Secret Russian island that disappeared from google maps solving a riddle
Jeannette Island in the East Siberian Sea is only 2 km long. Google Maps users are now confused after replacing it with a black marker
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Google Maps explains how location data is used
We live in a time when you hold the world in your hands.
Thanks to Google Maps, people can travel virtually anywhere from the comfort of their own homes.
However, it is not found everywhere on the site.
A remote island in the East Siberian Sea measuring just 3.3 square kilometers has been shrouded in mystery after users realized it was censored on Google Maps.
Jeannette Island, recognized as Russian territory, appears as a black dot on the search giant’s digital map.
Google has remained silent as to why it was obscuring the tiny island.
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Jeannette Island is mostly covered in ice and has a 1,152-foot peak in the middle.
Images of the island were provided to Google by The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean.
Initiated in Saint Petersburg, this project aims to map the Arctic Ocean.
It’s unclear exactly why the island became blurred, but there has long been a dispute over who owns the territory – Russia or the US?
Some believe that this dispute is the reason for the black mark.
Located north of Russia, the island was discovered in 1881 during an expedition led by American naval officer George E. De Long.
The explorer had hoped to find open waters in the Arctic Ocean but was trapped in thick ice near Herald Island in September 1879.
It then drifted hundreds of miles before approaching Jeannette Island in May 1881.
De Long and his crew took shelter on the island and took possession of it on behalf of the United States.
They named the island after their ship, the USS Jeannette.
However, after the Imperial Russian Hydrographic Expedition in the Arctic Ocean of 1910-1915, Russia declared Jeannette Island a part of the Russian Federation.
Today the island is part of the Sakha Republic of the Russian Federation, which the US does not dispute.
Some people believe that the island has disappeared from Google Maps because of the possibility that a secret Russian military base is hidden there.
Google often blocks military locations on maps, including air force bases in Germany and missile silos in Russia.
One Reddit user, exoplanetaryscience, said: “Google rarely goes black for no reason. A search of Google Earth shows that this has been permanently blurred – even in images from the 1980s.”
The commenter believes this indicates that the island is home to a large Russian military base.
You can see Jeannette Island for yourself by going to Google Maps and searching for 76°47′24″N 157°58′00″E.
The black spot can be seen by searching in satellite mode.
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/secretive-russian-island-disappeared-google-26954985 Secret Russian island that disappeared from google maps solving a riddle
