian fascism (), also called classical fascism and Fascism, is the original fascist ideology, which Giovanni Gentile and Benito Mussolini developed in Italy. The ideology of Italian fascism is associated with a series of political parties le ...

concentration camp A concentration camp is a prison or other facility used for the internment of political prisoners or politically targeted demographics, such as members of national or ethnic minority groups, on the grounds of national security, or for exploitati ...

, from 1942 to 1945

Namibia

* Shark Island concentration camp, 1905–1907, used during the

Herero and Namaqua genocide Herero may refer to: * Herero people, a people belonging to the Bantu group, with about 240,000 members alive today * Herero language, a language of the Bantu family (Niger-Congo group) * Herero and Nama genocide * Herero chat, a species of bi ...

New Zealand

* Motuihe Island, World War I internment camp famous for holding Felix von Luckner

Norway

* Bastøy Island, liberal prison begun in 1982 *

Munkholmen Munkholmen () is an islet in Trondheim Municipality in Trøndelag county, Norway. The island sits in the Trondheimsfjord about northwest of the island of Brattøra and the mouth of the river Nidelva in the center of the city of Trondheim. The ...

Panama

Coiba Coiba () is the largest island in Central America, with an area of , off the Pacific coast of the Panamanian province of Veraguas. It is part of the Montijo District of that province. History Coiba separated from continental Panama between 1 ...

, prison from 1919 to 2004

Peru

El Frontón El Frontón is a deserted island and former penal colony off the coast of Callao, Peru. Geography Dry, deserted and without vegetation, it is located 7 km from the coast, to the west of La Punta District and to the southeast of San Lorenzo Isla ...

, prison from 1917 to 1980s * San Lorenzo Island, temporary prison in the 1990s

Portugal

Santiago, Cape Verde Santiago (Portuguese language, Portuguese for “James, son of Zebedee, Saint James”) is the largest island of Cape Verde, its most important agricultural centre and home to half the nation's population. Part of the Sotavento Islands, it lies b ...

, site of Tarrafal concentration camp from 1936 to 1974

Russia

* Mudyug Island, British/French prison camp near

Arkhangelsk Arkhangelsk (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It lies on both banks of the Northern Dvina near its mouth into the White Sea. The city spreads for over along the ...

* Nazino Island, site of mass deportation and murder in 1933 * Ognenny Ostrov, location of Vologodskiy Pyatak prison since 1917 *

Solovetsky Islands The Solovetsky Islands ( rus, Соловецкие острова, p=səlɐˈvʲetskʲɪj ɐstrɐˈva), or Solovki ( rus, Соловки, p=səlɐfˈkʲi), are an archipelago located in the Onega Bay of the White Sea, Russia. As an administrati ...

, site of Solovki prison camp Gulag * Trofimovsk Island, deportation site of Lithuanians and Finns in the

Lena River The Lena is a river in the Russian Far East and is the easternmost river of the three great rivers of Siberia which flow into the Arctic Ocean, the others being Ob (river), Ob and Yenisey. The Lena River is long and has a capacious drainage basi ...

delta

Saint Helena

Saint Helena Saint Helena (, ) is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory. Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 1,874 km ...

, famously held

; held prisoners during the

Second Anglo-Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic an ...

Seychelles

* Coëtivy Island * Marie Louise Island, from 2012 to 2017

Singapore

Pulau Senang Pulau Senang is an coral island in the Republic of Singapore, located about off the southern coast of Singapore Island. Along with Pulau Pawai to the north-west and Pulau Sudong, further north from Pulau Pawai, it is used as a military train ...

, prison from 1960 to 1964

South Africa

Robben Island Robben Island () is an island in Table Bay, 6.9 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, north of Cape Town, South Africa. It takes its name from the Dutch language, Dutch word for seals (''robben''), hence the Dutch/Afrika ...

