The mysterious island of Palmyra. Palmyra is not as hospitable as it seems

There are many on Earth mysterious places. Although the most famous among the anomalous zones of the Earth is rightfully considered Bermuda Triangle, small pacific island Palmyra (Palmyra Atoll) can give it serious competition.

Palmyra Atoll is a small coral group of islands in the central Pacific Ocean, located approximately 1,200 kilometers south of Hawaiian Islands part of the Line Archipelago. The relief of all the islands of the atoll is low and flat. Short sand dunes on the islands they do not exceed a height of 1-2 meters above sea level. The coast of the islands is replete with both surface and underwater reefs.

The islands of the atoll are covered with fairly dense shrub and grass vegetation, coconut palms and small groves of balsa wood (up to 30 meters high), the wood of which is characterized by extremely low density, very small weight and, at the same time, quite high strength.

The atoll has two internal lagoons - Western and Eastern, which are separated from each other by a spit that rises above the ocean surface only during low tides. The seemingly serene lagoons are teeming with aggressive sharks and carnivorous fish of various sizes. There are many seabirds and green sea turtles that occupy the shores and reefs and sandbars that rise from the water during low tides.

Why is this island called mysterious? A whole chain of tragic events occurred in the history of Palmyra.

In 1798, the American ship Betsy, heading from America to Asia, struck reefs near the island. Most of the people who tried to swim to the island drowned or were eaten by sharks. The survivors said that they would never agree to return to this damned land again. During the two months that they were there, only three out of ten people survived. The survivors claimed that the island had killed everyone else.

A sunken ship near Palmyra Atoll (photo from loveopium.ru)

On November 7, 1802, the frigate of the American fleet USS Palmyra, under the command of Captain Sawle, was shipwrecked after colliding with the atoll reef. The surviving part of the brig's crew, having reached land, named the atoll after their ship.

In 1816, the Spanish caravel Esperanta struck the reefs of Palmyra. Her captain later assured that the storm that spun the ship began suddenly, against the backdrop of an absolutely clear sky and complete calm. And the wind died down exactly at the moment when the caravel received a hole. Fortunately, a Brazilian merchant ship passed by and saved the crew of the Esperanta. The Spanish captain carefully mapped the location of the reefs and the fairway, along which even a large ship could be navigated into the western lagoon of the atoll. But a year later, when he sailed in the same places, there was no longer a single underwater obstacle at the old coordinates. It is not surprising that the sailors soon nicknamed Palmyra damn place and tried to avoid it.

In 1870, the American brig Angel did not return from an expedition to the island. After some time, the remains of a shipwreck and the corpses of crew members were discovered on the shores of Palmyra. All of them reportedly died violent deaths, but who killed them is unknown. Sailors still claim that this island is a cursed place.

In 1940, the island was taken under US control. During World War II, the American government used it to attack Japan. Joe Brow, a soldier of the garrison located on the island, said that when he arrived there, he considered himself lucky, since the place looked like a real paradise. But soon his opinion changed dramatically. “Everyone on the island was scared,” Brau recalls. - “Some were afraid to approach the water, because it seemed to them that they would certainly be swallowed by sharks. Others claimed, hysterically, they demanded to leave the island, assuring that otherwise something terrible would happen. Several people committed suicide, and unmotivated outbursts of aggression were observed among the soldiers, which led to quarrels, fights and even murders.

An American plane from World War II in the bushes of Cooper Island (photo from airfields-freeman.com)

Hal Horton, a former naval officer who was stationed on Palmyra from 1942 to 1944, said the following: “One day one of our patrol planes crashed near the island. We searched long and hard for it, but didn’t even find a bolt or piece of metal. It was strange and amazing. On another occasion, the plane left the runway, climbed about 60 meters and turned in the wrong direction. The plane was supposed to fly north, but instead it flew south. The day was clear. We couldn't understand anything. There were two people on board whom we never saw again. We had very bad luck on this island. Experienced sailors called him damned. One day we heard the sound of a plane above us that was looking for us, but it crashed into the water before it found the take-off point. runway. We didn't get to the guy in time. The sharks discovered him first.”

After the war, the mysterious island again became uninhabited, but continued to attract sailors.

