Davis Land – Phantom Island off Chile, Davis 1687
Davis's Land · Isla de Davis · Edward Davis phantom
Buccaneer phantom (1687–1770)·English buccaneer / French hydrography·🇨🇱 Pacific Ocean, Chilean offshore phantom, Chile
About
About Davis Land – Phantom Island off Chile, Davis 1687
Davis Land, reported by buccaneer Edward Davis 1687 at 27°20′S 500 leagues west of Chile (approx 27.333°S 105.333°W), was a low sandy isle with sea birds thought to be Easter Island before its 1722 discovery. Roggeveen sought Davis Land en route to Easter Island and instead found Rapa Nui 998 km west. No land exists at Davis coordinate – the Nazca Plate abyssal plain is 4000 m deep; the phantom likely was San Ambrosio–San Félix mirage or mis-logged Desventuradas. It lingered on Bowen 1748 and Bellin 1756 charts as 'Davis Land' competing with 'Easter Island' for a century.
Why it mattersKey phantom linking buccaneer narrative to Easter Island discovery; Davis–Roggeveen axis anchors Pacific phantom filtering.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Whether Davis intentionally falsified longitude to hide buccaneer rendezvous
- 02Whether Davis Land was San Félix mirage or pure error
Theories
- 01Desventuradas low cloud on horizon at 26°20′S 80°W duplicated westward by 25° longitude error from no chronometer
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- 1687 (Davis sighting)
- Period
- Buccaneer phantom (1687–1770)
- Culture
- English buccaneer / French hydrography
- Purpose
- None – mirage / longitude error
- Abandoned
- 1770 (Espinoza deletes after Cook)
- Rediscovered
- 1699 Wafer publishes
- Excavation
- Not applicable
1687
Edward Davis reports low sandy isle 500 leagues off Chile
1722
Roggeveen finds Rapa Nui 998 km west of Davis Land phantom
1770
Espinoza removes Davis Land from charts
On the ground
Structures & features
27.3330° S · 105.3330° W · 0 m · 3 mapped features
Davis Land Islet
island50 km sandy phantom isle at 27°20′S 105°W at Davis Land – Phantom Island off Chile, Davis 1687
27.3330° S · 105.3330° WDesventuradas Mirage
harbourSan Félix–San Ambrosio mirage at 26°20′S 80°W – likely real sighting at Davis Land – Phantom Island off Chile, Davis 1687
26.3330° S · 80.1330° WNazca Abyssal Floor
harbour4000 m plain proving no land at Davis Land – Phantom Island off Chile, Davis 1687
27.3330° S · 105.3330° W