The New Student's Reference Work/Ionian Islands

Io′nian Islands, a group or chain of islands in the Ionian Sea, about 40 in number, stretching along the west and south coasts of Greece. Corfu, Paxo, Santa Maura and Ithaca are the largest. Their total area is 1,010 square miles, and the population 260,000, mostly of Greek descent. The surface is generally mountainous, and the plains and valleys fertile. In 1863 Great Britain ceded the islands to Greece. See Corfu.