In 1974, two people were killed while sailing on a yacht in Palmyra. According to testimony at the ensuing trial, Malcolm Graham and Eleanor Graham of San Diego were killed, possibly because of their expensive sailing ship, the Sea Wind, and its food supplies by ex-convicts who had settled on the island. The motives for this wild crime and who committed it remained unknown.

In 1980, the remains of Eleanor Graham were discovered by another yachting couple, Sharon and Robert Jordan. Walking along the beach, Sharon found a skull and bones that had apparently fallen from a World War II-era metal box that had washed ashore. It's amazing that Sharon ended up in this place and in given time, since the next low tide would carry the bones back to the sea forever. It is believed that Eleanor Graham was either shot or bludgeoned, burned with an acetylene torch, dismembered and her remains placed in a small metal container taken from an old military rescue boat on the island, which was then sunk in the lagoon. Malcolm Graham's body was never found.

In early 1990, Norman Sanders and his team visited the mysterious island. He later recalled: “I did not believe the rumors about what was happening on the island. However, I had to convince myself from my own experience that Palmyra is one of the most mysterious places on earth. We approached the island at night. Although I was not on deck, I immediately felt that we were close. A strange melancholy and loneliness overwhelmed me. It was a magnificent day - blue ocean, blue sky and gentle sun. However, according to some members of the team, the mood was such that they wanted to throw themselves overboard.”

People stayed on the island for about a month, although at first they expected to spend much more time there. According to Sanders, during their stay on the island, people turned from friends into bitter enemies. Devices on mysterious island often refused, or did not work at all. Returning from the voyage, all crew members discovered that they were behind the times. In reality, they returned on April 24, although according to their calculations it was the 25th. The expedition members' watches were running absolutely normally and did not stop. Where the whole day went remains a mystery.

Palmyra Atoll. Photo by Ethan Roth

Currently, all the islands of Palmyra Atoll are uninhabited. On Cooper Island alone, between 5 and 25 people are permanently stationed among employees of various US government agencies, researchers, representatives of the Nature Conservation Organization and the military. They typically live for a short period on a rotational basis in an erected semi-temporary barracks that is located near a World War II airstrip. The entire infrastructure of Cooper Island, built during the war - the runway, roads, temporary piers in the Western Lagoon, nuclear testing monitoring posts - are now abandoned and completely unusable.

The island-atoll of Palmyra (Pacific Ocean) is a chain consisting of flat limestone islands arranged in the form of an open ring. Their height does not exceed 2 meters. There are coral reefs around the island chain.

Where is the island of Palmyra? The atoll is located in the northern part of the equatorial Pacific Ocean. Coordinates of the island of Palmyra: 5°52´00´´ north latitude and 162°06´00´´ west longitude. Geographically, Palmyra is located almost in the center of the Pacific Ocean.

The role of the islands in history

The first person to observe these islands was American ship captain Edmund Fanning in 1798. The ship was heading to Asia and almost crashed when meeting an atoll. It was only thanks to the captain’s painful premonition that the ship changed its course in time.

The first visitors to these islands were passengers from the ship Palmyra, which was wrecked near these islands in 1802. Only part of the team survived, managing to get to land. It was they who gave this name to the islands.

On April 15, 1862, Palmyra became part of the Kingdom of Hawaii. The islands were governed by Captains Wilkinson and Bent. Until 1898, the atoll was in the possession of different states, but in 1898 the United States forcibly appropriated the Hawaiian Islands, and with them the Palmyra Atoll passed to them.

Later, in 1900, Palmyra again came under the control of the Hawaiian government. During this period, Great Britain began to lay claim to their ownership. However, in 1911, the US Congress re-adopted an act appropriating the Palmyra islands.

The opening of the Pnam Canal served as an impetus for the aggravation of territorial disputes. The UK built a station there to service a submarine cable passing through the Pacific Ocean, which became an incentive for the desire to appropriate the islands for itself. However, after a warship was sent to the shores of Palmyra in 1912, this territory was finally assigned to the Americans.

In the same year, the islands were bought by Henry Ernest Cooper, who became their full owner. In July 1913, scientists visited these islands with him and conducted descriptive studies.

