15 Strangest Islands in the World

there are thought to be as many as 670,000 Islands on the planet with each one having its own unique shape environment and history not all of them are what you'd expect though and there's a handful that stand out for how unusual they are join me for today's video as we look through the top 15 strangest Islands on Earth number 15 sortra Island Yemen around 240 Mi to the south of the Arabian Peninsula is a little known archipelago that's one of the most biodiverse regions in the world the largest island called sakra is 82 m in

length and 31 Mi across and it's part of the Republic of Yemen because of its unique geography it was cut off from the surrounding land masses many millions of years ago and this is allow its animal and plant life to evolve completely independently it's on cotra for example that you'll find the famous dragon's blood tree as well as looking like an umbrella it's known for producing a dark red sap it along with 300 other plant species on the island are classified as endemic which means they aren't naturally found anywhere else and the same can be

said for a large number of birds reptiles such as skinks and chameleons crabs and spiders like the blue baboon tarantula it is such a special place that the island was recognized as a UNESCO world heritage site in 2008 and the hope is that human development will be limited there in an attempt to protect its uniqueness for generations to come number 14 bouet Island Norway lying approximately 1100 m to the north of Queen modland in Antarctica 1600 m to the South Southwest of Africa and 1200 Mi to the east of the South Sandwich Islands Lou island

is often said to be the most remote island on the planet despite being deep within the South Atlantic Ocean the volcanic island was claimed by Norway in 1927 and because no other closer Nation had any interest in it it was declared a dependency in 1930 covering an area of about 19 square miles it's a place that's coated by Ice virtually all year round so as a result the only non-animal life that thrives there are several species of fungi it is however home to large colonies of seals and a number of bird species and this led

to it being designated a protected Nature Reserve in 1971 93% of the island is covered in glaciers and they're so thick that they give the island a dome-shaped appearance with no permanent population visits to the island are strictly limited and even if you did get a Perman you'd have to overcome the harsh climate steep coast and high seas to attempt a landing number 13 Vulcan point the Philippines volcanoes are some of the most powerful natural events that happen on our planet and their ability to create and Destroy Landscapes can result in the development of some

rather unusual geographical features an island known as Vulcan point is one of the best examples of this and thousands of years of volcanic aile volcano is the second most most active volcano in the Philippines and can be found on Luzon Island B that's filled with melt water to form the world's largest crater lake number 12 F Sagal located in the Atlantic Ocean just off the coast of Sagal is fth Island and it's one of the strangest Islands you could ever visit as soon as you begin walking on the ground you'll hear a disconcerting crunching beneath

your feet and this is the first sign that something unusual is going on here that's because rather than being made up of sand or volcanic rock this entire island has been formed by the accumulation of layer upon layer of millions of shells that have been discarded over Generations by clam fishermen streets paved with shells and buildings that have been constructed from shells and concrete fed has a population of around 46,000 people there's also a second Shell Island that's connected to it that serves as the community Cemetery those that live in the village keep to their

traditional roots with the whole economy relying on the fishing industry but because of how unusual the place is it's also now become a tourist destination with people traveling from around the world to see it for themselves number 11 Sable Island Nova Scotia situated in the North Atlantic Ocean around 190 Mi to the south east of Halifax in Nova Scotia is Sable Island a small crescent-shaped Sandbar that covers an area of just 12 square miles as it is one of the natural routes to sail into Canada from the Atlantic it was one of the first land

masses to be encountered by European explorers in the 16th century and it's also home to an estimated 350 shipwrecks from over the centuries that fell victim to the hidden sandb bars thick fog and Powerful currents this became such a problem since the early 1800s that rescue stations were built on the island to support any vessels that encountered difficulties and the Island's been permanently inhabited ever since even to this day when there's always at least three government employees present there to assist with research projects and tourism the island is now classified as a national park to

protect it and the surrounding Waters from Mining and what's unusual about it is that it's home to around 500 feral horses the animals were first intentionally released in the late 1700s but soon learned to fend for themselves and as they're now seen as genetically unique their status on the island has been legally protected number 10 clipperton Island Pacific Ocean the Simply Stunning clipperton island is a French administered Coral atal that's in the Pacific Ocean lying around 580 mi from the western coast of Mexico and 2900 mi from the island of Tahiti it's an astonishing 6600

miles from Paris where it's ruled from there has of course been disputes between France and Mexico about who should control the ATL and the agreement was reached through arbitration in 1931 that's a case study about international law that's still often studied to this day there aren't actually any permanent residents on the island and its name comes from from an English pirate who's believed to have used it as his base of operations while attacking the Spanish Fleet it was inhabited for a time but was officially evacuated in 1917 but there have been occasional residents since then

