Landsat Island

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NASA image of Landsat Island taken by Landsat 7 on August 7, 2002.

Landsat Island is a small uninhabited island located 20 km off the northeast coast of Labrador (part of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador). It was discovered in 1976 during the analysis of imagery from the Landsat 1 satellite and comprises a total area of only 25 m by 45 m (1,125 m²).

[edit] Discovery

In 1976, a Canadian coastal survey was carried out using data from the Landsat 1 satellite. Analysis of the data revealed the existence of several previously uncharted features including Landsat Island, which was subsequently named after the satellite. Verification of the island's existence fell to Dr. Frank Hall of the Canadian Hydrographic Service:

“	"[Dr. Hall] was strapped into a harness and lowered from a helicopter down to the island. This was quite a frozen island and it was completely covered with ice. As he was lowered out of the helicopter a polar bear took a swat at him. The bear was on the highest point on the island and it was hard for him to see because it was white. Hall yanked at the cable and got himself hauled up. He said he very nearly became the first person to end his life on Landsat Island."	”
	— From Scott Reid's account of Dr. Hall's Landsat Island expedition given to the Canadian Parliament

Following Dr. Hall's encounter with the polar bear, it was suggested that the island be named "Polar Island",^{[citation needed]} but the present name was retained.

Landsat Island marks the eastern most point of the Canadian land mass on the Labrador coast. As such, its discovery increased Canada's territory by 68 km².

[edit] Flora and fauna

Since Landsat Island is completely covered with ice, no plants are known to exist there. As experienced by Dr. Hall, however, it appears that polar bears frequent the island. As of 2006, no extensive studies of flora or fauna have been conducted there.