Wachusett Reef | |
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In-universe information | |
Type | Phantom island |
Wachusett Reef was a phantom reef in the Antarctic Ocean.
Captain Lambert of the ship Wachusett reported that on June 4, 1899 he passed over a reef which appeared to be of coral formation in approximately latitude 32°18′S151°08′W / 32.300°S 151.133°W . The reef appeared to be about 500 feet (150 m) wide. The bottom showed of a dark gray color with deep blue on both sides of the reef. The depth was estimated at from 5 to 6 fathoms (30 to 36 ft; 9.1 to 11.0 m); unfortunately no soundings were taken. [1]
The 2015 edition of the National Geographic Atlas of the World still shows Wachusett Reef, with a depth of 9 metres (30 ft). [2] Nevertheless, its existence is doubtful, making it a phantom reef. Other nearby historically reported reefs which appear to not exist include Ernest Legouve Reef, Jupiter Reef, and Maria Theresa Reef.
Kingman Reef is a largely submerged, uninhabited, triangle-shaped reef, geologically an atoll, 9.0 nmi (20 km) east-west and 4.5 nmi (8 km) north-south, in the North Pacific Ocean, roughly halfway between the Hawaiian Islands and American Samoa. It has an area of 3 hectares and is one of the unincorporated territories of the United States in Oceania. The reef is administered by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as the Kingman Reef National Wildlife Refuge.
The Line Islands, Teraina Islands or Equatorial Islands are a chain of 11 atolls and coral islands in the central Pacific Ocean, south of the Hawaiian Islands. The island chain stretches northwest to southeast across 2,350 km (1,460 mi), making it one of the longest island chains in the world. It lies at the geographic center of the Pacific Ocean, near Starbuck Island. One of the atolls in the group, Kiritimati, has the largest land area of any atoll in the world. Of the 11 atolls, all of which were formed by volcanic activity, only the Kiritimati and Tabuaeran atolls and Teraina island have a permanent population. Eight of the atolls are parts of Kiribati. The remaining three—Jarvis Island, Kingman Reef, and Palmyra Atoll—are territories of the United States grouped with the United States Minor Outlying Islands.
A phantom island is a purported island 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."
The Pearl and Hermes Atoll, also known as Pearl and Hermes Reef, is part of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, a group of small islands and atolls that form the farthest northwest portion of the Hawaiian island chain. The atoll consists of a variable number of flat and sandy islets, typically between five and seven. More were noted in historical sources but have since been lost to erosion and rising sea levels.
The Bass Islands consist primarily of Rapa Iti and Marotiri. They are usually considered to be the southernmost of the Austral Islands, although this classification is more one of geographic and political expediency than because of similarities between them and the rest of the Austral Islands. The Bass Islands, lying several degrees outside the tropics, are the southernmost islands in French Polynesia. Culturally, the Bass Islands appear to have been colonized about the same time as Tahiti and the Marquesas, and the culture and language (Rapan) appear to have diverged about the same time as well, indicating that they developed in relative isolation almost from the time of first settlement.
The Ernest Legouve Reef is a phantom reef supposed to be located in the South Pacific, south of French Tuamotu Islands and east of New Zealand. Krauth reports that it is situated at 35°12′S150°40′W.
The Maria Theresa Reef is a supposed reef in the South Pacific ; it appears to be a phantom reef. It is also known as Tabor Island or Tabor Reef on French maps.
Schjetman Reef is a supposed phantom island in the North Pacific west of Hawaii, reported discovered by the Norwegian captain Ole Andreas Schjetnan in 1868. He reported its coordinates to be 16°8′N178°58′W. The island was reported to be 1.5 nautical miles (2.8 km) long (north-to-south) and 0.5 nautical miles (0.9 km) wide (east-to-west). Due to a similar latitude to Johnston Atoll, it is possible that it was simply a misreading of longitude. Regardless, there is no evidence of any islands in the remote vicinity of Schjetnan's reported location, with the closest prominence of any size being a small, unnamed seamount roughly 100 miles to the east.
The Salish Sea is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean located in the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. state of Washington. It includes the Strait of Georgia, the Strait of Juan de Fuca, Puget Sound, and an intricate network of connecting channels and adjoining waterways.