In 1922, Cooper sold most of the islands to two American businessmen, who opened a coconut copra business there. The sons of these businessmen, who included actor Leslie Vincent, remained owners of the bulk of the islands for a long time.

Until 2000, the islands were actively used by the US military for various purposes. The military deployment on Palmyra was permanent. Since 2000, the islands have been used for scientific and environmental purposes. In particular, they are positioned as a natural laboratory for studying the various consequences of global warming and the problem of invasions.

Features of the islands

Palmyra Island Pacific Ocean consists of 50 small islands with a total length coastline- 14.5 km. There are two lagoons inside the island semi-circle. The area of ​​the island of Palmyra (more precisely, the atoll) is 12 square kilometers, and the land area is 3.9 km 2. The islands are surrounded by a coral reef. The atoll itself has the shape of a rectangle with a width (north-south) of about 2 km and a length (west-east) of about 6 km. The island zone occupies only part of the reef area, the rest is covered by shallow water with shallow depths. The depth increases in the lagoons located inside the island semiring.

Most large islands have their own names. The easternmost is Barren Island. Near it there are small islands without names. In the central part of the island group is the relatively large (second largest on Palmyra) Kaula Island. The western group of islands includes an island called Main and Peschany Island, divided into 2 parts. In the northern part (the so-called Northern Arch) there are islands such as Cooper (the largest on Palmyra), Strine, Aviation Islands, Whipourville and Cuile, as well as smaller islands.

The eastern group includes the islands: Vostochny, Pelican, Papala. South part The archipelago is formed by such islands as Tanager, Engineer, Morskoy, Bird, and Paradise.

In comparative proximity to the atoll (1200 km to the north) are located. Although the Palmyra group of islands is uninhabited, it officially belongs to the US possessions. It is subordinate to the Department of Fish and Game of this country. Palmyra Atoll is still the subject of territorial disputes: it considers this and other atolls of the Pacific Ocean to be its territory.

Palmyra Island. Description

The origin of the atoll is associated with the rise to the surface of an ancient volcano, which was active in the area 3-4 million years ago during the Miocene era. As a result, a shallow area was formed, which was populated by coral polyps. Gradually, from the products of their vital activity, elevations arose on which woody plants settled.

All islands have flat or low-lying terrain, making them sensitive to sea level fluctuations. They are natural sand mounds compressed by time. Underwater and surface coral reefs are common on the coast. The atoll's relief is thick, dense and monolithic.

The hydrography of the islands is practically absent. Its small size and sandy soil preclude the appearance of any significant watercourses. Therefore, without a supply of fresh water, you can only rely on rainwater.

Climatic features

Its location in the center of the Pacific Ocean and relatively close to the equator determines the even and humid oceanic climate characteristic of equatorial latitudes. The average annual temperature is +30°, and the annual precipitation is 4445 mm. Rains have the character of both short-term and long-lasting downpours. Precipitation and temperature vary little throughout the year.

Island vegetation and fauna

The islands are covered with thick grass and shrub vegetation. Coconut palms and one of the subspecies of the basal tree, up to 30 m high, also grow. Seabirds play the largest role in the animal world. Green sea turtles are also common along the shores and sand spits. All the islands are home to domestic pigs, cats, mice and rats, once brought by visiting people.

Remains of infrastructure

In general, the islands are considered virtually uninhabited. On Cooper Island alone, there are between 5 and 25 full-time employees of US member organizations. Also on Cooper Island there are remains of military infrastructure. There is also one relic - a crumpled helicopter from the Second World War in the rhododendron thickets.

It is almost impossible to visit the islands for relaxation by the sea and diving. Individual small groups extreme tourists Occasionally they still visit the archipelago.

Palmyra is not as hospitable as it seems

At first glance, the islands are the embodiment of an earthly paradise (in its tropical version), but those who have been there have a completely different opinion on this matter. Surrounded by the vast expanses of the Pacific Ocean, the small archipelago is a very inhospitable place. The weather on the islands can suddenly change, breaking out into tropical downpours and thunderstorms. In the salty sea ​​water Many sharks live there, and the fish swimming there are often unsuitable for food due to the toxic substances with which coastal algae are saturated. On the island itself there are many mosquitoes and poisonous lizards.

