When sailing out in the open sea, it’s easy to see something that isn’t there. And with global warming causing the sea levels to rise, more land is being overcome by water. Over the centuries, several islands that have disappeared are due to a variety of reasons, whether they never existed at all, were just myths, or they’ve slowly drowned. If you want to explore some of the devastating changes to nautical maps over the years, then check out these top 7 islands and their mysterious and unfortunate stories of how they’ve been wiped away from history.
7. The Isle of Demons
Many islands that have disappeared over the years are due to climate change or just the ever-changing nature of the world, but some disappearances occur through stories. The Isle of Demons, rumored to be located off the coast of Canada, appeared on European maps at the beginning of the 16th century. However, the islands stopped appearing in the mid-17th century and later were discovered to not exist.
Back in the day, it was common for travelers to avoid going to certain areas of the map if people often died, believing a location was haunted by spirits, which might explain why the islands’ abrupt disappearance. But still, is one of the many mysterious islands that have disappeared over the centuries.
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6. Saint Brendan’s Island
Another example of a phantom island, or one of the many islands that have disappeared after realizing that there was no island to begin with, is Saint Brendan’s Island. According to medieval Irish legend, Saint Brendan’s Island was a mysterious land found by Saint Brendan and his followers during his voyages.
It appeared on numerous maps in Christopher Columbus’ time, most notably Martin Behaim’s Erdapfel of 1492. The island was said to be situated in the North Atlantic somewhere west of Northern Africa. While many had said they’d seen it, it was never verified as no one stepped foot on it, and the island’s supposed location could have been a misidentification of existing landforms or mythological.
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5. Tebunginako
Islands that have disappeared over the years don’t just happen because they were mirages or illusions, some happen because climate change is causing the world to change. Some islands are being succumbed by the sea, like the Tebunginako, a village on Abaiang atoll in Kiribati.
The settlement has been dealing with seawater inundation and coastal instability since the 1970s and was slowly being abandoned. Due to global warming and erosion, the sea was taking over the island and causing it to slowly disappear. The remains of the 100 thatched homes and community hall are now up to 30 meters offshore.
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4. New Swabia
Some islands that have disappeared are more recent tales that have come up as false, like New Swabia. The island was said to be in the Antarctic within the Norwegian territorial claim of Queen Maud Land that was reported during Nazi expeditions in the 1930s.
The island was pretty popular as well for conspirators, with many being related to Nazi UFO claims. However, during satellite imagery and research of the island, it’s been proven that the island never existed, and it’s believed that it was either a misidentification or an exaggeration of ice formations.
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3. East Island
The rising sea levels aren’t the only natural dangers. Some islands that have disappeared are due to hurricanes and other weather-related events.
In 2018, Hurricane Walaka, one of the most powerful Pacific storms ever recorded, wiped out an important remote northwestern island from the Hawaiian archipelago. Thanks to satellite imagery, scientists found that East Island, which was home to endangered Hawaiian monk seals and green sea turtles, was completely washed away.
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2. Sandy Island
It’s hard to call something a phantom island if it was seen on Google Maps, but unfortunately, that’s what Sandy Island is. The island was charted for over a century as being located near the French territory of New Caledonia between Chesterfield Islands and Nereus Reef and was included on many maps and nautical charts from as early as the late 19th century.
In 1974, it was eventually removed from French hydrographic charts, which gained wide media and public attention in 2012 when an Australian research ship passed through and “undiscovered it”, saying the ocean floor was almost a mile deep. That means the island didn’t just disappear from climate change, but never existed in the first place.
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1. Atlantis
Islands that have disappeared are usually not talked about often, but one that has a rich history and culture significant is Atlantis. The story of Atlantis, first mentioned by Plato, describes a powerful and advanced civilization that sank into the ocean “in a single day and night of misfortune.”
Although considered a myth, some theories suggest that Atlantis could be based on real locations that suffered catastrophic events, such as volcanic eruptions or tsunamis. Interestingly enough, research has proven that lost continents are a real thing, which means one of the most popular islands that have disappeared could have very well been possible.
