Island.
A piece of land, disconnected from the rest of the world's landmass, seems to contain
a secret and unspoiled world of their own, where life differs vastly from that of mainland
surrounding.
Despite having the only 1/6th of earth's total land mass area, islands' contribution to earth's
biodiversity hotspot is 30%.
Some of the most unusual and rare species of plants and animals are only found on islands,
many of which are still unknown.
One of the rules that dictate the development of such an island ecosystem is called The
Island's Rule or Foster's Rule.
That is, when mainland animals colonize a new island, small species tend to evolve larger
bodies through a process known as Island Gigantism while large species, on the other hand, tend
to evolve smaller bodies through Island Dwarfism.
The reason for this anomaly is thought to be a change in number and types of predators
on the new island as compared to mainland surrounding.
Similarly, change in food type, and availability can also play a part.
Apart from the change in physical appearance, species on an island tend to become predatory,
show an abnormal change in body temperature, relaxed anti-predator behavior, and reduced
sexual selection.
Even if, a species doesn't show such adaptive behavior, a new population on an island can
be distinctly different from mainland population due to "founder effect," which is the loss
of genetic variation that occurs when a new population is established by a small number
of individuals from a large population.
All these effects magnify over time and make a remote island look like an alien place.
Socotra island currently holds the title of the most alien-looking place on earth.
37% of plant species on the island is endangered, found nowhere else on earth with Dragon's
blood tree being most striking.
Many species of reptiles and birds are also exclusive to the island.
This narrow crescent-shaped bar of sand is called The Sable Island, after the Latin word
for "sand."
Because of its untouched beauty and unique ecosystem, the island was once hypothesized
as a research probe abandoned by extraterrestrial species.
The 42 km long sable island is only 1.5 km wide at its widest point and moves with an
average speed of 200m per year.
The tiny Island is home to over 550 free-roaming wild horses protected by law from human interference.
Though their precise origin is unknown, these feral horses have been living on this isolated
land for centuries, facing harsh winter and unpredictable oceanic weather.
The island also hosts a large population of Grey seals on the shores and some large exotic
bird species.
Another thing that makes this island notable is a large number of shipwrecks because of
its narrow shape.
Till the advent of modern navigation tools, an estimated 350 vessels had fallen victim
of sandbars of the island.
The reason why the island is also known "the Graveyard of the Atlantic."
Even today, artifacts from the ships wrecked centuries ago can be found laying on the sand.
The island today is a National Park Reserve of the Canadian government, and not many people
are allowed to go there.
The only permanent resident, Zoe Lucan has been living in this remote island for last
40 years, all alone for most of the time.
Maldives, an island country in South Asia, consists of 1192 coral islands grouped in
a double chain thus giving it the name that means "Island necklace" or "Garland of the
island."
Extremely diverse geography, immense natural beauty, exotic beaches and luxurious resorts
make Maldives one of the most popular and costly tourist destination.
With a population of 427,756 and per capita income more than any of the south Asian country,
living in Maldives is like a dream come true if you forget the fact that Maldives is sinking
because of rising sea level and most of it may disappear for forever in not so distant
future.
Maldives is a place where climate change is not just a theory or a topic of debate, but
a real thing and people here see its consequences every single day.
Island's average elevation of 1.5 meters above sea level is lowest in the world, and 80%
of its land rises less than a meter above the sea.
It's pretty much obvious that if sea level continues to rise, Maldives will be one of
the first to get affected.
UN environmentalists panel estimates that Maldives will be inhabitable by 2100 while
other reports estimate this to happen within 30 years from now.
In oct 2009, the president of Maldives held world's first underwater cabinet meeting to
draw attention to the fact that their country might literally disappear beneath the waves
if other nations don't take strong immediate steps to limit their carbon emission.
The cabinet pledged to make Maldives a carbon-neutral country by 2019.
But it seems that things are not going in favor of the country despite efforts.
After some low lying islands went under the sea, their government is planning to buy lands
in nearby China and India to relocate some population there.
The recent political turmoil has made the future even more uncertain.
The word "Quarantine" is derived from Italian "quarantina giorni," a duration of 40 days
maritime travelers were required to stay in observation before they could be issued a
clear bill of health and enter the city.
This was a common practice in plague-hit 18th century Italy, the travelers were kept in
a confined, isolated place called Lazaretto and The Poveglia Island in Venice was one
such place.
