Sarah Ann Island

For the Illinois island, see Sarah Ann Island, Illinois.

Sarah Ann Island (also Sarah Anne) is a now submerged island, previously located just north of the equator, at about 175° W^[1]. It was discovered in 1858 and claimed by an American guano firm^[2], under the Guano Islands Act (as Sarah Anne)^[3]. It was located 901 miles south from Honolulu^[4], and northwest of Easter Island.

A search in 1932 by German astronomers was unsuccessful.^[5] In 1937, the United States Pacific Fleet attempted to locate the island, intending to establish an observatory there to view the Solar eclipse of June 8, 1937, but was also unsuccessful.^[6] The island, which was observed 15 years before, was nowhere to be found. Instead, observations were made on the nearby Canton and Enderbury Islands and Sarah Ann was quietly removed from Naval charts.

References

1. ^ Ramsay, Raymond (1972). No Longer on the Map. New York: Viking Press. p. 215. ISBN 0670514330. 
2. ^ Mondell, Petrie (February 1934). "Volcanic islands vanish under earthquake barrage". Popular Science (Bonnier Corporation) 124 (2): 21. ISSN 0161-7370. http://books.google.ca/books?id=2CcDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA21&lpg=PA20&dq=Sarah+Ann+Island+vanishes&source=bl&ots=gzYbKUJwXX&sig=GxZPUsDF1VvnmYTmy0Q-1_nNP80&hl=en&ei=LBtOS_bOBNCflAfPsJGODQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=&f=false. 
3. ^ R. S. F. (June 1859). Statistics of Guano. . Journal of the American Geographical Society of New York, (New York: American Geographical Society) 1 (6): 188. http://books.google.ca/books?id=hFteHKKv9lkC&pg=PA188&lpg=PA188&dq=Sarah+Anne+Island%2Bguano&source=bl&ots=lKsHBgH4JU&sig=wftqurmUA4C8YcEf0Hb1u9S-9ew&hl=en&ei=IcxQS-veFtGSlAewvbSxCg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CAcQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Sarah%20Anne%20Island%2Bguano&f=false. 
4. ^ Spencer, G. K. (Dec 2, 1933). "Lost Island Mysteries Baffle Navigators". The Deseret News. p. 11. http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=336&dat=19331202&id=7qsUAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0LUDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3228,3224614. Retrieved 13 January 2010. ^{[dead link]}
5. ^ "Vanishing of Sarah Ann, Tiny Pacific Island, Causes Scientists Much Worry" (in Washington). Lundington Daily News. Oct 16, 1932. p. 1. http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=110&dat=19321016&id=kgkJAAAAIBAJ&sjid=kTsDAAAAIBAJ&pg=2547,3609221. Retrieved 13 January 2010. 
6. ^ Steiger, Brad (1991). "The Perplexing Enigma of Vanishing Islands". Beyond Belief. Scholastic. p. 66. ISBN 059044252X. 

Coordinates: 4°0′0″N 154°22′0″W / 4°N 154.366667°W / 4; -154.366667