New volcanic island eats its older neighbor

A new Japanese volcanic island has swallowed its older neighbor.

According to Live Science, in November, the newcomer rose from the sea out of a volcanic blast in the Bonin Islands about 620 miles south of Tokyo.

The new island named Niijima, sprouted just offshore of the larger volcanic island Nishino-shima and kept on growing. Now, the younger island has almost overtaken its neighbor.

CNN noted that NASA’s Operational Land Imager on Landsat 8 observations taken in March, show that they are one, measuring about a six-tenths of a mile across. At its highest point, Niijima is almost 200 feet above sea level, which is triple the highest point observed in December.

Experts did not initially think that the island would last long because of erosion, but Niijima is still growing in size.

The island is situated in the infamous “Ring of Fire” and although the area regularly experiences earthquakes and eruptions, they are rarely as powerful as the one that formed Niijima.