AN OBSCURE piece of land located in the South Pacific has had experts baffled as it vanished from the face of the Earth after appearing on maps for 200 years.
Dubbed the “phantom island”, Sandy Island in between Australia and New Caledonia ceased to exist after many explorers failed to find its location over centuries.
GoogleSandy Island appeared on maps for 200 years before vanishing from the face of the Earth[/caption]
R.C. CARRINGTON, OF THE HYDROGRAPHIC OFFICEThis UK Hydrographic Office nautical chart from 1908 is one of the earliest appearances of Sandy Island[/caption]
But it began appearing on digital maps, especially Google Maps, which forced researchers to go and find the island themselves.
However, they failed to locate even a piece of land, let alone an island, in the given location.
So how did the island even become an existing thought?
The story of Sandy Island begins on September 15, 1774, when Captain James Cook charted a “Sandy I.” in the eastern Coral Sea, off the northeast coast of Australia.
It was published in Cook’s “Chart of Discoveries made in the South Pacific Ocean” in 1776.
Historically, the island was believed to be 14.9 miles long and 3.1 miles wide – and was hard to miss because of the significant size.
One hundred years later – in 1876 – a whaling ship called Velocity also reported Sandy Island.
This was noted on several 19th-century maps from Britain and Germany.
Eventually, however, sea charts began amending maps with the letters ED (for “existence doubtful”) after several voyages failed to spot the island where it was charted.
The French Hydrographic Service removed the island from its nautical charts in 1979.
A few decades later, Sandy Island again began to appear on digital maps – puzzling experts even more.
But the true “undiscovery” came on November 22, 2012, when Australian scientists on the R/V Southern Surveyor failed to find Sandy Island.
They even recorded the ocean depth at the coordinates which was never less than 4,300 feet – meaning there was no chance any wide piece of land was lurking below the waves.
Maria Seton from the University of Sydney told AFP: “We wanted to check it out because the navigation charts on board the ship showed a water depth of 4,300 feet in that area – very deep.
“It’s on Google Earth and other maps so we went to check and there was no island.”
“We’re really puzzled because it is quite bizarre.
“We just do not know how it found its way into the digital map.”
On November 26, 2012, Google Maps removed the island from its service.
But what is baffling indeed is if you punch in the exact coordinates, you’ll see a faint outline of what looks like a long, thin island – but with no landmass in sight.
There is no official explanation as to why several sightings of Sandy Island have been seen over the years, but many experts believe that the island may have been the floating remains of coastal subaerial eruption.
It’s possible that what Captain Cook – and the Velocity, later – saw were remains from a possible volcanic eruption making a slow journey across the Pacific Ocean.
You can check out Sandy Island for yourself here:
Find it here – 19.22°S 159.93°E
The island is supposedly northeast of AustraliaWikimedia Maps
Google Earth also charts the island’s outline but doesn’t name it Sandy Island