Let's face it. Middle Age maps were not overly accurate, and right up until the 15th century people (such as Christofer Colombus) would sail across the Atlantic ocean hoping to reach China, so any Americans reading this please thank mistake. And those glitchy maps reported some fake islands...
Hy-Brasil
Hy-Brasil is a phantom island said to be found off the coast of Ireland. Irish myths claim that it is covered by a wall of mist, but ever seven years that mist clears and you can see the island but still not reach it. In 1674 John Nisbet set off to find it, and said that it was inhabited by huge black rabbits and a lone wizard living in a stone castle. The name's exact origin is unknown, but people say it came from the Irish 'Ui Breasail', meaning descendants of Bresail, a clan living in northwest Ireland.
Sandy Island
Sandy Island is a non-existent island which was charted for over a century as being in the Pacific Ocean, near the French territory of New Caledonia. On 15th September 1774, James Cook charted a 'Sandy I' (see left) moving between 19°–20° S latitudes and 163°50'–164°15' E longitude. Many other documented reports of Sandy began popping up in the 19th century, and even the Britain Admiralty chart of 1895 charted the fabled place. It was reported in the 2000 Times Atlas Of The World that the island exist, and when people investigated the spot, they said 'the water didn't even get shallower at 1300 metres below sea level'. But why did James Cook mark it off as real then...?
Commentaires