Redditor Started Debate After Finding ‘Black Hole’ on Google Maps

  • Some users enjoy exploring Google Maps to find mysterious images.
  • One redditor found a black island in the middle of the ocean.
  • The image led to theories that said it was a military base or a secret portal.

For most people, Google Maps is a useful tool for getting from point A to point B.

But for a small group of curious people, it’s a source of mysteries. 

If you look hard enough, you can find strange images that appear to conceal something beyond reality. Or they may just be signs that Google Maps isn’t working correctly.

Whatever the truth is, the debate it provokes is usually fun and stimulating.

This is precisely what happened when a Reddit user appeared to find a black hole in the middle of the ocean while using Google Maps.

“What the fuck is that,” kokoblocks wrote on the Google Maps subreddit. “This looks nothing like an island.”

Early suggestions said the island could be a secret military base.

“Looks censored for some reason,” KorvisKhan said.

“My first thought was that it’s censored,” Jazzlike_Log_709 replied. “It wouldn’t make sense for a natural formation to be black like that in such a shallow, small atoll/island.” 

Google often blurs out “sensitive” sites such as military bases or prison yards, Live Science reported. It does this in order to avoid disclosing information about their location and structure. 

Many theories around the black spot focused on trying to explain the blackness of the image. 

“Could maybe be an underground Volcano which is what causes the blackness, assuming it isn’t a hole. Most likely igneous rock,” The_Professor64 said.

Some users took the opportunity to poke fun at the post, suggesting that it might be the island from the TV show “Lost.” One user concluded: “Obviously Hollow Earth entrance. Duh,” referring to the Hollow Earth theory, which suggests the Earth is completely hollow.

These people may be disappointed to find out that this mysterious place on Google Maps is Vostok Island. It lies northeast of New Zealand and belongs to the Republic of Kiribati, an island nation in the Central Pacific that includes 33 coral atolls and islands.

The blackness of the image can also be cleared up. 

“What you see as black is actually very dark green, it’s a very dense forest made up of Pisonia trees,” the redditor SatisfactionAny20 wrote.

But if you were hoping for evidence of another dimension or the discovery of a conspiracy, don’t lose heart. 

There are plenty of other strange images to be found on Google Maps, and there’s almost always an intense debate to go with them.