Aphantom island is a purportedisland which has appeared on maps but 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".
Unlikelost 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 theIsland of California).
Some may have been purely mythical, such as theIsle of Demons nearNewfoundland, which may have been based on local legends of a haunted island. The far-northern island ofThule was reported to exist by the 4th-century BC Greek explorerPytheas, but information about its purported location was lost; explorers and geographers since have speculated that it was theShetland Islands,Iceland,Scandinavia, or possibly nonexistent. The island ofHy-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 was a misidentification of theFalkland Islands. TheBaja California Peninsula and theBanks Peninsula inNew Zealand each appear as islands on some early maps, but were later discovered to be attached to their mainlands.Isle Phelipeaux, an apparent duplication ofIsle Royale inLake Superior,[1] 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 theCoral Sea beginning in the late 19th century. Purportedly, it existed between theChesterfield Islands and Nereus Reef nearNew Caledonia; however, it 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.[2][3][4]
Other phantom islands are misidentifications ofbreakers, icebergs, fog banks,pumice rafts from underwater volcanoes, or optical illusions. Observed in theWeddell Sea in 1823 but never again seen,New South Greenland may have been the result of asuperior mirage. Some such asThompson Island orBermeja may have been actual islands subsequently destroyed by volcanic explosions, earthquakes, submarine landslides, or low-lying lands such assand banks that are no longer above water.Pactolus Bank, visited bySir Francis Drake in 1578, may fit into this former sand bank category.
In some cases, cartographers intentionally includeinvented geographic features in their maps, either for fraudulent purposes or tocatch plagiarists.[5][6]
| Name | Date of alleged discovery | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Anaa-ti | Unknown | Location given as 22° 15′ S, 137° 30′ W, in theTuamotus. Believed to be a mistaken sighting of a nearby island.[7] |
| Antillia | c. 14/15th century | The island, like the more popularAtlantis, is a fictional island in the Atlantic originating from an Iberian legend. |
| Antonio d'Ulloa Island | Unknown | Discovered by the Spanish captainAntonio de Ulloa at 37° 02′ S, 78° 20′ W. Noted as doubtful in 1875.[7] |
| Arthur Island | Unknown | Location given by Arrowsmith as 3° 30′ S, 176° W. Noted to be needing confirmation of existence and position in 1851; not seen on modern maps.[8] |
| Atlantis | c. 360 BC | Ancient Greek legend described byPlato, later hypothesized to be real, and depicted on a 1664 map byAthanasius Kircher. |
| Aurora Islands | 1762 | Discovered by Spanish merchant shipAurora, currently thought to be theShag Rocks. |
| Bacalao | 1472 | Gaspar Frutuoso noted its discovery byJoão Vaz Corte-Real in 1472 inSaudades da Terra. |
| Bale of Cotton | 1767 | A rock in the mouth of theBay of Bengal, located at 5° 22′ N "100leagues east fromPointe de Galle." A passenger on the boat that saw the rock claimed to have physically gone onto it. Doubtful by 1817 and not seen on modern maps.[7] |
| Bermeja | 1539 | Discovered in the early 16th century by Spain, but mysteriously vanished sometime during the 17th century. While no dominant theory holds, it is possible that the island submerged due to tectonic movements, supported by the existence of a seamount at22°38.76′N90°51.3′W / 22.64600°N 90.8550°W /22.64600; -90.8550 and the nearbyScorpion Reef. |
| Bonetta Rocks | Unknown | Location given as 16° 32′ N, 20° 57′ W, betweenCape Verde andMauritania. Could not be found in 1838.[7] |
| Bradley Land | 1909 | A mass of land named byFrederick Cook which he claimed to have seen between (84°20′N102°0′W / 84.333°N 102.000°W /84.333; -102.000) and (85°11′N102°0′W / 85.183°N 102.000°W /85.183; -102.000) during a 1909 expedition. |
