The mystery behind Google Maps’ ‘black hole’ in the Pacific Ocean – CBBC Newsround

The mystery behind a strange 'black hole' found in the middle of the Pacific Ocean has finally been solved!

Last month, an eagle-eyed social media user came across a dark spot in the middle of the ocean when scrolling on Google maps.

It soon got lots of people talking and wondering what it could could be.

It's now been found to be a little-known uninhabited island called Vostok Island, which belongs to the Republic of Kiribati, a country that's located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean!

The 'black hole' on Google Maps was actually a mystery island belonging to Kiribati, a country located in the Pacific Ocean

What happened?

The social media user spotted the strange 'black hole' in the middle of the Pacific Ocean when they were using Google Maps.

The 'black hole' seemed to be situated far away from any other countries or islands.

It confused many people online and lots of different ideas and suggestions were made as to what it could be.

Some wondered whether it was an underground volcano, whereas others thought it might be a secret island or a military base.

However, it turned out to be a small coral island which is located nearly 4000 miles east of Australia.

The island has a lot of dense forest made up of trees which have grown tightly together.

The trees are dark green - but look black from the air and that's why on Google maps it looked like a 'black hole'!

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The mystery behind Google Maps' 'black hole' in the Pacific Ocean - CBBC Newsround