Ernest Legouve Reef facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ernest Legouve Reef |
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Ernest Legouve Rock on 1921 Pacific map
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| Created by | Ernest‑Legouvé |
| Type | Phantom island |
The Ernest Legouve Reef is a mysterious place in the South Pacific Ocean. It is known as a "phantom reef" because it was once thought to exist but has never been found. Imagine a hidden underwater mountain or a small island that appears on old maps but isn't there when you go looking for it! This reef was supposedly located south of the French Tuamotu Islands and east of New Zealand. Its reported location was at 35°12′ South, 150°40′ West.
In 1902, the captain of a French ship named Ernest‑Legouvé reported seeing this reef. He described it as being about 100 meters (about 328 feet) long. He also mentioned another reef nearby. This sighting was officially recorded in a "Notice to Mariners" that year. A "Notice to Mariners" is like a special bulletin for sailors, warning them about new discoveries or dangers at sea. However, the reef was not on an older map from 1859 called the Admiralty Chart. This made people wonder if the 1902 sighting was truly the first time it was seen.
Years later, in 1982 and 1983, people actively searched for the Ernest Legouve Reef. They used modern equipment to try and find it, but they couldn't. Because it was never found, it became known as a true phantom island or reef. Even so, it was still marked on the 2015 edition of the National Geographic Atlas of the World, showing how persistent these mysteries can be!
Contents
The Mystery of Ernest Legouve Reef
What is a Phantom Reef?
A phantom reef is like a ghost on a map. It's a place that was once believed to exist, often reported by sailors, but later found to be non-existent. These "phantom" locations can appear on maps for many years. Sometimes, they are caused by mistakes in navigation, fog, or even just misidentifying something like a cloud for land. The Ernest Legouve Reef is a great example of such a mystery.
Early Reports and Searches
The story of the Ernest Legouve Reef began with a ship's captain in 1902. His report led to the reef being added to nautical charts. These charts are special maps used by ships to navigate safely. However, the reef was missing from older, important maps like the 1859 Admiralty Chart. This chart was created by the British Royal Navy and was very detailed for its time. The fact that the reef wasn't on it raised questions from the start.
Decades later, in the 1980s, explorers went looking for the reef. They wanted to confirm if it was real or just a legend. Despite their efforts, they found nothing. This confirmed that the Ernest Legouve Reef was indeed a phantom. It joined a list of other mysterious places that once appeared on maps but were later removed.
Other Mysterious Reefs
The Ernest Legouve Reef is not the only phantom reef in the Pacific Ocean. There are other similar places that were once reported but seem to have vanished. These include the Wachusett Reef, Jupiter Reef, and Maria Theresa Reef. Maria Theresa Reef is also known as Tabor Island. It even appeared in famous adventure novels by Jules Verne, like In Search of the Castaways and The Mysterious Island. These stories show how these mysterious places captured people's imaginations.
Ernest Legouve Reef and Jules Verne
Lincoln Island: Fact or Fiction?
The Ernest Legouve Reef has a fascinating connection to the famous writer Jules Verne. Many people believe it might be the real-life inspiration for "Lincoln Island" in his novel The Mysterious Island. In the book, Lincoln Island is a secret hideaway for castaways. After a dramatic event in the story, the island is described as mostly destroyed. What remains is "An isolated rock, thirty feet long, fifteen wide, emerging barely ten feet above the water." This description sounds very much like a small reef.
Verne's novel places Lincoln Island very close to where the Ernest Legouve Reef was supposedly sighted. The book's coordinates for Lincoln Island were 34°57′ South, 150°30′ West. This is incredibly close to the reported location of the Ernest Legouve Reef. It makes you wonder if Verne knew something!
Verne's Inspiration and Friendships
Jules Verne was known for his incredibly detailed and well-researched stories. A scholar named William Butcher studied Verne's work closely. He found a possible link between the reef and Verne's personal life. The real-life person, Ernest Legouvé (1807–1903), was a friend of Jules Verne. Legouvé was a well-known French writer and academic. He had promised to help Verne achieve his dream of joining the Académie française. The Académie française is a very important French council that protects the French language.
Butcher suggested that Verne might have used the reef's coordinates and description in his novel as a way to honor his friend. Perhaps it was a subtle thank-you or a way to "put his friend on the map."
A Curious Coincidence
It is a very interesting coincidence that a ship named Ernest‑Legouvé reported seeing a reef in 1902. This was about 30 years after Jules Verne wrote The Mysterious Island. The coordinates of this reported reef were almost exactly where Verne had placed his fictional Lincoln Island. Could Verne have known about an earlier, unrecorded sighting of this reef? Or was it just a remarkable twist of fate?
William Butcher believed that Verne's research for The Mysterious Island was very thorough. He thought it was possible that Verne had heard about a similar reef before writing his book. If so, using the name of his friend's ship for the discovery would be a clever way to connect fact and fiction. It adds another layer of mystery to the already fascinating story of the Ernest Legouve Reef.
