Presquîle

Presqu’île is the French term for a peninsula, a landform that extends into a sea, ocean, or large lake and is surrounded by water on most sides while remaining attached to the mainland by a comparatively narrow neck of land. The word combines presque (almost) and île (island), reflecting its closeness to being an island.

Peninsulas form through coastal deposition and sedimentation, tectonic uplift, or differential sea-level change. Their shapes range from slender spits to broad extensions and they are distinguished from capes, which are more pointed projections, and from isthmuses, which connect a peninsula to the mainland.

Some of the world's best-known peninsulas include the Iberian Peninsula, the Scandinavian Peninsula, the Italian Peninsula, the Balkan Peninsula, the Arabian Peninsula, and the Malay Peninsula. In French geography, the term presqu’île is also used for city districts such as the Presqu’île in Lyon, a central area between the Saône and Rhône rivers.

Peninsulas often host harbors and coastal communities, support distinctive ecosystems, and are important for navigation, trade, and tourism. Coastal dynamics, erosion, and human development can influence their shape and ecological conditions over time.