| Brasil or Hy-Brasil | 1325 | Said to lie in the Atlantic Ocean west of Ireland. Irish myths described it as cloaked in mist except for one day every seven years, when it became visible but still could not be reached. Several 16th century maps showing the island of Brasil also showed an island labelledDemar further south-west. |
| Saint Brendan's Island | 512 | Claimed to have been first visited in 512 by the monk St. Brendan and 14 others, along with later reports up to 1772. |
| Britomart Island | 1822 | Discoverer unknown; location given as 19° 52' S, 145° 50' W. Noted to be doubtful in 1851; not seen on modern maps.[8] |
| Buss Island | 1578 | Found in the waters near Greenland, in whichMartin Frobisher, the leader of the island-finding expedition, probably made a mistake in dead reckoning and mistook optical effects near Greenland for a new island. |
| Island of California | 1510 | A misconception about theBaja California Peninsula being an island due to an assumption that theGulf of California was instead astrait separating California from the rest of the Americas. |
| Cassiterides | 430 BC | Ancient source of Phoenician tin. Exact location unknown but thought to have possibly referred to now silt-connected islands within the marshes ofBrière. |
| Clark's Reef | Unknown | Discoverer unknown, location given as 8° 18′ S, 139° 50′ (or 52′) W. Admiral Du Petit Thouars could not find the reef, sounding 200 fathoms.[8] |
| Cloate's Island | 1618 | Various locations; sometimes 21° 30′ S, 92° 42′ E, in the Indian Ocean, west ofAustralia.[7] Probably the headland now known asPoint Cloates. |
| Crockerland | 1906 | A hoax invented by Arctic explorerRobert E. Peary to gain more financial aid from George Crocker, one of his financial backers. |
| Davis Land | 1687 | Supposedly sighted by the pirateEdward Davis in the Pacific along the southern latitude of 27 to 28 degrees, which was on the same latitude as the Spanish-controlled gold mines of Copiago. At the time, it was believed that gold could be found elsewhere along the latitude so several navigators were instructed to seek it out on their voyages. Never found, it was also believed byWilliam Dampier to be the coast of Terra Australis Incognita.[9] |
| Isle of Demons | 1508 | Probably a relocated version of the island ofSatanazes (see island below). |
| Denia/Davia | Unknown | Location given as 41° or 42° S, 20° E, in close vicinity of Marzeveen/Maarseveen. Not seen on modern maps.[7] |
| Diego Alvarez | Unknown | Location given as 39° 10′ S, 11° 15′ W, betweenTristan da Cunha andGough. Not seen on modern maps.[7] |
| Dougherty Island | 1841 | Because it is near Antarctica, it is likely that the discoverer, Captain Dougherty, and future explorers who confirmed it, saw fog banks and icebergs conveniently situated in the right place and time. |
| Dragon Island | 1869 | Reported by Capt. Andrew of the barkDragon at 24° 30′ N, 136° 36′ W. Found nonexistent in 1875.[7] |
| Dunkin's Reef | 1824 | Discovered by Dunkin; location given as 9° 50′ N, 154° 10′ E. Described as an extensive shoal. Noted as doubtful and possibly a mistaken sighting in 1851; not seen on modern maps.[8] |
| Elizabeth Island | 1578 | Described byFrancis Drake, who reported harbouring there during his circumnavigation. Not found by subsequent explorers; in 1939Felix Riesenberg suggestedPactolus Bank as a possible remnant, though recent surveys suggest the Bank may itself be a phantom feature. |
| Emerald Island | 1821 | Probably fog banks and icebergs (seeDougherty Island above); the abyssal plain below it was named Emerald Plain, however, in recognition of the nonexistent island. |
| Emily Rock | 1869 | Sighted at 25° 38' S, 87° 25' W by thebarkEmily. Reportedly measured to be 15' tall and 120' long. 2 other sightings were reported in 1873, now described as being 3/4th mile long and 20 feet at its tallest point, made of sandy volcanic stone. Several vessels passed through the area but did not see it.[10] |