mainly survivors of shipwrecks who have managed to make their way there to escape the ocean it's also become somewhat of a curiosity for amateur radio groups because of its remoteness and occasionally sees Expeditions Landing there to see how many people can make contact from the Glorious Sandy Shores number nine big major key Bahamas when you think of the Bahamas you probably imagine wonderful sandy beaches perfectly Blue Water and a range of wildlife but there's one Island where things are a little different big major key is a part of the Exuma District of the country currently

has no human inhabitants what it does have though is a population of around 60 feral pigs and the sight of them walking through the sand and swimming in the ocean has made Pig Beach an increasingly popular destination quite how this situation arose isn't entirely clear but it's generally believed that the pigs were originally left on the island by a group of sailors who planed to return later to eat them for some reason they never went back and the pigs were able to breed and survive on scraps of food that washed ashore and the three natural

springs on the island it's also possible that they were the only survivors of a nearby shipwreck or they were part of a scheme to attract tourists to this little visited part of the Bahamas whatever the case the result has been a widely photographed and videoed place and what surely is one of the most unusual Tropical Islands you'll ever have the chance to see number eight goola island Italy the islands around Italy are some of the most glorious you'll find in the Mediterranean but there's one that's not so much known for its beauty and is more

known for a supposed curse that affects anyone who visits it's called goola Island and it's in the Gulf of Naples which is just offshore from the city of Naples it's situated at the center of a protected Marine reserve has been used by humans for hundreds of years by the 1600s this Rocky outcrop was covered with Roman factories and was later transformed to house the main defense structures in the Bay of naaps but in the early 1800s it became home to a Hermit called The Wizard who was able to survive there because of the generous donations

by local Fishers The Villa that stands there today was built in the late 19th century and it's there that the mysterious events began through the 20th century there have been a number of tales of mysterious deaths of the owners who visited them so so much so that after the last private owner was jailed in the early 2000s the Island's been owned by the local government with strict rules about who is allowed to enter and Venture there number seven Isla Urus Peru the uru are an indigenous people from Peru and Bolivia who have become famed around

the world because of their novel approach to where they live they originated at a time when the region was Rife with Wars between different vested interests and they decided that their main city needed to be somewhere that they could easily defend and even relocate if needed this led to the idea of building on Lake titty Kaka and developed an ingenious method of building boats from dried Reeds and then combining these to form an island today there are around 120 of these islands on the lake which range in size from some that are large enough to

house up to 10 families to smaller ones for one or two families the Udu relied upon fishing to provide their food and support their society and while this is still an important part of everyday life their economy is now much more reliant on tourism with visitors fascinated by the idea of living on man-made Islands if anything we could probably all do quite well by taking inspiration from the is uros on how it's possible to adapt nature to our needs without severely damaging it at the same time number six okunoshima island Japan Japan is made up

of almost 7,000 islands and there are hundreds that could probably lay claim to being extremely strange and unusual one that's definitely up there though is okunoshima Island which is part of the city of takahara and lies in the Inland Sea of Japan it has quite a storied history and was originally covered with Farmland until the Russo Japanese war in the early 20th century when 10 forts were built there as defensive measures this began at military Association and after hearing about research being carried out around the world it became home to Japan's first chemical weapons Research

Center in 1927 at the time it was Kept Secret because of the risk it breached international law and it was there that Japanese forces produced an estimated 6 kilotons of mustard gas and tear gas a lot of which would be used in China during the second world war the factory was closed following the war with all remaining stockpiles destroyed and parts now have been converted into a museum with the rest becoming derel that's not the strangest thing about the island though because in an attempt to turn it back into Parkland after the war a number

of rabbits were released they've now bred to such unbelievable numbers that you can hardly go anywhere on the island without seeing one and if they ever get a hint that you have food on you you'll soon be surrounded by hundreds if not thousands of them number five Palm Islands Dubai thanks to its Rich oil resources Dubai has embarked upon an unprecedented level of development in the past few decades and arguably one of the most ambitious projects of them all were the Palm Islands announced in the early 2000s there are a series of three entirely man-made

islands that are off the coast of the city and work completed by 2007 the first to be built was Palm jumra which resembles a palm tree within a circle and it's home to a number of private residences and at least 28 luxury hotels pal jabali is a larger version of palm jamyra that's yet to be fully completed because of financial difficulties from the 20078 financial crisis and the same happened with the third Palm Island known as the draa islands despite the financial difficulties though the construction of the island involved moving hundreds of tons of limestone

and vast quantities of sand and rock which has changed the coastline forever initial concerns of the environmental impact have unfortunately been proven correct as they've had a noticeable effect on Wildlife behavior and Coastal erosion with Aquatic Life being particularly harmed while the idea of artificial islands is increasing in popularity thanks to improved technology and construction methods the Palm islands are generally seen as a warning of the damage that can be caused if they aren't planned and built with the environment in mind number four Deer Island New York the St Lawrence River which runs from Lake

