Mysterious 'Sandy Island' Found On Google 'Does Not Exist'

A large Pacific island that appears on Google Maps has been declared "not to exist" by a team of Australian scientists who spent 25 days at sea looking for it.

The mysterious 'Sandy Island' appears on Google as well as iOS Maps, Bing and other online services.

It has been in 'existence' on maps for at least 10 years, according to the BBC. The Times Atlas of the World lists the island as 'Sable Island'.

From the maps it is a large, long island virtually alone in the Coral Sea, in the Southern Pacific, east of Australia and near the French-governed New Caledonia.

But the island has long been shrouded in rumour, partly because it appears as nothing but a black shadow in Google's satellite view.

Recently scientists from the University of Sydney went looking for it on the new Marine National Facility research vessel Southern Surveyor.

"We wanted to check it out because the navigation charts on board the ship showed a water depth of 1,400m in that area," Dr Maria Seton told the AFP news agency.

After more than three weeks they found nothing except deep ocean - and now have declared it probably doesn't exist.



http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/11/22/mysterious-sandy-island-google-maps-australia_n_2175410.html?ir=UK+Tech



Good place for Abu Hamza or whatever his name is.

wyatt1 wrote:A large Pacific island that appears on Google Maps has been declared "not to exist" by a team of Australian scientists who spent 25 days at sea looking for it.

The mysterious 'Sandy Island' appears on Google as well as iOS Maps, Bing and other online services.

It has been in 'existence' on maps for at least 10 years, according to the BBC. The Times Atlas of the World lists the island as 'Sable Island'.

From the maps it is a large, long island virtually alone in the Coral Sea, in the Southern Pacific, east of Australia and near the French-governed New Caledonia.

But the island has long been shrouded in rumour, partly because it appears as nothing but a black shadow in Google's satellite view.

Recently scientists from the University of Sydney went looking for it on the new Marine National Facility research vessel Southern Surveyor.

"We wanted to check it out because the navigation charts on board the ship showed a water depth of 1,400m in that area," Dr Maria Seton told the AFP news agency.

After more than three weeks they found nothing except deep ocean - and now have declared it probably doesn't exist.



http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/11/22/mysterious-sandy-island-google-maps-australia_n_2175410.html?ir=UK+Tech



Good place for Abu Hamza or whatever his name is.

it has been suggested it may have been put in by mapmakers to see who nicks their data


there was a map where one hills contour lines made out the shape of an elephant.


A map of the Gold Coast (now Ghana) had some of the contour lines form the shape of an elephant. It was a deliberate error on the part of a bored British Army cartographer.

Rising sea levels.

Flap Meister wrote:it has been suggested it may have been put in by mapmakers to see who nicks their data


there was a map where one hills contour lines made out the shape of an elephant.


A map of the Gold Coast (now Ghana) had some of the contour lines form the shape of an elephant. It was a deliberate error on the part of a bored British Army cartographer.

I wouldn't be surprised .