B.C. Hydro said it has solved the mystery of a floating island that captured international attention after it appeared and then seemingly vanished on a reservoir in northern British Columbia.
Video and photos of the drifting, vegetation-covered island were shared on social media by Rocky Avery in August.
B.C. Hydro said the images are believed to have been taken on or around July 21 near Finlay Bay on Williston Reservoir, near the community of Mackenzie.
By mid-August, the island appeared to have vanished.
BC Hydro Community Relations Manager Bob Gammer said he wasn’t initially convinced the images of the island weren’t an AI-generated hoax.
“In the age of AI, it’s important to verify unusual reports before drawing conclusions,” said Gammer.
“Once we confirmed the island through satellite imagery and other observations, it quickly captured the imagination of the public and the media and sparked interest among scientists studying how floating vegetated islands form and move.”
Williston is the largest reservoir in B.C., covering more than 1700 square kilometres.
The utility said it used satellite imaging and other methods to confirm that by Aug. 15 the island had come to rest against the shoreline of the Ospika Arm of the reservoir, about 30 kilometres northwest of there it was first spotted.
B.C. Hydro said the island appeared intact and was estimated to be about 70 metres wide and 140 metres long, or about the size of two football fields.
The utility said floating vegetated islands can occur in large reservoirs, although islands of this size are uncommon.
One possible explanation is that logs and woody debris accumulated in a sheltered area over many years and gradually decomposed, allowing vegetation to take root and creating a stable mass of interconnected debris and plant growth.
“Finding the island has answered one question, but it has raised several others,” said Gammer. “While we’re pleased to have confirmed the island’s location, there is still more to learn about how it formed and how it came to drift across the reservoir.”
B.C. Hydro said people are welcome to observe the island by boat or drone, but warned it’s not safe to land on or climb onto.