Many visitors complained of an inexplicable feeling of fear. Various stories tell that mysterious murders, suicides, fights between members of previously friendly groups and a persistent desire to leave the island as soon as possible took place on the islands. Perhaps this is one of the reasons why Palmyra still remains an uninhabited place.

Palmyra - the island of disasters

The atoll has repeatedly become the site of shipwrecks. Now their remains rest on the bottom near the islands. The atoll is also known for strange plane crashes. In one of these cases, a plane that crashed near the island went missing. Despite a thorough search, the car was never found.

Another case is also very unusual: rising in good weather from runway the plane, instead of flying on course, turned in the air in the opposite direction and then flew in that direction until it disappeared over the horizon. The pilots and the plane were also unable to be found.

Another plane crash occurred when the pilot failed to locate the landing strip and ended up crashing into the water. The sharks quickly tore him apart, making it impossible to save him.

Abnormally high non-combat losses forced the military to cease their activities on the atoll.

Conclusion

Thus, Palmyra is an island of mysteries, mysterious cases and disasters. Island of changeable weather, coconut trees, shallow coral sea and bright whitish sand. An island without rivers or streams, yet it is one of the wettest places in the world. The bright and visually beautiful island of Palmyra, the photos of which beckon and fascinate, is actually very inhospitable. Thus, we can conclude that people are not welcome on the island, and its best use is to be nature reserve and a natural testing ground for various scientific research.

This island, or rather an atoll, is located about a thousand miles south of the Hawaiian Islands. It was opened in 1798. Currently, this atoll is no less mysterious than the Bermuda Triangle. According to legends, he has magical energy... There are many mysterious places on our planet. And one of these places is the island of Palmyra. Seems to be a wonderful climate, magnificent whites sandy beaches; lush, beautiful, simply heavenly vegetation. Fabulously wonderful lagoons and reefs. Only those who land on it quickly cease to be pleased with the surrounding beauty. They are immediately overcome by an inexplicable feeling of anxiety and a feeling of impending inevitable disaster. In 1798 American ship "Betsy" landed on the reefs near a small beautiful desert island. Of all those on the ship, only ten managed to swim to the island. The coastal waters were literally infested with sharks. By the time the ship approached the island, only three remained alive. Those who survived claimed that the rest were destroyed by the island. And they swore that they would never, ever return to this land cursed by God. The island was put on the map and named Palmyra. In honor of one of the ships that crashed off its shores. In 1870 The American ship Angel disappeared off the coast of Palmyra. Later, the corpses of the team members were found on the island. They all died violent deaths. Only who killed them remains unknown. Scientist Mershan Marin is convinced that the presence of an incomprehensible, evil creature is felt on the island. In his opinion, Palmyra is fraught with many oddities and ominous mysteries, despite all its external beauty and attractiveness. The weather on the island can change instantly, the lagoons are infested with sharks, the fish that live in the ocean waters are not suitable for food due to the large amount of toxic substances in them, which are released by algae growing near Palmyra. The island has a large number of mosquitoes, poisonous lizards and other aggressive creatures. During World War II, an American garrison was located on Palmyra. Joe Brow, one of the soldiers of this garrison, said that when they were brought to the island, he thought that he was in heaven. Nature was so amazing with its splendor. But then the soldiers of the garrison had an unreasonable fear. Some were afraid to approach the water for fear of sharks, others insisted that if they did not leave the island immediately, something terrible would happen to them. Fear gripped everyone. People were delirious and screaming at night. Several suicides occurred. Everyone became angry and irritable to the extreme. Fights began to break out between the soldiers. They rushed at each other with weapons. It came down to murder. Often best friends became sworn enemies. Somehow, very close to the location of the garrison, a downed enemy plane fell. Everyone rushed to search for him, but neither the pilot nor the plane could be found. They mysteriously disappeared. The small island was crawled up and down. To no avail. After the garrison was removed from the island at the end of the war, Palmyra again became uninhabited. In 1974 Trem Hughes and his wife Melanie approached Palmyra on their yacht and went ashore. For the first three days, the couple regularly reported to dispatchers by radio that everything was fine with them. When the signals from the ship stopped, rescuers arrived. And they were found neatly dismembered and buried in different places spouses' bodies. Nothing was missing from their belongings. Traveler Norman Sanders decided to reveal the mystery ominous island. At the beginning of 1990 he and three friends approached Palmyra. At night. And, according to Norman, he was immediately gripped by fear and a premonition of trouble. Three days after the landing, clashes began to occur between the arrivals. One of them tried to commit suicide. On top of that, for some unknown reason, computers and on-board instruments often began to malfunction and fail. The researchers expected to spend at least two months on the island. But a week later, unable to withstand the nervous situation and oppressive fear, Sanders gave the command to return. They returned home on April 24, onboard time. But in reality it was already April 25th. Moreover, none of the team members’ watches stopped even once during the expedition. Where the day disappeared remains an unexplained mystery.
There are many guesses and hypotheses about the hostility of the island. Some believe that some mysterious sect secretly lives on it. Others claim that the island is like a living organism with a strong and hostile aura, and, luring travelers with its beauty, it then destroys them. There have even been absolutely fantastic suggestions that there is an entrance to another dimension on it. Whether this is true or not, there are few people who want to visit Palmyra. Almost no one is there. Especially after the Americans since 1986. began to use the island as a cemetery for the disposal of radioactive waste.