, location of Robben Island Prison from 1961 to 1996. The Island was used to incarcerate political prisoners as early as the 17th Century, and later during the

Xhosa Wars The Xhosa Wars (also known as the Cape Frontier Wars or the Kaffir Wars) were a series of nine wars (from 1779 to 1879) between the Xhosa Kingdom and the British Empire as well as Trekboers from the Dutch colonial empire in what is now the ...

South Korea

* Geojedo, active during the

Korean War The Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953) was an armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula fought between North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea; DPRK) and South Korea (Republic of Korea; ROK) and their allies. North Korea was s ...

;

Geoje POW camp Geoje-do POW camp (, zh, 巨济岛战俘营) was a prisoner of war camp located on Geoje island at the southernmost part of Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea. It is considered the largest of the UNC established camps. Geoje Camp was a United Nation ...

Syria

Arwad Arwad (; ), the classical antiquity, classical Aradus, is a town in Syria on an eponymous List of islands of Syria, island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative center of the Arwad nahiyah, Subdistrict (''nahiyah''), of which it is ...

, prison under French colonial rule

Taiwan

* Green Island, prison during Taiwan's period of martial law

Tanzania

Changuu Changuu Island (also known as Kibandiko, Prison or Quarantine Island) (''Kisiwa cha Changuu'', in Swahili) is an island in the Mjini Magharibi Region, Tanzania, off the coast of Mjini District. It is situated in the Zanzibar Channel. It is loca ...

, known as 'Prison Island'; held rebellious slaves in 1860s

Timor Leste

* Atauro, used as prison by Portugal and Indonesia

Trinidad and Tobago

Carrera Island Carrera Island is one of the two Diego Islands in the Gulf of Paria, Trinidad and Tobago. Situated off the northwest peninsula of Trinidad, the islet comprises approximately . When Trinidad was under Spanish rule, Carrera Island was known as Isl ...

, prison since the late 19th century

Tonga

ʻAtā ʻAtā is a small island in the Tongatapu group of Tonga. It has been used since 2001 as an open prison for Tongan criminals, especially young people. In 2002, there were seven prisoner A prisoner, also known as an inmate or detainee, is ...

, prison since 2001

Thailand

* Ko Tao Between 1943 and 1944, Koh Tao was used as a political prison.

Turkey

* Hapishane Adası, former Roman prison * İmralı island, location of a

since 1935

United Kingdom and Ireland

Bass Rock The Bass Rock, or simply the Bass (), is an island in the outer part of the Firth of Forth in the east of Scotland. Approximately offshore, and north-east of North Berwick, it is a steep-sided volcanic plug, at its highest point, and is home ...

, castle used as a prison from 15th century to 18th century *

Drake's Island Drake's Island is a island lying in Plymouth Sound, the stretch of water south of the city of Plymouth, Devon. The rocks which make up the island are volcanic tuff and lava, together with marine limestone of the Devonian period. For more th ...

, prison in the 17th century * Inishbofin, the

star fort A bastion fort or ''trace italienne'' (a phrase derived from non-standard French, meaning 'Italian outline') is a fortification in a style developed during the early modern period in response to the ascendancy of gunpowder weapons such as c ...

on the island was used as a prison for Catholic priests during the

Cromwellian invasion of Ireland The Cromwellian conquest of Ireland (1649–1653) was the re-conquest of Ireland by the Commonwealth of England, initially led by Oliver Cromwell. It forms part of the 1641 to 1652 Irish Confederate Wars, and wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three ...

* Jail Island, prison in the 1600s *

, from 1847 to 2004. Part of

Treaty Ports Treaty ports (; ) were the port cities in China and Japan that were opened to foreign trade mainly by the unequal treaties forced upon them by Western powers, as well as cities in Korea opened up similarly by the Qing dynasty of China (before th ...

United States

Alcatraz Island Alcatraz Island () is a small island about 1.25 miles offshore from San Francisco in San Francisco Bay, California, near the Golden Gate, Golden Gate Strait. The island was developed in the mid-19th century with facilities for a Alcatraz Isla ...

