A stylized map of Null Island. By Ian Cairns, licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.
Null Island (also occasionally known as Zero Island or Zero Zero Island) is an island in the Gulf of Guinea. Its name derives from its location at exactly 0° latitude, 0° longitude.
Null Island formed approximately 40 million years ago by a volcanic seamount. Due to its isolation, it became host to a number of endemic plants and animals, such as the solitary flycatcher (Ficedula nullensis), which evolved from a highly migratory species into a more sedentary one.
The island was first sighted in 1774 by the ship Terre Naturelle. Discovered during a time of invention of ever-increasingly accurate marine chronometers (devices that measured longitude, a problem that remained unsolved for millennia), the ship noted its coordinates at 0, 0, and thus named it Île Zéro. The English name Null Island comes from the Dutch Nul Eiland, a calque from the French name.
The island became a convenient location for European explorers and slave traders, and eventually a small farm was set up to grow various crops, primarily the native fruit maçã oca (“hollow apple”), named for its cavity in the middle where seeds are stored. These farms became the basis for the settlement of Null Island and the proclamation of the town of Makoka in 1843.
Null Island is now a small but vibrant community with a diverse array of natural and human-made sights. It is often said that you can “look like you’re anywhere” when on Null Island, and thus many photographs are taken there. Due to its location, it became something of a site of pilgrimage for geography enthusiasts. Those who visit are encouraged to leave something representing themselves or their origin at the exact point 0, 0. However, due to differing measurements of Earth’s shape, the exact location of 0, 0 has changed over time. By convention, the point considered most often is the 0, 0 point of World Geodesic System 84, which is also near the center of Null Island itself.
The 1957 cartoon show Colonel Bleep, the first TV cartoon in color, was set on “Zero Zero Island”, a.k.a. Null Island. Despite its origins outside the veil, it has become a popular show and icon of Null Island. All 100 episodes of the show are available in the Null Island Archives, but outside the veil unfortunately many of these episodes are lost.
