Giant pumice island forms off New Zealand
AN undersea volcanic eruption has created a raft of porous volcanic rock in the Pacific Ocean that’s larger than the surface area of Israel, but navy officers say the phenomenon is not a danger to shipping.
Pumice is a porous grey-coloured form of volcanic rock formed when lava and water are mixed. Most pumice is light enough to float on water.
The area of floating pumice is 250 nautical miles (463km) in length and 30 nautical miles wide (55km), and covers 25,465 square kilometres.
Israel’s surface area is about 20,700 sq km.