The tiny island today is considered as the most haunted island in the world, possibly
because of its dark and twisted past.
In 1793, several cases of plague were found on two ships, the island was transformed into
confinement station where an estimated 100,000 people waited for their death and later buried
in many plague pits.
Almost a century later, in 1922, the island became home to a mental hospital where a doctor
allegedly experimented on his patients, tortured and killed them.
He later threw himself from the hospital bell tower claiming he had been driven mad by ghosts.
The island has been abandoned since then.
Many cases of paranormal activities have been reported with the more recent one happened
in 2016.
A team of five people from Colorado was rescued by Italian firefighters after they decided
to spend the night on the infamous island, but as soon as the darkness took over, a presence
started to haunt them, making them scream for help.
According to locals, the bell chimes echoing from the island late at night can often be
heard even though it was removed many years ago.
The Italian government in 2014, decided to sell the island but the deal couldn't go well.
Poveglia Remains for now strictly off limits to visitors.
If you zoom into this map, you'll find the Maria Theresa Reef AKA Tabor Island in the
the Pacific Ocean.
It was first seen in 1843 by captain Asaph Taber of whaler Maria-Theresa.
Different sources on the internet tell you that Maria-Theresa reef is the major settlement
of a chain of 4 nearby reefs that collectively make Port Maria.
The small state of Port Maria, with around 1000 inhabitants, got independence in 1987
and tourism is the only source of economy of the state.
The island is also featured in famous novels by Jules Verne
these novels were written 20 years after the discovery of the island.
Port Maria is also well known for its stamps.
This year, they released a new stamp to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Empress Maria Theresa.
Pretty much everything about the island sounds normal except for the fact that the island
doesn't exist in reality, nor any of the remaining 3 other islands in the chain of Port Maria.
No second eye has ever laid eyes on Maria Theresa Island after it's discovery.
Numerous attempts were made in 1957, 1970, 1983 to locate the island but nothing could
be found.
In 1970, the water on the location was found to be 5000m deep, suggesting that the island
never existed.
There can be many explanations of how a phantom island was ended up on a map, the strange
part is how it continues to be part of many of them and how the state of Port Maria is
made real for so many people around the world.
One of the four reefs named "Ernest Legouve Reef" can still be spotted on google maps.
The history of Gaiola Island in southwestern Italy surely matches to those of mysterious
islands in fiction novels.
It is said that the island is "Cursed" and it brings misfortune to its owner, which is
not hard to believe if you consider the fact that whoever buys this island either die prematurely
or his life is turned upside down.
The tiny island was popular among Romans by the name of "Euplea" and they had built a
temple of Venus there.
For a brief period, the island was inhabited by a hermit, nicknamed "The Wizard" until
he disappeared mysteriously.
Later on, a villa was built on the island and in the 1920s, it was owned by the Swiss
Hans Braun, who was found dead and wrapped in a rug on the island
A little later, his wife drowned in the sea.
The next owner was the German Otto Grunback, who died of a heart attack while staying in
the island's villa.
The following owner, the pharmaceutical industrialist Maurice-Yves Sandoz, committed suicide in
a mental hospital.
The further list of owners contain names of industrialists and businessman who were dragged
to economic ruins, their family faced series of premature death, kidnapping, and suicide.
The last private owner of the island was Gianpasquale Grappone, Who is now in jail after his insurance
company went bankrupt.
The island has now been abandoned in fear and is property of the government of the Campania region.
The Vulcan point island is a land of beauty and no less than a wonder because of its geographic
oddity.
It is enclosed in a maze of geographic features.
The tiny island in the middle of a lake, in the middle of a volcano, in the middle of
a bigger lake, in the middle of a bigger island, in an archipelago, in the Pacific Ocean.
This is the way the features are arranged is and the tiny island in the center is the
Vulcan point.
On the Filipino island of Luzon is Lake Taal.
Within that lake is a volcano, Taal Volcano, a highly active volcano that has taken thousands
of lives in 33 recorded eruptions till date.
At the top of the volcano, a thousand feet above sea level, is a basin, known as a caldera.
The caldera itself is filled with water, creating a crater lake, the largest crater lake in
the world.
At the center of the crater lake, we have a tiny island, the Vulcan Point.
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