Palmyra Island... A paradise on Earth, or a killer monster?

At first glance this is most beautiful place, practically an earthly paradise. Everything is here: beautiful landscapes,wonderful climate, magnificent nature, wonderful beaches, azure sea... But everything is so simple. What secrets does this island hide from us?

History of the island of Palmyra.

The history of this island atoll began when a tragic incident in 1798 helped to discover this atoll one and a half thousand kilometers south of the Hawaiian Islands, in the very center of the Pacific Ocean. The American ship Betsy hit the reefs here. The sharks devoured almost everyone on the ship. Only ten people made it to shore. Only three survived. And they talked about mysterious death the rest.


The island was named Palmyra, put on maps and forgotten about this story. And four years later, another American ship called Palmyra sank here. Then there were the Spaniards. They mapped it underwater reefs so that there will be no more crashes here. But after putting the reefs on the map, they could no longer be found.


During the Second World War, an American garrison was stationed on Palmyra Island. The soldiers said that after a few days on the island, people began to develop an uncontrollable fear of an unknown danger. It came down to suicides and fatal fights. The survivors were happy to leave this “paradise” island in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.

Subsequently, there were many who wanted to unravel the mystery of the island of Palmyra, but few survived. And those who remained talked about the same mysterious disappearances and violent (seemingly) deaths.


Palmyra is considered US territory. They even have coins with the image of the island (like our anniversary coins).

Today, those wishing to visit this beautiful island almost none. And visiting the island of Palmyra since 2011. permitted only with permission from the US Department of Conservation.

They say that the United States has begun transporting radioactive waste here. Many scary, sometimes fabulous, mystical stories continue to appear. But the mystery of the island still remains unsolved.

In the Pacific Ocean, about 1 thousand miles south of the Hawaiian Islands, there is an island Palmyra Atoll. To a person seeing it for the first time, the place may seem like an earthly paradise. The atoll is amazingly attractive: snow-white sandy beaches, dense vegetation, picturesque lagoons amaze with their beauty. But, behind all the splendor, lies an inconspicuous road into a world of horror and pain.

Beast of the Island

Taking a closer look at this abnormal place, you can find that the waters near the island are inhabited by a large number of sharks, and the fish are saturated with poison secreted by local algae. Animal world The islands are also not spoiled. Poisonous lizards are present in abundance here, and there are many annoying insects such as mosquitoes. Good weather on an atoll it can go bad in the blink of an eye.

Since its discovery, the island has gained a bad reputation. People landing on the beaches of Palmyra are exposed to an unknown force. Not many lucky ones manage to get out of the dead place alive. The island even got its name from a ship that crashed off its shores.

The history of the place knows many examples. In 1798, at that time the atoll was not yet marked on the maps, a ship was wrecked in the waters near the island. The ship "Betsy", en route from America to Asia, hit a reef, developed a leak and began to rapidly sink. Of the entire large team, only ten people reached the saving land. The rest were either eaten by sharks or simply drowned.

