Wednesday, February 3, 2010

an island is born

The big question about Yonaguni is, why did a part of the island sink and disappear? Destruction is part of the natural process, and can be tragic when it happens on a grand scale in places where people are making their homes. Haiti, for instance, today. Yonaguni, perhaps, a millennium ago.

On the other hand, the creation of new land is also part of the natural process.

At this very moment, a new island is struggling to be born in Tokyo's territorial waters. Billowing fumes rising from the sea, churning water dyed sulphuric yellow--these signs, visible at the tip of an arc that includes the volcanic island Ohshima and its sister islands, are indications that underwater eruptions are laying the foundation for a brand new island.

These indications were reported on February 3.