Filippo Reef is a reef that is asserted to be in the Pacific Ocean at 05°30′S151°50′W, 450 kilometres (280 mi) east of Starbuck Island in the Line Islands. The reef was reported by the master of the Italian barque Filippo as having been seen on 28 June 1886. From an unidentified report of breakers dated 1926, it was estimated to have a water depth of only 0.6 to 0.9 metres, and appeared to be about 1.6 kilometres (1.0 mi) long northwest to southeast, and less in width.
The Chesterfield Islands are a French archipelago of New Caledonia located in the Coral Sea, 550 km (300 nmi) northwest of Grande Terre, the main island of New Caledonia. The archipelago is 120 km long and 70 km broad, made up of 11 uninhabited islets and many reefs. The land area of the islands is less than 10 km2.
Funamanu is a small narrow island that is part of Funafuti atoll in Tuvalu. It is a motu (islet) or very small island and is located 2.6 miles southwestward of the southwest tip of Funafuti. The islet is known to be covered in coconut trees which grow 70 feet high. Te Ava Pua Pua is the passage through the reef, with a least depth of 12.7 metres, between the islets of Funamanu to the north and Fale Fatu to the south, in the southeast of Funafuti atoll.
Lansdowne Bank, sometimes called Landsdowne Bank, is an extensive submerged bank located between the main island of New Caledonia and the Chesterfield Islands, in the easternmost part of the Coral Sea. It covers an area of 4,300 km2 (1,660 sq mi), making it one of the largest banks of the world, has general depths of 60 to 80 metres (197–262 ft), and a largely sandy bottom. Two reefs mark the shallowest spots of the bank, but they are still submerged at low tide.
USS Wachusetts (SP-548) was an armed motorboat that served in the United States Navy as a patrol vessel from 1917 to 1919. She was renamed SP-548 during her period of service. In 1919 she was transferred to the United States Bureau of Fisheries and renamed USFS Fulmar, and operated as a fisheries science research vessel on the Great Lakes until 1933 or 1934, when she was transferred to the Ohio Division of Conservation.
Naitaba Island is an island of the northern Lau Islands of Fiji. It is a triangular shaped island approximately 2.4 km (1.5 mi) in diameter. The island is volcanic with coral and rises to 186 metres (610 ft) on a flat-topped hill toward the southern end of the island. The island is forested and coconuts were grown commercially for copra. There is a barrier reef completely surrounding the island.
Chatham Sound is a sound on the North Coast of British Columbia, Canada, bordering on Alaska, United States. It is located between the Dundas and Stephens Islands and the Tsimpsean Peninsula, it is part of the Inside Passage and extends from Portland Inlet in the north to Porcher Island in the south.
Jupiter Reef or Jupiter Breakers is a supposed reef in the South Pacific, between other supposed reefs, Maria Theresa Reef to the south and Ernest Legouve Reef to the north; it appears to be a phantom reef.
Sandy Island is a non-existent island that was charted for over a century as being located near the French territory of New Caledonia between the Chesterfield Islands and Nereus Reef in the eastern Coral Sea. The island was included on many maps and nautical charts from as early as the late 19th century. It was removed from French hydrographic charts in 1974. The island gained wide media and public attention in November 2012 when the R/V Southern Surveyor, an Australian research ship, passed through the area and "undiscovered" it. The island was quickly removed from many maps and data sets, including those of the National Geographic Society and Google Maps.
Abra Channel is one of the three channels which connects Magellan Strait with the Pacific Ocean. It is located between the Santa Inés Island and the Jacques Island and ends at the Otway Bay. An incomplete examination by the Sylvia showed it to be a fine navigable passage, but no anchorages were found. It may possibly be of service to a vessel embayed in Otway Bay, enabling her to run into the strait. Abra Island, which stands in the center of the eastern entrance, is 300 feet high and covered with vegetation. The entrance is 2 miles wide, but it soon narrows to 1 mile.
Horizon Guyot is a presumably Cretaceous guyot (tablemount) in the Mid-Pacific Mountains, Pacific Ocean. It is an elongated ridge, over 300 kilometres (190 mi) long and 4.3 kilometres (2.7 mi) high, that stretches in a northeast-southwest direction and has two flat tops; it rises to a minimum depth of 1,443 metres (4,730 ft). The Mid-Pacific Mountains lie west of Hawaii and northeast of the Line Islands.
This article incorporates text from Pacific Islands Pilot, v. 2 , a publication from 1916, now in the public domain in the United States.