| Ernest Legouve Reef | 1902 | A reef supposedly found by the captain of the French ship, Ernest Legouvé, which is near the exact location of the fictionalLincoln Island, the main setting forJules Verne's bookThe Mysterious Island, also appearing inIn Search of the Castaways. |
| Estotiland | 1558 | An island appearing on theZeno map at the current location ofLabrador. |
| Faith Island | Unknown | Location given as 21° 10′ S, 138° 52′ W, in theTuamotus. Believed to be a mistaken sighting of a nearby island.[7] |
| Fata Morgana Land | 1907 | J.P. Koch, together withAage Bertelsen, was reported to have first seen Fata Morgana Land (Danish:Fata Morgana Landet) lying in theArctic Ocean around 80°00´N 10°00´W between NE Greenland and Svalbard. This elusive land was allegedly seen as well byLauge Koch from the air in 1933.[11] |
| Filippo Reef | 1886 | This reef, part of theLine Islands, was first seen by the shipFilippo and was seen again in 1926 when both ships saw breakers in the same area, suggesting a depth of 0.6 to 0.9 metres (2 to 3 feet). Current observations show the reported location to have a depth of 5.3 kilometres (3.3 miles; 2.9 nautical miles), and the nearest shallow seamount is about 4.7 kilometres (2.9 miles; 2.5 nautical miles) deep, disproving the existence of the island. |
| Fonseca Island | 1544 | An island sighted east ofBarbados. |
| Frisland | 1558 | Another island on theZeno map, possibly a renamedIceland. |
| Ganges Island | 20th century | A nonexistent island off the coast ofJapan to the southwest of theShatsky Rise. |
| Isle Grande | 1675 | Discovered byAntonio de la Roche. Roche only passed the island on its eastern side. Various locations given, all at 45° 15′ S, but otherwise differing at 38° 15′ W (per la Roche), 45° 30′ W, and 35° 30′ W; considered uncertain by 1808. Possibly a mistaken sighting of a projectingheadland fromSouth America, as la Roche never saw the other side.[7] |
| Groclant | 1569 | An island to the west ofGreenland, perhaps a misreading of the island's name, orBaffin Island. |
| Haymet Rocks | 1863 | Reported to be located South ofRarotonga; two rocks, about 0.25 miles apart, with 7 or 8 feet of water over them; have not been found since. |
| Humphrey Island | 1822 | Discoverer unknown; location given as 16° 52' S, 140° 30' W. Krusenstern doubted its existence and was noted as doubtful in 1851; not seen on modern maps.[8] |
| Hyperborea | Antiquity to 17th century | Hypothetic land of a mythical people living in the far north of the known world, depicted as the mirror continent ofAntarctica on theMercator map. |
| 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 asBrazil. |
| Jacquet Island | Middle Ages | An island just to the east of theFlemish Cap; it was believed to exist into the 19th century, during which cartographers discussed it as a possible midway point for theTransatlantic telegraph cable. |
| Juan de Lisboa | 17th century | Reported on maps as being southeast ofMadagascar. |
| Jupiter Reef | 1878 | Nonexistent reef in the Line Islands (in factLine Islands are more than 3,200 kilometres (2,000 miles; 1,700 nautical miles) away), to the south of the also nonexistentErnest 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. |
| Keenan Land | 1870s | Large landmass reportedly discovered in the Arctic north ofAlaska; numerous searches failed to relocate it. |
| Kentzell's Island | 1856 | Reported by Capt. Kentzell of San Francisco at approx. 40° N, 150° 30′ W. The island, 20 miles long and "very low," was said to have a largeseal andsea elephant population, and therefore was kept secret byseal hunters. Searches failed to find it while sightings still came in through the 1860s, including one by theKanrin Maru in 1859. Finally disproven by a survey in 1867.[7] |
