A phantom island is a purported

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An isla ...

which was included on maps for a period of time, but was later found not to exist. They usually originate from the reports of early sailors exploring new regions, and are commonly the result of navigational errors, mistaken observations, unverified misinformation, or deliberate fabrication. Some have remained on maps for centuries before being "un-discovered." Unlike lost lands, which are claimed (or known) to have once existed but to have been swallowed by the sea or otherwise destroyed, a phantom island is one that is claimed to exist contemporaneously, but later found not to have existed in the first place (or found not to be an island, as with the Island of California).

Examples

Some may have been purely mythical, such as the Isle of Demons near

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

, which may have been based on local legends of a haunted island. The far-northern island of Thule was reported to exist by 4th century BCE Greek explorer

Pytheas Pytheas of Massalia (; Ancient Greek: Πυθέας ὁ Μασσαλιώτης ''Pythéas ho Massaliōtēs''; Latin: ''Pytheas Massiliensis''; born 350 BC, 320–306 BC) was a Greek geographer, explorer and astronomer from the Greek colony ...

, but information about its purported location was lost; explorers and geographers since have speculated that it was the

Shetland Islands Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the n ...

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its ...

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and S ...

, or possibly nonexistent. The island of Hy-Brasil was sometimes depicted on maps west of Ireland, but all accounts of it have been fanciful. Some phantom islands arose through the faulty positioning of actual islands, or other geographical errors.

Pepys Island Pepys Island is a phantom island, once said to lie about north of the Falkland Islands at 47°S.James BurneyA Chronological History of the Discoveries in the South Sea Or Pacific Ocean accessed 25 July 2010 Pepys Island is now believed to have ...

was a misidentification of the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; es, Islas Malvinas, link=no ) is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and about from Cape Dubouze ...

. The Baja California Peninsula and the

Banks Peninsula Banks Peninsula is a peninsula of volcanic origin on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It has an area of approximately and encompasses two large harbours and many smaller bays and coves. The South Island's largest city, ...

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island coun ...

each appear as islands on some early maps, but were later discovered to be attached to their mainlands. Isle Phelipeaux, an apparent duplication of Isle Royale in

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

, appeared on explorers' maps for many years, and even served as a landmark for the border between the United States and the territory that would become Canada, before subsequent exploration by surveyors determined that it did not exist. Sandy Island appeared on maps of the

Coral Sea The Coral Sea () is a marginal sea of the South Pacific off the northeast coast of Australia, and classified as an interim Australian bioregion. The Coral Sea extends down the Australian northeast coast. Most of it is protected by the Fre ...

beginning in the late 19th century, between the Chesterfield Islands and Nereus Reef near

New Caledonia ) , anthem = "" , image_map = New Caledonia on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , map_alt = Location of New Caledonia , map_caption = Location of New Caledonia , mapsize = 290px , subdivision_type = Sovereign st ...

, but was "undiscovered" in the 1970s. Nonetheless, it continued to be included in mapping data sets into the early 21st century, until its non-existence was re-confirmed in 2012. Other phantom islands are misidentifications of breakers, icebergs, fog banks, pumice rafts from underwater volcanoes, or optical illusions. Observed in the Weddell Sea in 1823 but never again seen, New South Greenland may have been the result of a

superior mirage A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French ''(se) mirer'', from the Latin ''mirari'', meanin ...

. Some such as Thompson Island or

Bermeja Bermeja is a phantom islet lying off the north coast of the Yucatán peninsula according to several maps of the Gulf of Mexico from the 16th to the 20th centuries. Despite being located somewhat precisely in relation to neighboring islands by ...

may have been actual islands subsequently destroyed by volcanic explosions, earthquakes, submarine landslides, or low-lying lands such as sand banks that are no longer above water.

Pactolus Bank Pactolus Bank (or Burnham Bank) is (or was) a seamount in the Southern Ocean, west of Cape Horn. It was discovered by Captain W.D. Burnham of the American ship ''Pactolus'' on November 6, 1885. The bank has been proposed as a possible location for ...

, visited by

Sir Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( – 28 January 1596) was an English explorer, sea captain, privateer, slave trader, naval officer, and politician. Drake is best known for his circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition, from 1577 to 158 ...

in 1578, may fit into this former sand bank category. In some cases, cartographers intentionally include invented geographic features in their maps, either for fraudulent purposes or to identify plagiarists. Overview of the phantom islands

List of phantom islands

}) lying in the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

around 80°00´N 10°00´W between NE Greenland and Svalbard. This elusive land was allegedly seen as well by Lauge Koch from the air in 1933. , - , Filippo Reef , , 1886 , , This reef, part of the

Line Islands The Line Islands, Teraina Islands or Equatorial Islands (in Gilbertese, ''Aono Raina'') are a chain of 11 atolls (with partly or fully enclosed lagoons) and coral islands (with a surrounding reef) in the central Pacific Ocean, south of the Haw ...