Ontario along the border between the United States and Canada is home to a huge archipelago that's made up of 1,800 Islands known as the Thousand Islands there's one that's particularly mysterious and strange called Deer Island it's in the town of Alexandria and it's near Alexandria Bay New York and is mostly covered in pine trees Black Oak and sugar maple it has though been inhabited for centuries so there's a number of ruins scattered throughout but the most intriguing structure is the house that can be seen on the shoreline but this is no ordinary residence that's because

the entire 40 Acre Site is owned by the Skull and Bones which is a senior secret student Society from Yale University it's operated as a retreat with sports facilities and a fishing lake and is a private meeting place for members of the society the Skull and Bones is also known as the order has been linked with a number of conspiracy theories such as involvement with with the Illuminati and being so historic that they exert control over all the major institutions in the United States and if any of this is to be believed then it's likely

that the privacy of deer island provides the opportune place for these decisions and Shady deals to be made only members of the society know the truth and whether Deer Island is truly this secret place where rare food is served and world changing deals are struck or this is all simply rumor and has no basis in fact number three island of the dolls Mexico the island of the Dolls is probably the creepiest island in the world thanks to a dark history that's led to a number of unusual trinkets being displayed in the trees and buildings it's

to the south of Mexico City in the waterways of shimo and was owned by Don Julian Santana in the 1950s according to the legend a young woman was visiting the island and while swimming in the canal she became entangled in the lies and drowned her body was found on the banks of the island and Tana began experiencing Supernatural events he kept hearing a voice calling out for her dolls so we began to collect dolls from garbage patches that floated past in the water and hung them on the branches of the trees around where she was

discovered over the next 50 years he continued to do this driven by fear that he was being haunted by her spirit and resulted in hundreds of body parts and shrines being displayed across the island he died in 2001 supposedly at the same site where the girl had died 50 years earlier and since then the place place has become a popular tourist destination people visit with their own tributes for the island and it continues to grow each year visitors describe an eerie silence around certain parts feel chills and even hear voices which adds to the creepiness

of the place and it's solidified it as being one of the most unusual looking islands on Earth number two Snake Island Brazil 21 Mi off the coast of Brazil is ilad Kamar Grande which from a distance may seem like any other Island but this is what one of the most dangerous places in the world for humans to set foot on and it's more commonly known by the name Snake Island that's because on the 110 acre land mass there's thought to be as many as 4,000 golden Lance head vipers and it's the only place in the

world where they roam free this species is particularly deadly their venom is hemotoxic which means that it dissolves flesh and tissue to make it easier for the snake to swallow and can lead to swelling and nausea vomiting brain hemorrhaging and death for any human fortunate enough to be bitten golden Lance heads have evolved separately to the Lance head species of the Mainland which account for 90% of all snake bites in Brazil but the ones on Snake Island have venom that's up to five times as potent meaning death is far more likely the snakes survive here

because of the large bird populations which provide them with ample food but their overall small numbers means their classified as being critically endangered particularly as there's a risk of inbreeding unsurprisingly traveling to snake island is is strictly controlled with only researchers and navy officials able to gain access this hasn't always been the case though there was a small human population on the island until the 1920s who were there to maintain the lighthouse which worn ships away lenion has it that the lighthouse was finally automated after the keeper and his family were killed by the snakes

after they slid in through the windows number one Palmyra ATL lying virtually in the center of the Pacific Ocean the Palmyra ATL is around 3,300 100 miles to the southwest of mainland United States and the same distance to the northeast of New Zealand with a land mass of around 4.6 square miles it's a territory of the United States but has no residence it's overseen by the US fish and wildlife service it's part of the Pacific remote Islands Marine National Monument which is the largest protected Marine area in the world and it's hardly been affected by

human development it is a pristine Island Paradise it's surrounded by a rich coral reef with more than 150 different species and has one of the largest shelf reefs to have ever been discovered although it's rare that youd be able to see this because of its remoteness and the restrictions on who can travel there surprisingly because of its position so far away from anywhere else the Palmyra ATL has been involved in a number of events and controversies since it was first spotted by an American ceiling ship in 1798 it's believed for example to be the possible

hiding place of the legendary esparanza treasure which was a Spanish ship that was looted by Pirates and sank after a storm the Pirates are said to have encountered difficulties too though and were forced to leave the treasure there but were unable to retrieve it this story has led to a number of people traveling there to try to uncover the secret for themselves and most famously was linked with a mysterious double murder that took place there in 1974 a couple had visited the atle on their yacht the sea wind supposedly in search of the Lost Treasure

but when another couple returned on the yacht it soon transpired that the original owners had died on the beach quite what happened to them is still not known despite someone being convicted of the crime but it suggests that there's still far more to learn about the Palmyra ATL and plenty of secrets to uncover watch our binge watching playlist if you'd like to watch all of our most popular top 15 videos grab a drink grab a snack and get ready to binge