Thompson Island (South Atlantic) facts for kids

Thompson Island is a mysterious place, sometimes called a phantom island. This means it was once thought to exist but later could not be found. It was believed to be in the South Atlantic Ocean, about 150 kilometers (93 miles) north-northeast of Bouvet Island.

What is Thompson Island?

Thompson Island is known as a "phantom island" because it appeared on maps for many years but was later proven not to exist. It was thought to be a small island near Bouvet Island, which is a real, very remote island in the South Atlantic.

How Thompson Island Was Discovered

The story of Thompson Island is linked to the discovery of Bouvet Island.

The First Sighting

In 1739, Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier first found Bouvet Island. Later, in 1808, James Lindsay saw it again and called it Lindsay Island. Then, on December 10, 1825, George Norris on the ship Sprightly saw Bouvet Island. He landed there on December 16 and claimed it for King George IV of the United Kingdom, naming it Liverpool Island.

Between December 13 and December 16, 1825, Norris sailed northeast of Bouvet Island. He discovered another island that was much smaller. The sea around it was very rough. About three miles southeast of this new island, he found three rocks. In his ship's logbook, he named the new island Thompson Island. He called the rocks "chimneys" because of their shape.

Mapping the Mystery

Norris also marked the positions of his discoveries on a map. However, the locations he drew on the map did not exactly match the positions he wrote in his logbook. This difference caused confusion later on. In 1853, Thompson Island, Bouvet Island, and the "Chimneys" rocks all appeared on an official map made by the British navy.

Searching for the Island

Over the years, many people tried to find Thompson Island again, but it remained a mystery.

Later Attempts to Find It

In 1893, Captain Joseph J. Fuller said he saw Thompson Island from his ship, the Francis Allyn. However, his description of Thompson Island was very similar to what Norris had said about Bouvet Island. This made Fuller's sighting seem less reliable.

In November 1898, a German group called the Valdivia expedition tried to find the exact spot of both Bouvet and Thompson Island. They found Bouvet Island but could not find Thompson Island at all.

In 1915, another German ship, the Meteor, measured the depth of the ocean where Thompson Island was supposed to be. The sea was 1579 meters (about 5,180 feet) deep there. This was a very deep spot, suggesting no island was present. If Thompson Island ever truly existed, it might have disappeared in a volcanic eruption sometime in the 1890s.

Did It Really Exist?

The Norwegian Arctic Expedition in 1928 and 1929 also searched for Thompson Island but failed to find it. They officially declared that the island did not exist. Despite this, Thompson Island continued to appear on some maps as late as 1943.

Today, most experts believe that George Norris was probably the only person who ever saw Thompson Island. It is possible he made a mistake, or the island was a small, temporary volcanic feature that quickly sank or eroded away. The mystery of Thompson Island reminds us that even in modern times, there are still secrets in the vast oceans.

Images for kids

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  1898 German map of Bouvet Island, with Thompson I.

See also

In Spanish: Isla Thompson para niños