| Kettendyk's Droogte | Unknown | Location given as 33° S, 4° 25′ E, northeast ofTristan da Cunha and west ofSouth Africa. Unsuccessfully searched for, and not seen on modern maps.[7] |
| Kianida Island orCianeis Insula | 1467 | Supposedly known inAntiquity, a large island the size ofThassos but situated off theBlack Sea coast ofThrace in the present Bulgaria-Turkey border area. Depicted on the 1467 mapNona Europae Tabula byNicolaus Germanus based onClaudius Ptolemy'sGeography.[12] According to Bulgarian geomorphologist Dinyo Kanev, probably destroyed by sea in theMiddle Ages.[13] |
| Krusenstern Rock | 1804 | Reported as a breaker at 22° 15' N, 175° 37' W. Capt. R. Suffern of theCraigerne reported that he was at these exact coordinates in 1897 but there was no sign of the rock.[14] |
| L'Enfants Perdu Islands | 1768 | Discovered byBougainville, variously placed at 14° 16′ S, 177° 23′ W or 14° 20′ S, 176° 40′ W. Found doubtful in 1875 after searches found no land in the area. Possibly a mistaken sighting of theHorne Islands.[7] |
| Los Jardines | 1528 | A pair of phantom islands to the east of theMarshall Islands. |
| Jane Island | Unknown | Location given as 16° 10′ N, 173° 15′ W. Could not be found in 1841, and the island being a mistaken sighting ofJohnston Atoll was ruled out due to latitude. Not seen on modern maps.[7] |
| Jesus Island | 1567 | Reported byMendaña at 6° 45′ S, 171° 30′ E. Krusenstern doubted its existence and it was noted as doubtful in 1851; not seen on modern maps.[8] |
| Marzeveen/Maarseveen | Unknown | Location given as 41° or 42° S, 20° E, in close vicinity of Denia/Davia. Not seen on modern maps.[7] |
| María de Lajara or Maria Laxar | 17th century | Usually located northeast from Hawaii, but perhaps originally one of theBonin Islands. |
| Maria Theresa Reef (aka Tabor Island or Tabor Reef) | 1843 | Another nonexistent reef in the Line Islands (in factLine Islands are more than 3,200 kilometres (2,000 miles; 1,700 nautical miles) away), slightly to the southwest-west of the phantom island,Jupiter Reef. It is a setting for Jules Verne's bookIn Search of the Castaways. |
| Maria Rock | Unknown | Location given as 19° 45′ N, 20° 50′ W, off ofMauritania. Could not be found in 1838.[7] |
| Maury Island | Unknown | Location given as 27° S, 95° 06′ W. Not seen on modern maps, but could not be located on any historical maps either.[7] |
| Mayda or 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 37 metres (120 feet) deep near its described location. |
| Merrill Island | 1832 | Reported by Captain Harding Merrill of theComboy at 16° 38′ S, 141° W. Reportedly inhabited by people resemblingHawaiians. Noted doubtful in 1851; not seen on modern maps.[8] |
| Minnehaha Rock | 1879 | Sighted by Capt. Beckwith of theVictoria at 25° 50' S, 106° 20' W. No subsequent sightings have been made.[10] |
| Mokupāpapa | Unknown | Known to theNative Hawaiians as a 'flat island' (translated literally from its name) to the southwest of the island ofNiihau, pastKaʻula, described variously as 'a five-hour sail' from the latter and 'halfway toTahiti' and actively being traveled to inJames Cook's time, but a search by the voyage's men could not find it.[15] |
| Nameless Island | Unknown | Discoverer unknown; location given as 2° 50′ S, 170° 18′ E. Noted as doubtful in 1851; not seen on modern maps.[8] |
| New York and Nexsen Islands | 1798 | Reported by a Mr. Fanning on theBetsy at 8° 9′ S, 141° 30.5′ W based on location seven hours after sighting. Smoke noted, suggesting inhabitants. Observed from four to six leagues away and not approached. Suspected in 1851 to be a mistaken sighting of two nearby islands; not seen on modern maps.[8] |
| St. Elmo | 1606 | Reported by Quiros, location 21° 20' S, 143° 50' W. Said to be low, surrounded by coral reefs, with a 30Spanish leagues circumference. Noted as doubtful in 1851; not seen on modern maps.[8] |
