Take a Tour of Earth's NEW Island off the Coast of Pakistan

Satellite images of the mysterious island that rose up from the sea last week reveal that it is round, with cracks and remarkably flat, similar to a 'mud pie'.

The island, named Zalzala Koh, emerged after a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck 145 miles southeast of Dalbandin in Pakistan's quake-prone province of Baluchistan.



It has become an attraction for tourists and locals who have visited the area despite toxic, flammable gas being emitted from its cracks.

The surface is covered in sea creatures such as dead fish and is a mixture of mud, sand and rock.

The latest images were taken by Nasa's Earth Observing-1 and Landsat 8 satellites just days after the island emerged.

The lighter shades of green and tan in the water reveal shallow seafloor or suspended sediment.

The water depth around the new island is roughly 15 to 20 meters, according to marine geologist Asif Inam of Pakistan's National Institute of Oceanography.

'The floor in that area is generally flat, but the gradient in this area changes quite abruptly,' said Mr Inam.

The aerial photograph above provides a close-up of the landform, estimated to stretch 75 to 90 meters across and standing 15 to 20 meters (60 to 70 feet) above the water line.
The below image is also clear enough to show the parallel ripples of waves marching toward the shore.

'The island is really just a big pile of mud from the seafloor that got pushed up,' said Bill Barnhart, a geologist at the U.S. Geological Survey who studies earthquakes in Pakistan and Iran.

'This area of the world seems to see so many of these features because the geology is correct for their formation.

'You need a shallow, buried layer of pressurised gas—methane, carbon dioxide, or something else—and fluids.

'When that layer becomes disturbed by seismic waves (like an earthquake), the gases and fluids become buoyant and rush to the surface, bringing the rock and mud with them.'

Dead fish have been spotted floating on the surface of the waters surrounding the island and visitors have heard hissing noises from the escaping toxic gas.