The floating island resembling an eye in the wetland region of the Paraná delta formed under the influence of erosion and currents.
El Ojo is a mysterious uninhabited floating island located in the Paraná delta wetlands of Argentina. Its name means “The Eye,” deriving from its perfect round shape resembling a pupil when viewed from above, according to Live Science.
El Ojo Island is located in the Buenos Aires province of Argentina. (Photo: Wikipedia).
Filmmakers drew significant attention to El Ojo in 2016 while searching for material for a documentary in the river delta. The film crew, led by Argentine director Sergio Neuspiller, flew over the island and were impressed by its shape amidst the delta’s vegetation.
“We discovered the perfect circle when viewed from the sky,” Neuspiller recounted. “The water looks black but is entirely clear, which is nearly impossible to find in river deltas where the water is usually murky, but below the surface is black soil.”
El Ojo floats in a clear round lake as impressive as the island itself. According to El Observador, the island and the lake shore interact, creating a smooth outer edge due to slow erosion. The island has a diameter of 118 meters and is composed of vegetation, buoyed by the circular current around the lake, causing the island to rotate around its axis and erode the lake’s shore. This phenomenon is similar to processes observed on the Presumpscot River near Westbrook, Maine, where a large ice disk has formed several times since 2019 through the circular current below the water’s surface.
El Ojo moves in a clockwise direction. Researchers are unclear how the island separated from the mainland, but it first appeared in satellite images nearly 20 years ago. While studying the area, Neuspiller and his colleagues discovered that local residents were aware of El Ojo, though many feared the island, believing it to be the dwelling place of an ancient deity.