, was first seen by the ship ''Filippo'' and was seen again in 1926 when both ships saw breakers in the same area, suggesting a depth of . Current observations show the reported location to have a depth of , and the nearest shallow seamount is about deep, disproving the existence of the island. , - , Frisland , , 1558 , , Another island on the Zeno map, possibly a renamed

. , - ,

Ganges Island Ganges Island, a phantom island known as in Japanese, appeared at on maps of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Reports of its disappearance appeared in 1933.Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

to the southwest of the Shatsky Rise. , - , Groclant , , 1569 , , An island to the west of

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland ...

, perhaps a misreading of the island's name, or

Baffin Island Baffin Island (formerly Baffin Land), in the Canadian territory of Nunavut, is the largest island in Canada and the fifth-largest island in the world. Its area is , slightly larger than Spain; its population was 13,039 as of the 2021 Canadia ...

. , - , Ilha de Vera Cruz , , 1500 , , A supposed 'island' found by Portuguese explorers, which turned out not to be an island but rather what is currently known as

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

. , - , Jacquet Island , , , , An island just to the east of the Flemish Cap; it was believed to exist into the 19th century, during which cartographers discussed it as a possible midway point for the

Transatlantic telegraph cable Transatlantic telegraph cables were undersea cables running under the Atlantic Ocean for telegraph communications. Telegraphy is now an obsolete form of communication, and the cables have long since been decommissioned, but telephone and data a ...

. , - , Juan de Lisboa , , , , Reported on maps as being southeast of

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Afric ...

. , - , Jupiter Reef , , 1878 , , Nonexistent reef in the Line Islands (in fact

are more than away), to the south of the also nonexistent Ernest Legouve Reef (see above). , - , Kantia , , 1884 , , Found in 1884 by Johan Otto Polter, who, in four later expeditions through 1909, disproved the island's existence. , - , Kianida Island
or ''Cianeis Insula'' , , 1467 , , Supposedly known in

Antiquity Antiquity or Antiquities may refer to: Historical objects or periods Artifacts *Antiquities, objects or artifacts surviving from ancient cultures Eras Any period before the European Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries) but still within the histo ...

, a large island the size of Thassos but situated off the

Black Sea The Black Sea is a marginal mediterranean sea of the Atlantic Ocean lying between Europe and Asia, east of the Balkans, south of the East European Plain, west of the Caucasus, and north of Anatolia. It is bounded by Bulgaria, Georgia, Rom ...

coast of

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

in the present Bulgaria-Turkey border area. Depicted on the 1467 map ''Nona Europae Tabula'' by

Nicolaus Germanus Nicolaus Germanus () was a German cartographer who modernized Ptolemy's ''Geography'' by applying new projections, adding additional maps, and contributing other innovations that were influential in the development of Renaissance cartography. N ...

based on

Claudius Ptolemy Claudius Ptolemy (; grc-gre, Πτολεμαῖος, ; la, Claudius Ptolemaeus; AD) was a mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, geographer, and music theorist, who wrote about a dozen scientific treatises, three of which were of importa ...

Geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, an ...

. According to Bulgarian geomorphologist Dinyo Kanev, probably destroyed by sea in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

. , - , Krusenstern Rock , 1804 , Reported as a breaker at 22° 15' N, 175° 37' W. Capt. R. Suffern of the ''Craigerne'' reported that he was at these exact coordinated in 1897 but there was no sign of the rock. , - ,

Los Jardines Los Jardines or Los Buenos Jardines (Spanish for "the good gardens") are phantom islands supposedly located northeast of the Mariana Islands. The islands were reportedly visited by Spanish explorers Álvaro de Saavedra Cerón (who named them L ...

, , 1528 , , A pair of phantom islands to the east of the

Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Inte ...

. , - , Isle of Mam , , 1367 , , A crescent-shaped island in the North Atlantic that does not appear to exist; however, there is a crescent-shaped group of seamounts deep near its described location. , - , María de Lajara or Maria Laxar , , , , Usually located northeast from Hawaii, but perhaps originally one of the

Bonin Islands The Bonin Islands, also known as the , are an archipelago of over 30 subtropical and tropical islands, some directly south of Tokyo, Japan and northwest of Guam. The name "Bonin Islands" comes from the Japanese word ''bunin'' (an archaic rea ...

. , - , Maria Theresa Reef (aka Tabor Island or Tabor Reef) , , 1843 , , Another nonexistent reef in the Line Islands (in fact

are more than away), slightly to the southwest-west of the phantom island, Jupiter Reef. It is a setting for Jules Verne's book '' In Search of the Castaways''. , - , Minnehaha Rock , 1879 , Sighted by Capt. Beckwith of the ''Victoria'' at 25° 50' S, 106° 20' W. No subsequent sightings have been made. , - ,

St. Matthew Island St. Matthew Island (russian: Остров Святого Матвея) is an uninhabited, remote island in the Bering Sea in Alaska, west-northwest of Nunivak Island. The entire island's natural scenery and wildlife is protected as it is part of ...

