Mystery of Canada’s disappearing island is mostly solved
Satellite imagery and observations from aircraft and boaters eventually confirmed the island’s existence.
An island that baffled people in British Columbia after it seemed to disappear actually floated miles away, because scientists say it’s a group of trees growing on a collection of driftwood.
A small, forested island that mysteriously appeared and vanished on a reservoir in British Columbia, Canada, was not a mirage. It was on the move.
Boaters first spotted the island near Finlay Bay on Williston Reservoir in late July. When BC Hydro began receiving photos and videos of it on Aug. 13, the power company initially questioned whether the images were real.
The floating island near the Ospika Arm of the Williston Reservoir on Aug. 31, 2026. (Image credit: Rocky Avery/Facebook)
“When we first received photos and video of a floating island covered in trees, we weren’t entirely convinced,” BC Hydro Community Relations Manager Bob Gammer said. “In the age of AI, it’s important to verify unusual reports before drawing conclusions.”
Satellite imagery and observations from aircraft and boaters eventually confirmed the island’s existence. BC Hydro announced Sept. 2 that it had been found resting against the shoreline along the reservoir’s Ospika Arm, about 19 miles northwest of where it was first documented.
The floating island near the Ospika Arm of the Williston Reservoir on Aug. 31, 2026. (Image credit: Rocky Avery/Facebook)
Based on the available information, the island drifted roughly 19 miles over 15 days before reaching its current location, according to BC Hydro.
The island is believed to be a floating mass of logs and woody debris that accumulated in a sheltered area over many years. As the material gradually decomposed, plants and trees may have taken root, creating an interconnected mat of debris and vegetation.
Researchers have not yet determined exactly how or when the island formed. High water levels may have helped lift it from the shoreline, allowing winds and currents to carry it across the reservoir.
The island remained intact during its journey and measures approximately 460 feet long and 230 feet wide, covering an area roughly equivalent to two football fields.
Tracking it was no small task. Williston Reservoir covers about 685 square miles when full, making it the largest reservoir in British Columbia and the seventh-largest reservoir in the world by volume. It was created when the W.A.C. Bennett Dam was built on the Peace River and began filling in 1968.
“Finding the island has answered one question, but it has raised several others,” Gammer said. “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.”
An aerial photo of the floating island near the Ospika Arm of Williston Reservoir in Canada. (Image: BC Hydro)
Geologists, ecologists and other researchers are now studying the unusual island’s origins and movement.
BC Hydro said people may approach the island by boat or drone to take photos, but they should not step onto it. Its mass of logs and decaying woody debris makes the surface unstable and unsafe for landing or climbing.
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