Two vessels which happened to pass by the area at the time have reported that a new volcanic island has risen from the South Pacific near Tonga.The crew of the Maiken, a yacht that left the northern Tongan islands group of Vava'u in August, reported on their Web log on August 12 that they saw streaks of light, porous pumice stone floating in the water -- then "sailed into a vast, many-miles-wide belt of densely packed pumice."
"We were so fascinated and busy taking pictures that we plowed a couple of hundred meters into this surreal floating stone field before we realized that we had to turn back," wrote a crewman identified only as Haken.
The next day they spotted an active volcanic island, Haken wrote. He said they could see the volcanic island clearly. "One mile in diameter and with four peaks and a central crater smoking with steam and once in a while an outburst high in the sky with lava and ashes. I think we're the first ones out here," he reported.
Pumice rafts drifted to Fiji in 1979 and 1984 from eruptions around Tonga, and some were reportedly 30 kilometers (19 miles) wide, the Matangitonga reported.
More images can be found at the following link.
Image Gallery: Fredrik and Crew on Maiken
Source: CNN
Tags: Island | Volcanic Island | Maiken | Mariners | South Pacific
Comments