New (1 month old) Pacific island forms off Tonga!

[Midpack]

Just not something I imagine happening very often (but no idea really), but here are some of the first pictures of a new island a half a mile wide and just under a mile long. It is believed to be about 820 feet high. There are already thousands of seabirds – all kinds, laying eggs on the island.

Cool? Just for .

I assume it will become a retirement relocation option here soon enough, low cost of living...you could be the first!

First photographs emerge of new Pacific island off Tonga - Telegraph

New volcanic island attracts sightseers | Matangi Tonga

 

[harley]

I think I'll wait until the coconuts float ashore and a few trees grow.

Hmm, maybe not.

The island is expected to erode back into the ocean in a matter of months.

Still, pretty cool. Thanks.

 

[nuke_diver]

Mr Orbassano, 63, an Italian who moved to Tonga more than 20 years ago, previously had a career in photography and took a series of photos of the new island.

Looks like he ER'd to Tonga

Great pictures, a bit surprising that an 800' high island is expected to erode in months

 

[Midpack]

Great pictures, a bit surprising that an 800' high island is expected to erode in months

Hadn't noticed that, though the other article says "The cone shaped island is covered with deep channels that are unstable to walk on, but GP thinks that because the island is so high it will last a while and not disappear."

I wouldn't have a clue which is right, though I wouldn't expect 8.5 billion cuft of volcanic rock would erode in months, time will tell...

 

[EastWest Gal]

But do you want a very active volcano under you? The article says the ground is still hot!


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[Ronstar]

It would be a nice place to live - until it erodes back into the ocean


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[LRDave]

Is there a Starbucks planned?

 

[Midpack]

Is there a Starbucks planned?

Yep, right next to the McDonalds.

Good one

 

[ArkTinkerer]

Could you claim it and establish your own country? If it erodes blame it on Climate Change and ask for foreign aid from the US!

 

[braumeister]

I remember when the new island of Surtsey erupted off the southern coast of Iceland back in the 1960s. I was lucky enough to fly over it about three years after the eruptions ended, and I was astounded to see vegetation already beginning to establish itself, although much of the island was still smoking. There were a few people on the coast who had come over on small boats and built a couple of huts, but I don't know if they were actually living there. They had a few sheep, so who knows?

Today, Surtsey is still purely a scientific laboratory, and it is only about half the size it was then.