LIVE German 2025 Election Results

Floating island in British Columbia reservoir appears and disappears 20 miles away

Get you up to speed: Mysterious Canadian island ‘vanishes’ and then reappears 20 miles away | News World

What remains unclear — The exact mechanism of the floating island’s dislodgement and its subsequent movement within Williston Reservoir has not been confirmed.

Floating island in British Columbia reservoir appears and disappears 20 miles away

The island, in a Canadian reservoir, disappeared mysteriously (Picture: Facebook)

The world has no shortage of islands. There are over 900,000 of them, according to research, from officially inhabited islands through to tiny ones which exist purely as a dot of untouched land.

However, few are as mysterious as the one which has left folk in British Columbia baffled, after it appeared in the middle of a major lake, promptly vanished, and then showed up again 20 miles away.

The floating island in Williston Lake — the largest body of freshwater in British Columbia — was first spotted in early August by boaters.

But then, just days later, the island was nowhere to be seen, leaving locals wondering where it had got to and even speculating that the original image of the tree-filled stretch of land could have been AI-generated.

Now you see it…now you don’t (Picture: Facebook)

Bob Gammer, a spokesperson for government-owned utility firm BC Hydro, which is responsible for maintaining the reservoir, said in an interview: ‘We first heard about it from a member of the media in northern British Columbia who had seen a Facebook post.

‘Someone had been out on the reservoir in their boat and came across this island.

A satellite image which had been taken before this, at the end of July, confirmed its existence, showing the island floating in the middle of the lake.

However, by the time another image was taken on August 5, the island had disappeared, sparking speculation as to where it had got to.

It was only when further satellite footage, followed by eyewitness accounts from people flying overhead, emerged that the island was located — around 30km (18.65) miles from where it was first spotted, and far closer to shore.

The island was spotted drifting around Williston Lake (Picture: Shutterstock / wayne valiquette)

Follow WTX on WhatsApp to be the first to get all the latest news

Follow us to receive the latest news updates from WTX (Picture: Getty Images)

WTX’s on Whatsapp! Join our community for breaking news and juicy stories.

BC Hydro has since said that the island likely measures around one hectare — making it roughly the same size as 1.5 American football fields.

As to where it might have come from, the company has some theories about that too, suggesting it was formed from accumulating driftwood, which allowed trees and plant life to blossom.

‘Our best understanding from simple observations is that this is probably an island that grew up on top of a bunch of woody debris that had been compressed together, crowded into a sheltered bay, along the shoreline of the reservoir for many, many years,’ Gammer explained.

‘And then, eventually, those logs started to decompose. And the trees grew up, and they’ve kind of knitted to hold all of these floating logs and woody debris together.

‘And at some point, when the reservoir rose, with the spring snowmelt filling up the reservoir, it may have dislodged this island of logs and vegetation up and away from the shoreline, and then the wind pushed it out into open water.’

He also warned people against actually trying to set foot on the island itself, as the surface appears to be unstable — although that hasn’t stopped people wanting to try.

Rocky Avery, one of the boaters who originally posted footage of the island to social media, said he would ‘totally jump’ on that island if he were able to, adding: ‘It’s probably a bit shaky on the outer sections, but with those huge trees in the centre, I imagine someone could walk on it.’

Forty Acre Bog on Lake Chippewa in Wisconsin has also attracted its share of attention (Picture: Google maps)

It’s not the first time that a floating, moving island has been spotted in a significant body of water.

Another, Forty Acre Bog on Lake Chippewa in Wisconsin is thought to have been formed by peat bogs breaking away from the bottom of the lake and rising to the surface.

That island is home to several small species of wildlife, including frogs and salamanders, and has previously been moved by local boaters to prevent it from colliding with a nearby bridge.

Comment now

Comments

Add WTX as a Preferred Source on Google

Add as preferred source

IAEA reports Syria’s Assad-era reactor configured for nuclear weapons

Get you up to speed: Syria’s Assad-era reactor configured for nuclear weapons: IAEA

What remains unclear — It is not specified what further actions the IAEA will take regarding the ongoing monitoring of the excavated sites in Syria.

IAEA reports Syria’s Assad-era reactor configured for nuclear weapons

NewsSyria’s Assad-era reactor configured for nuclear weapons: IAEA

UN watchdog says material now is under IAEA safeguards.

Published On 7 Sep 20267 Sep 2026

Syria’s Assad-era nuclear facility was configured to produce material for possible use in nuclear weapons, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency has reported.

The nuclear reactor, which the United Nations nuclear watchdog has been investigating with the cooperation of Syria’s new authorities, would have been able to produce fissile material that could be used for weapons, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi told a media conference in Vienna on Monday.

“This is a reactor that is very efficient in the production of ‌fissile ⁠material that could be used directly for the fabrication of nuclear weapons,” he said.

Grossi’s comments came a week after the UN watchdog revealed in a confidential report that it had visited several sites in Syria in August and carried out verification work.

Based on observations at the Deir Az Zor site, the agency said it confirms “that the cooling infrastructure which has now been uncovered is consistent with that of a nuclear reactor”.

The agency added that it would continue to monitor the activities at the site “as the excavation work progresses”.

Syria was believed to have operated an extensive, undeclared nuclear programme under former President Bashar al-Assad that included a nuclear reactor built by North Korea in Deir Az Zor.

It only became public knowledge after Israeli air strikes in 2007 destroyed the facility. Syria later levelled the site and never responded fully to the IAEA’s questions about it.

Grossi said when the inspectors visited the site in August they had to “tear down walls” and go through “very difficult and narrow passages” to reach the nuclear material that had been hidden. The site had “boxes scattered all over the place,” he said.

Grossi said that “the important thing is that this material now is under safeguards” of the IAEA, adding that agency inspectors had managed to install cameras there.

Israel is believed to have its own undeclared atomic weapons programme, which makes it the only nuclear armed country in the Middle East. Israel neither confirms nor denies having nuclear weapons.

The IAEA has said that the former Syrian authorities had failed to report nuclear material, facilities and activities.

Besides the nuclear reactor at Deir Az Zor, the IAEA listed a fuel fabrication plant, where nuclear fuel for the reactor was manufactured and a store for the nuclear fuel, uranium scrap and waste.

During the visit to Syria last month, an IAEA team also visited a previously undeclared site.

The Syrian administration – made up of the group that overthrew Assad in 2024 – notified the agency of its existence in July and invited the nuclear inspectors to investigate.