, location of

Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary United States Penitentiary, Alcatraz Island, also known simply as Alcatraz (, ''"the gannet"'') or the Rock, was a maximum security federal prison on Alcatraz Island, 1.25 miles (2.01 km) off the coast of San Francisco, California, United S ...

from 1934 until 1963 * Belle Isle, prison camp (Confederate) during the American Civil War * Castle Island, prison in the 18th century * Deer Island, location of Deer Island Prison, closed in 1991 *

Diego Garcia Diego Garcia is the largest island of the Chagos Archipelago. It has been used as a joint UK–U.S. military base since the 1970s, following the expulsion of the Chagossians by the UK government. The Chagos Islands are set to become a former B ...

, overseas territory of the United Kingdom believed to be a

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

black site circa 2005 *

Dry Tortugas Dry Tortugas National Park is a national park of the United States located about west of Key West in the Gulf of Mexico, in the United States. The park preserves Fort Jefferson and the several Dry Tortugas islands, the westernmost and most iso ...

Garden Key Dry Tortugas National Park is a national park of the United States located about west of Key West in the Gulf of Mexico, in the United States. The park preserves Fort Jefferson and the several Dry Tortugas islands, the westernmost and most iso ...

, prison on Fort Jefferson during and after the American Civil War *

Governors Island Governors Island is a island in New York Harbor, within the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located approximately south of Manhattan Island, and is separated from Brooklyn to the east by the Buttermilk ...

* Hart Island, prison from 1865 to 1967 *

Johnson's Island Johnson's Island is a island in Sandusky Bay, located on the coast of Lake Erie, from the city of Sandusky, Ohio. It was the site of a prisoner-of-war camp for Confederate officers captured during the American Civil War. Initially, ...

, prison camp (Union) during the American Civil War *

Kahoʻolawe Kahoolawe (Hawaiian: ), anglicized as Kahoolawe ( ), is the smallest of the eight main volcanic islands of the Hawaiian Islands. Unpopulated, it lies about southwest of Maui. The island is long by wide, with a total land area of . Its highes ...

, Hawaiian penal colony from 1830 to 1853 *

McNeil Island McNeil Island is an island in the Northwestern United States, in south Puget Sound southwest of Tacoma, Washington. With a land area of , it lies in an area of many inhabited small islands, including Anderson Island (Washington), Anderson Island ...

, location of McNeil Island Corrections Center from 1875 to 2011 *

Rikers Island Rikers Island is a prison island in the East River in the Bronx, New York (state), New York, United States, that contains New York City's largest jail. Named after Abraham Rycken, who took possession of the island in 1664, the island was orig ...

, location of

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

's main jail complex * Rock Island, prison camp (Union) during the American Civil War *

Roosevelt Island Roosevelt Island is an island in New York City's East River, within the Borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan. It lies between Manhattan Island to the west, and the borough of Queens, on Long Island, to the east. It is about long, wit ...

(formerly Blackwell's Island), prison in the 19th century *

Terminal Island Terminal Island, historically known as , is a largely artificial island located in Los Angeles County, California, between the neighborhoods of Wilmington, Los Angeles, Wilmington and San Pedro, Los Angeles, San Pedro in the city of Los Angeles ...

, a low security federal prison

Vietnam

Côn Sơn Island Côn Sơn ( ), also known as Côn Lôn is the largest island of the Côn Đảo archipelago, off the coast of southern Vietnam.Kelley, p 116 Other names Its former French name, Grande-Condore was popularly used during the times of French ...

, French colonial and South Vietnamese prison

Prison islands in fiction

*''

'' (1846), Château d'If *'' Red Pawn'' (1932) *'' The Prisoner of Shark Island'' (1936), Dry Tortugas *'' I Was a Prisoner on Devil's Island'' (1941), Devil's Island *'' Isle of Missing Men'' (1942), Caruba *''

Wonder Woman Wonder Woman is a superheroine who appears in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character first appeared in ''All Star Comics'' Introducing Wonder Woman, #8, published October 21, 1941, with her first feature in ''Sensation Comic ...

