Zalzala Jazeera, a new island

Zalzala Jazeera (“Earthquake Island”), shown in the satellite image above, is a new island formed off the coast of Pakistan by the 2013 Pakistan earthquake. Such islands are not a new phenomenon: Surtsey, off Iceland, is perhaps the best-known example.

Maps of Pakistan will need to be updated, until the tiny (about 150m wide, by my analysis of the photograph) island is eventually lost to erosion.

See “Bad Astronomy” at Slate for more images and information. The image below is from the Pakistani National Institute of Oceanography, via NASA (who are currently offline, due to the US federal government shutdown):

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