, , 1516 , , An island near the coast of Africa, roughly east-northeast of

Ascension Island Ascension Island is an isolated volcanic island, 7°56′ south of the Equator in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is about from the coast of Africa and from the coast of South America. It is governed as part of the British Overseas Territory of ...

and possibly confused with the same latitude Annobón Island. , - , Mount Penglai , , Antiquity , , An island thirty-thousand leagues to the east off the coast of

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; Chinese postal romanization, alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in His ...

. Associated with numerous East Asian myths and legends. , - , New South Greenland , , 1823 , , Unknown odd island near Antarctica, which captain Benjamin Morrell of the ship Wasp saw while traveling north from Antarctica. He thought it to be the

Antarctic Peninsula The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martín in Argentina, and originally as Graham Land in the United Kingdom and the Palmer Peninsula in the United States, is the northernmost part of mainland Antarctic ...

(then called New South Greenland), but his reported location during the voyage, while perfectly copying the expected path for traveling up the peninsula, was over to the east and to the north of the actual position of the Antarctic Peninsula, suggesting either a huge miscalculation in location or sightings of icebergs and fog, typical of phantom islands in the Antarctic Circle. , - ,

Nimrod Islands The Nimrod Islands were a group of islands first reported in 1828 by Captain Eilbeck of the ship ''Nimrod'' while sailing from Port Jackson around Cape Horn. Their reported location was east of Emerald Island and west of Dougherty Island, at app ...

, , 1828 , , A group of islands between Emerald Island and

Dougherty Island Dougherty is the name of a phantom island that was believed to be located in the extreme south of the Pacific Ocean, roughly halfway between Cape Horn and New Zealand. It is named for Captain Dougherty of the ''James Stewart'', an English whaler ...

, both of which are nonexistent. Probably a group of icebergs together. , - ,

, , 1885 , , An oceanic bank deep off the west coast of

Cape Horn Cape Horn ( es, Cabo de Hornos, ) is the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego archipelago of southern Chile, and is located on the small Hornos Island. Although not the most southerly point of South America (which are the Diego Ramí ...

, suggested as the remains of

Elizabeth Island Elizabeth Island may refer to: * Elizabeth Island (Alaska) * Elizabeth Island, Bahamas * Elizabeth Island, Bermuda * Elizabeth Island (Georgian Bay) * Elizabeth Island, Michigan * Elizabeth Island, New Zealand * Elizabeth Island (Victoria) * ...

. A 1956 search of the area turned up no shallow areas in the reported location. , - ,

, , 1683 , , In 1683,

Ambrose Cowley William Ambrosia Cowley was a 17th-century English buccaneer who surveyed the Galápagos Islands during his circumnavigation of the world while serving under several Captains such as John Eaton John Eaton may refer to: *John Eaton (divine) (born ...

reported an unknown island where he thought the Falklands were, but his location was 4 degrees to the north of the Falkland Islands. While it is possible that he made a mistake in seeing a nonexistent island, it is more likely he saw one of the Falkland Islands and made a 4-degree error in his location. , - , Petermannland , , , , North of

Franz Josef Land , native_name = , image_name = Map of Franz Josef Land-en.svg , image_caption = Map of Franz Josef Land , image_size = , map_image = Franz Josef Land location-en.svg , map_caption = Location of Franz Josef ...

, named after August Heinrich Petermann. , - , Isle Phelipeaux , , 1744 , , A nonexistent island in

referenced in the 1783 Treaty of Paris. , - , Podesta , , 1879 , , An island to the west of El Quisco, Chile, that was discovered to be fake in 1935 and promptly removed. Other phantom islands were also found in the vicinity in 1912 and 1858 (see

Sarah Ann Island Sarah Ann Island (also spelled Sarah Anne) is a vanished island, previously located at (though sometimes listed at about 175th meridian west, 175° W). It was supposedly discovered in 1858 by Captain William W. Taylor and reported to the U.S. Sta ...

). , - , Rivadeneyra Shoal , , 1842 , , A shoal in the eastern Pacific Ocean. , - ,

Royal Company's Islands The Royal Company's Islands are a group of phantom islands reported by some early Exploration, explorers to lie southwest of Tasmania. They were first heard of before 1840, but the original report cannot be traced. Many old Map, charts show them ...

, , , , A fictional island widely believed during the 19th century to be to the southwest of

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. While not found by numerous expeditions in 1840, 1889, 1902, 1909, and 1912, the island was not officially removed from nautical charts until 1904. , - ,

Royllo Royllo (also Roillo), is a legendary phantom island that was once thought to be located in the Atlantic Ocean. It is probably identical with the island originally called Ymana in a 1424 nautical chart of Zuane Pizzigano. The island is usually dep ...

