Returning from Scotland two weeks ago, I had a window seat on the right side of the aircraft. Unfortunately, clouds obscured most of Scotland and Ireland as well as most of the North Atlantic. As we approached Labrador, however, the cloud cover began to dissipate and my first sight of land was of a tiny island in the Labrador Sea.
Made visible by a white rim of waves crashing along its shores, the island was far off the mainland with no other islands in sight. Based on research since returning home, I found that I had seen Landsat Island, the most eastern parcel of Canadian Territory. About half the size of a football field, it was first discovered as recently as 1973, when the Landsat I satellite uncovered geographic details theretofore unseen. Later verified by scientists arriving by boat and helicopter, the island remains uninhabited and its geology has not been assessed (though it is suspected to be a remnant from the rifting of Greenland from North America and Europe, some 30 million years ago).
Since the Labrador Sea is usually locked in ice during the winter months and since cloud cover is often extensive there during the warmer months, the tiny island had gone unnoticed until the era of satellites greatly enhanced our appreciation of Earth's surface features. I was certainly very fortunate to catch a glimpse of that lonely speck of rock.
Made visible by a white rim of waves crashing along its shores, the island was far off the mainland with no other islands in sight. Based on research since returning home, I found that I had seen Landsat Island, the most eastern parcel of Canadian Territory. About half the size of a football field, it was first discovered as recently as 1973, when the Landsat I satellite uncovered geographic details theretofore unseen. Later verified by scientists arriving by boat and helicopter, the island remains uninhabited and its geology has not been assessed (though it is suspected to be a remnant from the rifting of Greenland from North America and Europe, some 30 million years ago).
Since the Labrador Sea is usually locked in ice during the winter months and since cloud cover is often extensive there during the warmer months, the tiny island had gone unnoticed until the era of satellites greatly enhanced our appreciation of Earth's surface features. I was certainly very fortunate to catch a glimpse of that lonely speck of rock.
