Thousands of years ago, from the moment they went out to sea, people began to map the islands and landmasses they encountered on the way. But many of the islands discovered centuries ago seem to have disappeared into the oceans without a trace.
These so-called “ghost islands” may have disappeared for various reasons or may not have existed from the very beginning. Just below, we will talk about the 4 most famous of these islands, Hy-Brasil, Antillia, Bermeja and Sandy Island.
Hy-Brasil
Hy-BrasilOne of the most famous ghost islands is Hy-Brasil, located on the west coast of Ireland. Although it bears a very similar name to Brazil, Hy-Brasil is said to be a small, mist-covered rock that stands alone in the Atlantic Ocean.
The island was first described and mapped in 1325. However, subsequent mapping efforts failed to agree on the island’s exact location. Some who claimed to have stumbled upon the island, which only appears every seven years, said they sailed towards the rock that was lost in the mist and never reached land.
A story by Captain John Nisbet tells that he not only saw the island, but was stranded there with his crew. Explaining that the island contains a castle and is mostly uninhabited, the captain claims that he met an “old gentleman” who told the ancient history of the island during a lavish banquet.
A series of expeditions that left Bristol harbor to find Hy-Brasil in the late 15th century returned empty-handed, including the last one led by John Cabot, who sailed in 1497 and reached North America without seeing the island. Maps stopped showing the island in 1865.
Despite claims of sightings and Nisbet’s hilarious story, Hy-Brasil is seen by many as an island that never existed.
Antillia
AntilliaAlso known as the island of seven cities, Antillia has been described in various parts of the Atlantic Ocean since the first century AD, but when it first appeared on maps in 1424, it was placed to the west of Portugal and Spain and just to the west of the Azores archipelago.
Paolo Toscanelli’s map of 1474 showing the island as adjacent to the Azores prompted Christopher Columbus to plan to make a stop here during his western route to India. While Columbus successfully reached the Azores, he did not encounter Antillia during his voyage. Continuing his journey, he named instead an archipelago off the coast of the Americas the Antilles.
The island is also mentioned in a letter from King Afonso V of Portugal, dated 1475, to the knight Fernão Teles, giving “The Seven Cities and other populated islands [in the western Atlantic Ocean].”
As the North Atlantic became a more popular sailing route after 1492, the island began to disappear from new maps and the mystery of Antillia became associated with Central and North America. The last appearance of the island was on Hondius’ world map in 1631.
Bermeja
BermejaFirst appearing on maps in 1539, the small island of Bermeja off the coast of Mexico was described as an area of 80 square kilometers with a yellowish-red soil.
While the island featured heavily on maps between the 16th and 17th centuries, it began to appear less frequently after the 18th century, and was most recently included in the Geographical Atlas of the Republic of Mexico in 1921.
As there have been no confirmed observations since the 16th century, it can be assumed that Bermeja, like the other ghost islands, did not exist at all. But its alleged proximity to the Mexican coast has caused political upheaval as recently as 2009.
In a 1997 debate over international water zones in the Gulf of Mexico, the United States and Mexico planned to divide the Hoyos de Dona portion of international waters thought to be where Bermeja is located. If Bermeja really existed in that area, it would have expanded Mexico’s maritime borders and given the country rights to the oil fields in that region.
The Mexican government, with a new incentive to prove the existence of Bermeja, sent research ships to survey the area. Searches, however, did not find the island, and the agreement was signed acknowledging that Bermeja did not exist.
Due to the postponement of oil exploration in the region, locating the island resumed in 2009, when the delay period was about to expire. Three official surveys dived deep into Hoyos de Dona again, using advanced technologies to scan the water to find any landmass areas. Investigations once again found no evidence of Bermeja.
The island’s absence caused Mexico to forfeit its 22.5 billion barrels of oil rights, spawning a conspiracy theory that the island was destroyed by the US government in order to retain its oil rights.
Sandy Island
Sandy IslandThis island first appears in 1776 in Captain James Cook’s diaries when he described a “sandy island” off the east coast of Australia. Sandy Island continued to appear on maps for 200 years, after its exact coordinates were first recorded by a whaling ship in 1876.
Doubts about the existence of the island began to emerge in the 20th century, when the island was labeled on maps with the letters “ED” meaning “doubtful”. However, while those sailing the Pacific tried to avoid the pixelated area showing Sandy Island, the island was still visible on Google Maps.
In 2000, amateur radio enthusiasts set out to find Sandy Island but were unable to locate the island, which reinforced the belief that the island was fake.
In 2012, Captain Fred Stein and marine geologist Maria Seton passed over the area of the island, warning the crew to be careful of obstacles in the water. Despite showing a landmass on Google Maps, the ship passed directly over “Sandy Island” without encountering any obstacles. Along with this trip, the island has been officially labeled as “unexplored” and has been removed from Google Maps.
These four islands are just a few of the hundreds of ghost islands that have existed throughout history, and there are many more mysterious ghost islands in history. Many of these islands have been lost due to natural disasters, rising sea levels, or may never have existed in the first place, but some may still be rediscovered.
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