, , 1424 , , A small island to the west of the mythical Antillia (see Antillia above). , - , Rupes Nigra , , , , A magnetic, black island at the exact Magnetic North Pole, invented as an explanation for why all compasses point north. , - , Sandy Island , , 1774 , , Another phantom, small island to the west of

that was recorded on many maps until 2012, when a surveying ship passed by and disproved its existence. The current leading explanation is that the island was a raft of buoyant

pumice Pumice (), called pumicite in its powdered or dust form, is a volcanic rock that consists of highly vesicular rough-textured volcanic glass, which may or may not contain crystals. It is typically light-colored. Scoria is another vesicular v ...

from a recent nearby seamount eruption. , - , Sannikov Land , , 1809 , , An island near the De Long Islands, north of Russia, that probably did exist but was destroyed due to

coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of waves, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts of storms. The landwar ...

. , - ,

, , 1858 , , A phantom island near

Easter Island Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its nearl ...

, similar to Podesta island. Se
Operational Navigation Chart
of the

United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...

. , - , Satanazes , , 1424 , , This island was originally noted on maps in 1424, originating from popular legend of devils and demons attacking ships that went into the area, but the island was subsequently removed because it obviously did not exist. The island, often drawn to the north of the mythical Antillia, was purportedly full of evil demons but was sometimes called Salvaga to avoid using the profanity "devil". , - ,

Saxemberg Island Saxemberg or Saxemburg Island was a phantom island believed to have existed in the South Atlantic. It appeared intermittently on charts between the 17th and the 19th centuries. Saxemberg was reportedly discovered by Dutch seafarer John Lindestz ...

, , 1670 , , An odd island midway between South America and Africa that numerous captains reported seeing in 1804, 1809, and 1816. While most had conflicting reports, all of them found the island in the same location; however, none of them actually made landfall. It is possible the island was volcanic and later erupted and destroyed itself. It is also possible that they were looking at

Tristan de Cunha Tristan da Cunha (), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world, lying approximately from Cape Town in South Africa, from Saint He ...

island. , - , Schjetman Reef , , 1868 , , To the west of the

Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands ( haw, Nā Mokupuni o Hawai‘i) are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, and numerous smaller islets in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost ...

, Schjetman Reef was originally found in 1868 to be an island long and wide. Later searches in 1880, 1923, and 1924 could not find the island. , - , Sefton Reef , , 1808 , , Approx. 83°W, 37°S (southwest of Robinson Crusoe Island), noted as "position doubtful" in Operational Navigation Chart of the

. , - , Terra Nova Islands , , 1961 , , Thought to lie off Oates Coast, East Antarctica. , - , Thompson Island , , 1825 , , An island in the south Atlantic Ocean discovered by the whaling ship captain George Norris; it has not been seen since 1893. , - , Thule , , , , A mythical island in the far north that is mentioned many times in Roman- and Medieval-period works. Current interpretations guess it to be

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

Shetland Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the n ...

, and even Saaremaa. , - , Torca Island , , 1693 , , A mythical island near Ambon in the Indonesia purportedly destroyed by a volcanic eruption. , - , Transit Reef , , , , A possible reef in Southern Palau. While this reef probably exists, some maps do not list it as an actual location, and, although the reef doesn't have any land, the native name of the island, Pieraurou, means 'Sandy Navigation Point', implying a sandy island or sand bar. , - ,

Tuanaki Tuanaki or Tuanahe is the name of an anecdotal vanished group of islets, once part of the Cook Islands. It was located south of Rarotonga and within two days sail of Mangaia. In 1916, the Polynesian Society of Honolulu reprinted an account by a s ...

, , 1842 , , A vanished group of islets in the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

at which a sailor allegedly spent 6 days, but a ship traveling in the waters two years later found no island. , - , Wachusett Reef , , 1899 , , A nonexistent reef in the Line Islands – in fact

are more than away – along with Ernest Legouve Reef, Jupiter Reef, and Maria Theresa Reef. This reef, the largest of the three, was thought to be deep. None of these reefs are currently believed to have actually existed. , - , Yosemite Rock , , 1903 , , Approx. 83°W, 32°S (northwest of Robinson Crusoe Island), noted as "Existence doubtful" i
Operational Navigation Chart
of the

. , - , ''(unnamed rock)'' , 1869 , Sighted by the steamer ''Great Pacific'' at 25° 40' S, 85° 0' W. The ''Sumbawa'' passed through the area in 1904 but did not see it. , - , ''(unnamed breakers)'' , 1901 , Reported at 21° 55' N, 176° 05' W. There is no indication of these breakers on modern maps. , -

Examples

List of phantom islands

See also

References

Further reading