Sandy Island
An island shown on maps for over a century turned out not to exist when a ship sailed straight through it.
What was reported
Sandy Island appeared on nautical charts and world maps as a small island, about 24 km long, in the Coral Sea between Australia and New Caledonia. It was even shown in Google Earth.
In November 2012 the Australian research ship Southern Surveyor sailed to the spot and found open ocean around 1,400 metres deep. The island was quickly removed from maps.
Explanations offered
Researchers traced it to a whaling ship, the Velocity, which reported sandy breakers in the area in 1876; it was copied onto charts and never taken off. The whalers may have seen a raft of floating volcanic pumice, or made an error in their position.
- When
- 22 November 2012
- Where
- Coral Sea, between Australia and New Caledonia
- Witnesses
- Scientists on the research ship Southern Surveyor
- Status
- Never existed
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