| St. Matthew Island | 1516 | An island near the coast of Africa, roughly 1,000 kilometres (620 miles; 540 nautical miles) east-northeast ofAscension Island and possibly confused with the same latitudeAnnobón Island. |
| Mount Penglai | Antiquity | An island thirty-thousand leagues to the east off the coast ofShandong. Associated with numerous East Asian myths and legends. |
| Nachtegal Rock | 1861 | Seen byHMS Sphinx at 40° 20′ S, 52° 55′ E. Last seen in charts in 1878.[7] |
| New Badalgo | Unknown | Location given as 18° 15′ N, 143° 40′ W. Not seen on modern maps.[7] |
| New South Greenland | 1823 | Unknown odd island near Antarctica, which captainBenjamin Morrell of the ship Wasp saw while traveling north from Antarctica. He thought it to be theAntarctic Peninsula (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 500 kilometres (310 miles; 270 nautical miles) to the east and 97 kilometres (60 miles; 52 nautical miles) 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 | 1828 | A group of islands betweenEmerald Island andDougherty Island, both of which are nonexistent. Probably a group of icebergs together. |
| Pactolus Bank | 1885 | An oceanic bank 120 metres (400 feet) deep off the west coast ofCape Horn, suggested as the remains ofElizabeth Island. A 1956 search of the area turned up no shallow areas in the reported location. |
| Passion/Paxarus Island | Unknown | Location given as 25° 48′ N, 136° 36′ W or 26° 12′ N, 136° W. No sign of the island could be find in 1873.[7] |
| Pepys Island | 1683 | In 1683,Ambrose Cowley 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 | Between 1860 and 1874 | North ofFranz Josef Land, named afterAugust Heinrich Petermann. |
| Isle Phelipeaux | 1744 | A nonexistent island inLake Superior referenced in the 1783Treaty of Paris. |
| Podesta | 1879 | An island 1,390 kilometres (860 miles; 750 nautical miles) to the west ofEl 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 (seeSarah Ann Island). |
| Polvaro Island | 1505 | Usually placed at or near 9° 20′ S, 89° E. Reportedly discovered after a Portuguese ship withdrawing fromMalacca toCape Comorin was lost nearby. Sometimes calledApaluria; sighted into the 18th century. Said to be low, woody, eight to 10 miles long. Absence noted in 1866; allegedly "exploded."[7] |
| Recreation Island | Unknown | Location given as 15° 35′ S, 150° W, north ofTahiti. Position passed over with no sign of land, removed in 1864.[7] |
| Reed/Redfield Rocks | 1850 | First sighting reported by Capt. Reed of the brigEmma at 37° 24′ N, 137° 22′ W in theShipping Gazette. Mores sightings were made in varying locations in 1851, 1856, and 1866. They were said to be two rocks, 600–900 feet long and 50–40 feet across, under 3–5 fathoms of water and breakers in rough weather. Four surveys from 1871 to 1875 could not find them, but another sighting in 1889 said they were now four feet above the water. Another survey in 1902 disproved their existence, but were still marked on maps as doubtful.[7] |
| Rivadeneyra Shoal | 1842 | A shoal in the eastern Pacific Ocean. |
| Ilha dos Romeiros | Unknown | Location given as 28° 40′ S, 74° E, betweenMadagascar andAustralia. Removed from charts by 1856 or earlier.[7] |
| Roque Piz | 1649 | First seen in a chart byJoão Teixeora, located at 6° S, 60° E. Seen on maps as late as 1865, described as being three flat islands. Likely a mistaken sighting of theSeychelles orChagos.[7] |
| Royal Company's Islands | Before 1840 | A fictional island widely believed during the 19th century to be to the southwest ofTasmania. 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 | 1424 | A small island to the west of the mythicalAntillia (see Antillia above). |
| Rupes Nigra | 14th century | A magnetic, black island at the exactMagnetic North Pole, invented as an explanation for why all compasses point north. |
| Sandy Island | 1774 | Another phantom, small island to the west ofNew Caledonia 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 buoyantpumice from a recent nearby seamount eruption. |
