A group of scientists say they have discovered the world’s northernmost island. This island is off Greenland’s coast. And the best part is, they discovered it by chance!

How did they discover it?

In July this year, some scientists flew to collect samples from an island called Oodaaq Island.

What is Oodaaq Island?

Oodaaq Island or Oodap Qeqertaa is a small island northeast of Greenland. It is considered by some to be the most northerly point of land on Earth. It was discovered in 1978.

When they got there, they sent their location to the Danish official in charge of registering Arctic islands. Greenland is a big Arctic territory that belongs to Denmark. However, on doing this, they found that they were not in Oodaaq. In fact, they were 800m further north.

So, it seems that the small island they unknowingly landed on is even further than Oodaaq. And so, it could be the world’s northernmost island. They say that it is the closest point of land to the North Pole.

The discovery

The scientists were on a helicopter, looking to land on Oodaaq Island. But Oodaaq Island is hard to find. Then, as they were searching, they saw a small island. And so, they landed, thinking it was Oodaaq. But it was not.

The scientists said that from a scientific point of view, finding the world’s northernmost island is not a very important discovery. But they found the incident quite amusing, from a personal view.

 

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