Off the shore of the Japanese island of Iwo Jima in the Pacific Ocean, the newest island in the world has emerged from the water.
The nameless island was a result of an underwater volcanic explosion, according to Japan’s Meteorological Agency (JMA), which informed CNN.
The nation’s Maritime Self-Defense Force captured images of it rising from the water on November 1.
The little island, which is currently a member of the Ogasawara Island group, is seen in the photographs to have had a minor eruption that sent a heavy cloud of ash above it.
Although the JMA has been monitoring the region for volcanic activity since last year, the University of Tokyo’s Earthquake Research Institute confirmed the island-forming eruption occurred on October 30.
Setsuya Nakada, an emeritus professor of volcanology at the University of Tokyo, told the Japan Times this week that magma had been building up beneath the surface for a while before finally bubbling to the surface.
The island is located one kilometre from Iwo Jima, the site of some of the most intense Pacific theatre engagements of World War II, and roughly 1,200 kilometres (750 miles) south of mainland Japan.
Over 7,000 Americans and 22,000 Japanese soldiers were slain in combat involving US Marines and tens of thousands of Japanese soldiers stationed there.
