A giant floating island covered with trees has mysteriously appeared and disappeared on a vast reservoir in British Columbia, Canada, leaving residents intrigued and officials trying to determine where it went.
The unusual landmass was spotted by boaters on Williston Reservoir, north of Mackenzie, earlier this month.
B.C. Hydro later confirmed that the seemingly impossible sight was real after satellite imagery captured the floating mass in July.
The island was estimated to measure about 140 metres long and 70 metres wide, covering roughly 9,800 square metres — an area comparable to two NFL football fields.
Its existence was initially met with caution by B.C. Hydro officials, partly because of the growing number of AI-generated images circulating online.
B.C. Hydro spokesperson Bob Gammer said officials initially struggled to locate the object because relatively few people had reported seeing it.
Satellite imagery eventually confirmed the sighting.
The images showed the floating landmass in the main body of the reservoir, about 100 kilometres west of the W.A.C. Bennett Dam.
Then came another mystery.
By August 5, the island had disappeared from updated satellite images.
Gammer said its disappearance did not necessarily mean that the giant mass had sunk to the bottom of the reservoir.
Instead, he suggested that it could have drifted towards the shoreline and become hidden in a sheltered area.
The unusual development has attracted considerable attention because the island appeared to contain trees and other vegetation growing on what looked like a floating piece of land.
There is, however, a scientific explanation that could account for the phenomenon.
According to B.C. Hydro, driftwood and other organic debris can accumulate along the reservoir’s shoreline over several years. Plants and trees may then take root in the decomposing material, gradually creating a large floating mass.
The reservoir’s unusually high water level may have helped set it free.
Williston Reservoir reached a full level this year for the first time in about 14 years after heavy winter snow and sustained summer rainfall. The high water prompted B.C. Hydro to open spillways at the W.A.C. Bennett Dam in June and July.
The rising water may have lifted the accumulated vegetation and debris from the shoreline, allowing wind and currents to carry the mass into open water.
Local resident Rocky Avery, who received photographs and video of the island from a boater, said the sight was unlike anything he had seen during his decades in the area.
The discovery has also raised concerns among boaters because high water levels have moved more trees and other debris into parts of the reservoir.
B.C. Hydro has said it will continue monitoring the massive water body through satellite imagery and has encouraged members of the public to report sightings.
Floating islands are not entirely unknown. Environmental monitoring work on Williston Reservoir has previously documented floating masses made up of organic material, woody debris and soil, with vegetation capable of becoming established on them.
For now, the whereabouts of the latest and unusually large island remain unknown.
It may have sunk, drifted into a sheltered part of the shoreline or simply be moving somewhere beyond the view of current satellite images.
