The ( French: Island With No Name), also known as the (Mysterious Island) or Tahiti, is an island in the

Gironde estuary The Gironde estuary ( , US usually ; , ; , ) is a navigable estuary (though often referred to as a river) in southwest France and is formed from the meeting of the rivers Dordogne and Garonne just downstream of the centre of Bordeaux. Coverin ...

in south-west France. It appeared after the 2009 Cyclone Klaus led to increased deposition of sediment and lies near the historic Cordouan Lighthouse. It is regarded as an important emerging ecosystem and efforts have been made to protect the island from human intrusion. Officially it lies within the department of

Gironde Gironde ( , US usually , ; , ) is the largest department in the southwestern French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,623,749.

but in 2015 was occupied by a group claiming it for

Charente-Maritime Charente-Maritime (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Chérente-Marine''; ) is a Departments of France, department in the French Regions of France, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, on the country's west coast. Named after the river Charente (river), Charen ...

2009 appearance

The island, known as (French: island with no name), appeared after Cyclone Klaus struck the

on 23 January 2009. A

European windstorm European windstorms are powerful extratropical cyclones which form as cyclone, cyclonic windstorms associated with areas of low atmospheric pressure. They can occur throughout the year, but are most frequent between October and March, with peak ...

that progressed through France, Spain and Italy killing 26 people and causing widespread destruction, the cyclone caused rapid coastal erosion in

. Some of the sediment accumulated in the estuary, adjacent to the Cordouan platform, the remains of an earlier limestone island since lost to erosion. The platform, partly exposed at low tide, is the site of France's oldest standing lighthouse, the 1611 Cordouan Lighthouse. The sediment augmented an existing sand bank approximately east of the lighthouse until it became a permanent fixture, visible at high tide. Soon after it formed the island, lying at the boundary between the estuary and the Atlantic Ocean, was measured at above high tide level and some in the

intertidal zone The intertidal zone or foreshore is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide; in other words, it is the part of the littoral zone within the tidal range. This area can include several types of habitats with various ...

. Initially unclaimed by any local municipality the island came to be known as but was also named by locals after the 1875 Jules Verne novel. It was considered possible at the time that the island would disappear as quickly as it had appeared, though some experts considered it could become permanent.

Later history

The island offered ecologists an opportunity to study the development of a new ecosystem by colonising species, a rare experience in Europe as these are usually associated with new volcanic islands. Within months of its appearance the first plants, insects and gulls had arrived on the island and by 2010 12 plant species and 30 species of invertebrates were present, of which around a third were considered well established. The estuary is rich in marine life and lies on an important bird migration route. Quantities of sea rocket on the island provide sustenance for flies, who are preyed upon by invertebrates who also feed on debris left by the gulls. Spiders, blown across by the wind, and ants, travelling by driftwood, have also been recorded on the island. The fragile ecosystem is vulnerable to trampling and has been placed at risk by human landings on the island. Several music parties, attended by hundreds of people, have disturbed nesting birds and the island has been used as a landing site by the local parachute club. Plans were made in 2011 to place the island under protection as part of a maritime conservation zone. The island was since brought within the commune of Le Verdon-sur-Mer in the

department for administrative purposes. The island survived Cyclone Xynthia in February 2010 but lost of its surface area and was moved east. On 5 October 2015 a group of 50 people landed on the island and claimed it for the department of

. The group renamed the island "

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian language, Tahitian , ; ) is the largest island of the Windward Islands (Society Islands), Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia, an overseas collectivity of France. It is located in the central part of t ...

" and an aircraft chartered to tow a banner reading "" ("Tahiti island belongs to the Charentais"). The flag of the department was erected and the official song of the department sung. The island was recognised as a hazardous destination by the port authorities in nearby

Royan Royan (; in the Saintongeais dialect; ) is a commune and town in the south-west of France, in the Departments of France, department of Charente-Maritime in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. Capital of the Côte de Beauté, Royan is one of the mai ...

, Charente-Maritime. A notice to mariners was issued in 2017 regarding the island and signs were erected on it requesting that people do not land on it.

2009 appearance

Later history

References

Further reading