'' (1942) *''

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ''Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas'' () is a science fiction adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne. It is considered a classic within its genres and world literature. It was originally serialised from March 1869 to June 1870 i ...

'' (1954), Rura Penthe *'' Vanji Kottai Valipan'' (1958) *''

The Adventures of Batman ''The Adventures of Batman'' is an animated television series produced by Lou Scheimer's Filmation studios. It consists of the 12-minute Batman segments from '' The Batman/Superman Hour'', which premiered on September 14, 1968, on CBS. The fo ...

'' (1968), Satan Island *'' Papillon'' (1969), Devil's Island *'' Onna-rō Hizu'' (1970) *'' This Earth of Mankind'' (1980), Buru *''

Escape from New York ''Escape from New York'' is a 1981 American Independent film, independent science fiction film, science fiction action film co-written, co-scored and directed by John Carpenter, and starring Kurt Russell, Lee Van Cleef, Ernest Borgnine, Donald ...

'' (1981), Manhattan *'' Bring 'Em Back Alive'' (1982), Kampoon *'' Touch the Devil'' (1982), Belle Isle *''

Tales of the Gold Monkey ''Tales of the Gold Monkey'' is an American adventure drama television series broadcast in prime time on Wednesday nights by ABC from September 22, 1982, to June 1, 1983. Debuting the year following the release of ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'', ...

'' (1982) *''

The Fall Guy ''The Fall Guy'' is an American action-adventure television series produced for ABC and originally broadcast from November 4, 1981, to May 2, 1986. It stars Lee Majors, Douglas Barr, and Heather Thomas as Hollywood stunt performers who moonl ...

'' (1983), Devil's Island *'' Raiders of the Living Dead'' (1986) *''

The Uplift War ''The Uplift War'' is a 1987 science fiction novel by American writer David Brin, the third book of six set in his Uplift Universe. It was nominated as the best novel for the 1987 Nebula Award and won the 1988 Hugo and Locus Awards. The pre ...

'' (1987) *'' Superman vol. 2'' (1987), Stryker's Island *'' Island of Fire'' (1990) *'' Ravage 2099'' (1992), Hellrock, New York *'' No Escape'' (1994), Absolom *''

Green Lantern Green Lantern is the name of several superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. They fight evil with the aid of rings that grant them a variety of extraordinary powers, all of which come from imagination, fearlessness, ...

'' (1994), Slabside Island *'' Venus Rising'' (1995) *'' Street Sharks'' (1995) *'' The Rock'' (1996), Alcatraz *'' Escape from L.A.'' (1996), Los Angeles *'' Dark Savior'' (1996) *'' Realms of Arkania: Shadows over Riva'' (1996) *''

Riven ''Riven: The Sequel to Myst'' is a 1997 adventure game developed by Cyan Productions and published by Red Orb Entertainment. The second installment of the ''Myst'' series, ''Riven'' was released for Mac and Windows personal computers on Oc ...

'' (1997) *'' A Scare at Bedtime'' (1998), Hole Island *'' Xena: Warrior Princess'' (1999) *'' Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'' (1999), Azkaban *''

JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Hirohiko Araki. It was originally serialized in Shueisha's manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' from 1987 to 2004, and was transferred to the monthly manga magazine ''Ultra Jum ...

: Stone Ocean'' (1999), Green Dolphin Street Prison, aka "The Aquarium", Florida *'' Resident Evil – Code: Veronica'' (2000), Rockfort Island in the

Southern Ocean The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the world ocean, generally taken to be south of 60th parallel south, 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica. With a size of , it is the seco ...

*''

Sonic Adventure 2 is a 2001 platform game developed by Sonic Team USA and published by Sega for the Dreamcast. It features two Conflict between good and evil, good-vs-evil stories: Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, and K ...

