Thankful for Geography

I just read a very interesting article about a non-existent island.  Non-existent islands have been a part of geography and history for quite some time.  Plato first wrote about Atlantis over two thousand years ago and people have been searching for it ever since it supposedly fell below the waves (of the Mediterranean or the Atlantic).  I have heard many theories about Atlantis over the years (ranging from sci-fi to alternate history to more realistic) including that some think the legend refers to a massive volcanic explosion in the Mediterranean.  However, the story of today was completely different.  It was akin to old stories of California Island (see image at left) that Europeans told for many years until they actually sailed to California and verified that there was only a peninsula--today's Baja California--and no island.

The BBC reports that "Sandy Island" which has been on maps for over a decade does not actually exist.

Google Maps screenshot, centered on Coral Sea

But when scientists from the University of Sydney went to the area, they found only the blue ocean of the Coral Sea.
The phantom island has featured in publications for at least a decade.
Scientist Maria Seton, who was on the ship, said that the team was expecting land, not 1,400m (4,620ft) of deep ocean.
--from BBC.co.uk, South Pacific Sandy Island 'proven not to exist'

Google Maps screenshot, "Sandy Island" between New Caledonia and Australia

I enjoy geography, maps, and atlases, so I found this story very interesting.  I'm sure it will just be an interesting story for many, but this makes me want to go search and see if the island featured in other maps.  The article explains that if it existed it would be within French territorial waters--but the island isn't on French government maps.  The closing paragraph of the article definitely made me grin.

The BBC's Duncan Kennedy in Sydney says that while most explorers dream of discovering uncharted territory, the Australian team appears to have done the opposite - and cartographers everywhere are now rushing to undiscover Sandy Island for ever.
--from BBC.co.uk, South Pacific Sandy Island 'proven not to exist'

I'm thankful that I have a good enough understanding of geography to know where in the world Sandy is (or isn't) once I read the article.  I'm grateful for the books that my parents purchased for me (including my first atlases) which allowed me to learn about such things.  I cringe every time I read articles about the appalling lack of geographic knowledge amongst modern students.  Also as I think ahead to our first child being born I want to make sure that he (or she) and his (or her) siblings properly appreciate history and geography.

~Matt

UPDATE: PS Sandy Island also appears on Apple Maps (which definitely doesn't use the same database that Google Maps utilizes).  I took this screenshot from Amy's iPad.

PPS [UPDATE 11.20.2012] I just read another fascinating blog on the subject of Sandy Island and discovered that the island appears on an old map also:

A librarian in Auckland, New Zealand located it on a chart of the Pacific Ocean, published in 1908 but first compiled in 1876. The island was sighted in that year by the British vessel Velocity.
--from Strange Maps, No Land Ho: Sandy Island and the Age of Un-Discovery