Channel Islands

The Channel Islands are a group of islands in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They comprise two separate bailiwicks: the Bailiwick of Guernsey and the Bailiwick of Jersey, both are not part of the United Kingdom but British Crown dependencies, and have a total population of about 160,000. The respective capitals, St. Peter Port and St. Helier have populations of 16,488 and 28,310.

Geography Map of Channel Islands and adjacent coast of France. Viewed from Jersey's north coast, Jethou, Herm and Sark are hazy outlines on the horizon.

The inhabited islands of the Channel Islands are Jersey, Guernsey, Alderney, Sark, Herm ; Jethou, Brecqhou , and Lihou. All of these except Jersey are in the Bailiwick of Guernsey, but the Minquiers, ?cr?hous, Les Dirouilles and Les Pierres de Lecq , uninhabited groups of islets, are part of the Bailiwick of Jersey. Burhou and the Casquets lie off Alderney. As a general rule, the larger islands have the -ey suffix, and the smaller ones have the -hou suffix; this is believed to be from the Old Norse ey and holmr, respectively.

The Chausey Islands south of Jersey are not generally included in the geographical definition of the Channel Islands but occasionally described as 'French Channel Islands' in English in view of their French jurisdiction. They were historically linked to the Duchy of Normandy, but they are part of the French territory along with continental Normandy, and not part of the British Isles or of the Channel Islands in a political sense. They are an incorporated part of the commune of Granville , and although popular with visitors from France, they are rarely visited by Channel Islanders, as there are no direct transport links from the other islands.

In official Jersey French , the islands are called '?les de la Manche', while in France, the term '?les anglo-normandes' is used to refer to the British 'Channel Islands' in contrast to other islands in the Channel