'' (2001), Prison Island *'' Captain Nemo: The Fantastic History of a Dark Genius'' (2002), Rura Penthe *'' Ghosthunter'' (2003), Devil's Scar Penitentiary *'' Monsieur N.'' (2003), Saint Helena *''

Eberron Eberron is a campaign setting for the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D'') role-playing game. The game is set primarily on the continent of Khorvaire following a vast destructive war. Eberron is designed to accommodate traditional ''D&D'' elements an ...

'' (2004), Dreadhold *''

Sonic X is a Japanese anime television series based on Sega's ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' video game series. Produced by TMS Entertainment under partnership with Sega and Sonic Team, and directed by Hajime Kamegaki, ''Sonic X'' initially ran for 52 ep ...

'' (2004) *'' The Suffering'' (2004), Carnate Island, Maryland *''

A Feast for Crows ''A Feast for Crows'' is the fourth of seven planned novels in the epic fantasy series ''A Song of Ice and Fire'' by American author George R. R. Martin. The novel was first published in the United Kingdom on October 17, 2005, with a United St ...

'' (2005), Ghaston Grey *''

Seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

'' (2007) *'' Poptropica'' (2007) *'' The Inmates of Summer'', ''

SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' is an American animated television series, animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It first aired as a sneak peek after the 1999 Kids' C ...

'' (2007), Inferno Island *''

Airman An airman is a member of an air force or air arm of a nation's armed forces. In certain air forces, it can also refer to a specific enlisted rank. An airman can also be referred to as a soldier in other definitions. As a military rank designat ...

'' (2008), Little Saltee *''

Golgo 13 is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Takao Saito, published in Shogakukan's manga magazine ''Big Comic'' since October 1968. The series follows the title character, a professional assassin for hire. ''Golgo 13'' is ...

'' (2008), Pandora Island *'' NoviCraft'' (2008) *'' Castlevania: Order of Ecclesia'' (2008), Minera Prison Island *'' Avatar: The Last Airbender'' (2008), Boiling Rock *''

Superjail! ''Superjail!'' is an American adult animated television series created by Christy Karacas, Stephen Warbrick and Ben Gruber for Cartoon Network's late night programming block, Adult Swim. It follows the events that take place in an unusual pr ...

'' (2008), Superjail Island *''

Xenoblade Chronicles ''Xenoblade Chronicles'' is a series of action role-playing games developed by Monolith Soft and published by Nintendo. The series began with the original '' Xenoblade Chronicles'' game, published for the Wii in 2010 in Japan, and released in ...

'' (2010), Prison Island *'' Mazinkaizer SKL'' (2010) *'' World of Warcraft: Cataclysm'' (2010) *''

Brooklyn Without Limits "Brooklyn Without Limits" is the List of 30 Rock episodes#Season 5 (2010–11), seventh episode of the 30 Rock season 5, fifth season of the American television comedy series ''30 Rock'', and the 87th overall episode of the series. It was writt ...

'' (2010), Usa *'' Dead Island'' (2011) *''

Arrow An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers c ...

'' (2012), Purgatory *'' Iris II: New Generation'' (2013) *'' Might & Magic X: Legacy'' (2014), Fort Laegaire *'' Gotham'' (2015) *'' Prisoner 489'' (2015) *'' Kaijumax'' (2015) *'' Mysterious Joker'' (2015), Demon's Heaven *'' Tales of Zestiria the X'' (2016) *'' Divinity: Original Sin II'' (2017), Fort Joy *'' Rage of Bahamut'' (2017), *'' World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth'' (2018), Fate's End *'' Revenger'' (2018) *'' Dream SMP'' (2020), Pandora's Vault *'' One Shot'' (2021) *'' Pennyworth'' (2022), Hebrides *'' The Bad Guys'' (2022), Super Ultra Crazy Max, Los Angeles *''

Diablo Immortal ''Diablo Immortal'' is a free-to-play, Massively multiplayer online game, massively multiplayer online Action role-playing game, action role-playing video game developed by Blizzard Entertainment and NetEase. A mobile game in the Diablo (series ...

'' (2022), Stormpoint *'' Octopath Traveler II'' (2023), Frigit Isle

References

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