Nishinoshima spews a plume of ash and gas, part of an ongoing eruption that continues to increase the size of the small island.
Published Mar 5, 2015
In the western Pacific Ocean, a new volcanic island that formed in the shadow of Nishino-shima has merged with it. The island has doubled in size as the eruption continues.
Published Apr 4, 2014
Nishinoshima has grown to twelve times its original size.
Published Nov 29, 2015
An undersea eruption at Lateiki Island in late October 2019 has brought new life to an older island in the Tonga chain.
Published Nov 26, 2019
The EO-1 satellite captures a view of the new volcanic island that formed in November 2013 near Nishino-shima Volcano.
Published Dec 18, 2013
The most interesting geology lies just offshore and below the water line of this Northwest Australian island.
Published Aug 3, 2015
Named Isla de Aves in Spanish, (meaning “Island of the Birds”) Aves Island lies west of the Lesser Antilles in the Caribbean. It provides a nesting site to green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) and, of course, birds. Because the abundant bird droppings, known as guano, could be used in fertilizer and gunpowder, guano miners worked on the island until they depleted the supply. Since its discovery by Europeans, likely in the late 16th century, Aves Island was subsequently claimed by several European nations. The island is currently claimed by Venezuela, although disputes about ownership of the island, and the surrounding exclusive economic zone in the Caribbean, continue today.
Published Jun 19, 2006
The ghostly white shapes northeast and immediately southwest of Wrangel Island are sea ice. Over the course of the satellite record, Arctic sea ice has advanced and retreated past Wrangel Island many times. From 1979 to 2000, the sea ice edge at the end of summer generally fell somewhere in the vicinity of Wrangel Island, but this is not the first summer when the sea ice edge has retreated well north of the island.
Published Aug 29, 2008
An unnamed isle in Canada’s Nunavut Territory is the leading contender for this island superlative.
Published Feb 22, 2015
Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai is likely to persist for years, maybe decades.
Published Dec 11, 2017
This astronaut photograph shows the southern end of Paramushir Island after a snowfall. Four volcanic centers are brightly lit on their western slopes and deeply shadowed to the east.
Published Jul 12, 2010
A pair of modest oyster flats turned into two of most important islands in the United States.
Published Mar 20, 2016
The island once looked very different from how it does today.
Published Apr 16, 2017
The Hawaiian island has been scarred by volcanic eruptions, livestock grazing, penal colonies, bombs, and fire. Yet there is hope for healing.
Published Mar 23, 2020
On September 25, 2002, astronauts aboard the International Space Station viewed Easter Island, one of the most remote locations on Earth. Easter Island is more than 2000 miles from the closest populations on Tahiti and Chile—even more remote than astronauts orbiting at 210 nautical miles above the Earth. Archaeologists believe the island was discovered and colonized by Polynesians at about 400 AD. Subsequently, a unique culture developed. The human population grew to levels that could not be sustained by the island. A civil war resulted, and the island’s deforestation and ecosystem collapse was nearly complete.
Published Oct 6, 2002
Semisopochnoi is the “Island of the Seven Mountains, ” or more precisely in Russian: “having seven hills.” This uninhabited volcanic island is also an important nesting area for maritime birds of the North Pacific.
Published Dec 29, 2010
The eruption of an undersea volcano gave rise to new real estate between two islands in the kingdom of Tonga.
Published May 3, 2015
Attu Island is so far west, it’s actually in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is the westernmost of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, even farther west than the Hawaiian Islands.
Published Jul 5, 2006
This natural-color image shows Henrietta Island, with a smooth, dome-capped surface and a rugged coastline, illuminated by low-angled sunlight.
Published May 3, 2009
