Filippo Reef

Filippo Reef is a reef that is asserted to be located in the Pacific Ocean at , 450 km east of Starbuck Island in the Line Islands, which was reported by the master of the Italian barque Filippo as having been seen on 28 June 1886. From an unidentified report dated 1926 of the breakers, it is estimated to have a least water depth of only 0.6 to 0.9 meters,[1] and appeared to be about 1.6 km long northwest to southeast, and less in width.

However the only sighting referenced is on page 40 of http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/websites/pollux/pollux.nss.nima.mil/NAV_PUBS/SD/pub126/126sec02.pdf and shows a date of 1926. The topographic data supplied by http://www.gebco.net/ and accessible via http://www.wolframalpha.com/entities/undersea_features/filippo_reef/q1/il/vm/ however shows a sea depth of 3.3 miles. It is therefore likely that this 1926 report is an error, and that Filippo Reef is a phantom island, and that therefore any maps showing it are relying on the 1926 report, and are also in error.

Nevertheless, it is marked in the 2005 edition of the National Geographic Atlas of the World.[2]

External links

References

  1. ^ "The Line Islands, The Cook Islands, The Samoa Islands, and The Tonga Islands (Including Off-Lying Islands and Reefs)". 1990. http://permanent.access.gpo.gov/websites/pollux/pollux.nss.nima.mil/NAV_PUBS/SD/pub126/126sec02.pdf. Retrieved 17 Sept. 2011. 
  2. ^ National Geographic Atlas of the World (8th ed.). Washington, D.C.: National Geographic. 2005. p. plate 93. ISBN 0-7922-7543-8.