Zalzala Koh
Submerged island in Pakistan
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Zalzala Koh (Urdu: زلزلہ کوہ, Earthquake Mountain) or Zalzala Jazeera (زلزلہ جزیرہ, Earthquake Island) was a small island off the coast of the port city of Gwadar in Balochistan province of Pakistan which appeared on 24 September 2013 just hours after a powerful earthquake in Balochistan on that day. As predicted by many geologists, the island soon started to submerge, with satellite images indicating the island had sunk 3 m (10 ft) into the sea one month after its initial appearance.[2] By the end of 2016, the island had disappeared.[3]
Satellite imagery shows the island in the bay west of Gwadar. | |
  Location within Pakistan  Location within Balochistan, Pakistan | |
| Geography | |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 25.182778°N 62.271111°E |
| Adjacent to | Arabian Sea |
| Total islands | 1 |
| Highest elevation | 20 m (70 ft)[1] |
| Administration | |
| Balochistan | |
| Demographics | |
| Population | Uninhabited |
| Additional information | |
| First appeared 24 September 2013 | |
Formation
Zalzala Koh may have been a mud volcano,[4] located in the Arabian Sea offshore of Gwadar in Balochistan, Pakistan. It rose out of the water during a 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck the same province on 24 September 2013.
Ali Rashid Tabriz, the head of Pakistan's National Institute of Oceanography, said that the surfacing of the island had been caused by an emission of methane gas on the seabed.
Location
The island was visible from Pakistan's coastline[5] and was about 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) from the shore overlooking the Hingol area. The island had a height of 15 to 20 metres (50 to 65 ft), a length of 175.7 m (576 ft), width of 160.9 m (528 ft), and a surface of 22.726 m2 (244.62 sq ft) (measured from satellite Pleiades). These figures were debated, however.[1][6][7][8]