The lucky ones who escaped the water element were given other tests. Only three of them managed to escape on board another ship that passed near the atoll a month later. From their words, it turned out that the rest of the surviving team was destroyed by a monster living on the island.

Cursed Island

In 1802, the atoll was mapped. It received its name from the name of a ship that was wrecked in the same year in the waters of the island. The place continued to claim the lives of sailors in the future.

In 1870, the ship “Angel” disappeared while passing the island. Later, the bodies of the team members were found on the coast. All the dead showed signs of violent death, but the killer could not be found.

During World War II, the island came under the US sphere of influence. The American military set up its base on the atoll. One of the soldiers who served there later shared his memories. According to him, the people at the facility were in a constant state of unreasonable fear. Some were frightened by the presence of a large number of sharks in the waters, others panicked and tried to desert the island, citing the inevitability of disastrous events.

Some of the servicemen interrupted their torment by committing suicide. Many experienced uncontrollable attacks of aggression. Quarrels broke out in the garrison every now and then, ending in fights and sometimes in murders.

Navy officer Hal Horton, who served on the atoll from 1942 to 1944, shared his memories of the war:

“One day, a plane on patrol crashed into the water near the island. Although every effort was made to search for it, not a single piece of debris was found, which was suspicious.

Another plane, having risen from the runway to a height of 60 meters in clear weather, chose the wrong direction of flight. According to the flight plan, he was supposed to head north. Instead, he turned in the opposite direction and disappeared over the horizon. Two experienced pilots disappeared along with the car.

Devilish things were happening on the island. Experienced sailors called the place nothing less than cursed. We were constantly unlucky. There was a case when a plane, after circling over the island for a long time, was unable to detect the landing strip and eventually crashed into the water. The sharks found the pilot faster than the rescue team."

The island with intelligence

At the end of the war, the military stopped trying to populate the atoll; non-combat losses exceeded all acceptable limits. After the garrison left, not a single living person remained on the island. But, anomalous zone persistently continued to remind herself.

In 1974, a double bloody murder of yachtsmen took place on Palmyra. The trial in the case determined that San Diego residents Malcolm and Eleanor Graham were killed by a previously convicted criminal living on the island. The motive for the crime was the expensive yacht “Sea Wind” with supplies of provisions.

The remains of Eleanor Graham, who died on the island, were discovered in 1980 by another yachtsman couple, Sharon and Robert Jordan. While walking along the shore, Sharon discovered a metal container from the war, washed up by a wave. Human bones lay nearby. It was an amazing coincidence that the woman managed to make the discovery. At the next high tide, not a trace would remain of the evidence.

As a result of the investigation, it was established that the victim was initially shot. Afterwards, the body was burned with a torch, dismembered, put in a metal box and drowned in the lagoon. Mack Graham's body was never found.

John Biden appeared as a witness at the trial. Owner of a coconut plantation in Palmyra. He spent more than 14 months on the island. It seemed that this man was difficult to scare, but his evidence refuted this assumption. He was sure that trouble awaited all people who set foot on the island.

The second witness in the case was Tom Wolfe. Shortly before the tragedy occurred, he also visited Palmyra. The mystical powers of the island continued to influence this man even after many years.

A month before the end of the trial, at the moment of the greatest tension of events, he was in his home located on the coast of Puget Sound in Washington.

After the storm, Tom went for a walk along the shore. While examining objects thrown out of the ocean by the elements, twelve meters from his home, he discovered a sealed metal bottle. There was a map inside. Wolfe couldn't believe his eyes and was very shocked and scared. The map depicted the ill-fated island of Palmyra. One can only guess what forces delivered this message to him.

Sharing his impressions, he noted that the find plunged him into superstitious fear. The island's tentacles were able to reach him at a distance of more than three thousand miles.

According to marine biologist Marchand Morin, the island may be a living organism with powerful negative energy. It is this dark aura that attracts and destroys people. According to other versions, adherents of a dark cult settled on the island, and there is also a portal to another dimension.

The latest reports about Palmyra date back to 2011. On the island in large quantities rats have multiplied. The rodent invasion was stopped using poisons. But the ecosystem was also partially damaged. The place is currently closed to tourists. To visit, you must obtain a special permit from a US environmental organization.