| Sannikov Land | 1809 | An island near theDe Long Islands, north of Russia, that probably did exist but was destroyed due tocoastal erosion. |
| Sarah Ann Island | 1858 | A phantom island nearEaster Island, similar toPodesta island. SeeOperational Navigation Chart of theUnited States Department of Defense. |
| 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 mythicalAntillia, was purportedly full of evil demons but was sometimes called Salvaga to avoid using the profanity "devil". |
| Saxemberg Island | 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 atTristan de Cunha island. |
| Schjetman Reef | 1868 | To the west of theHawaiian Islands, Schjetman Reef was originally found in 1868 to be an island 2.8 kilometres (1.7 miles; 1.5 nautical miles) long and 0.93 kilometres (0.58 miles; 0.5 nautical miles) wide. Later searches in 1880, 1923, and 1924 could not find the island. |
| Sefton Reef | 1808 | Approx. 83°W, 37°S (southwest ofRobinson Crusoe Island), noted as "position doubtful" in Operational Navigation Chart[16] of theUnited States Department of Defense. |
| 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 | 325 BC | A mythical island in the far north, possibly at or above theArctic Circle, mentioned in many works from the Roman and Medieval period. Sources in antiquity placed Thule several days travel north ofGreat Britain[17] visible fromOrkney;[18] or north ofScythia.[19] More modern scholars have suggested Thule may have beenIreland;[20] the Estonian island ofSaaremaa;[21] or the Norwegian island ofSmøla.[22] |
| Tiburones | Unknown | Captain D'Urville asked the residents ofUapoa about this island in August 1838. They claimed it existed, reporting it had high land, one sandy beach which could be approached in good weather, and a single male inhabitant (the others having fled). Location given as 11° S, 143° W; noted doubtful in 1851 and not seen on modern maps.[8] |
| Torca Island | 1693 | A mythical island nearAmbon in the Indonesia purportedly destroyed by a volcanic eruption. |
| Transit Reef | 18th century | 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. |
| Truls Island | 1962 | Reported by the tankerTruls at 56° S, 23° 15′ E. Marked on USHO Chart 5188B in October 1969 as "ED" (existence doubtful).[7] |
| Tuanaki | 1842 | A vanished group of islets in theCook Islands at which a sailor allegedly spent 6 days, but a ship traveling in the waters two years later found no island. |
| Turnbull Island | Unknown | Location given as 19° 52′ S, 143° 32′ W. Noted as doubtful in 1864 and removed from charts after 1875.[7] |
| Two Brothers Reef | 1823 | Reportedly struck by a whaling ship in 1823, location listed as 24° 14' N, 168° 28′ W. Existence doubtful by 1912 due to lack of sightings; not seen on modern maps.[14] |
| Wachusett Reef | 1899 | A nonexistent reef in the Line Islands – in factLine Islands are more than 3,200 kilometres (2,000 miles; 1,700 nautical miles) away – along withErnest Legouve Reef,Jupiter Reef, andMaria Theresa Reef. This reef, the largest of the three, was thought to be 9–10.5 metres (30–35 feet) deep. None of these reefs are currently believed to have actually existed. |
| Yosemite Rock | 1903 | Approx. 83°W, 32°S (northwest ofRobinson Crusoe Island), noted as "Existence doubtful" inOperational Navigation Chart of theUnited States Department of Defense.[clarification needed] |
| (unnamed bank) | Before 1901 | Shown on historical charts at 30° 55' N, 177° 30' E and 42 fathoms deep. Soundings of this area in 1901 and 1902 failed to locate the bottom at 100 fathoms, and it is not seen on modern maps.[14] |
| (unnamed rock) | 1869 | Sighted by the steamerGreat Pacific at 25° 40' S, 85° 0' W. TheSumbawa passed through the area in 1904 but did not see it.[10] |
| (unnamed breakers) | 1901 | Reported at 21° 55' N, 176° 05' W.[14] There is no indication of these breakers on modern maps. |
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