Underwater Lava May Create New Canary Island

An underwater volcano near the Canary Islands has been gushing lava for three weeks and might just form a brand-new island. The erupting magma has reached 330 feet above the sea floor, and it needs to reach up another 490 feet to break the surface of the Atlantic, reports Der Spiegel. Residents are already brainstorming names for the potential landmass including the Discovery, Atlantis, and the Best.

The submerged volcano sits near the southern-most Canary Island, El Hierro, located off the coast of northwest Africa, and has spouted a blob of ash larger than the island itself and killed scores of fish. It's the first such explosion of magma in the region in 40 years. Scientists are not positive the lava discharge will create a new island, but the flow has yet to slow down. (More Canary Islands stories.)