Like the look of this island? Get there fast as it will only exist for a few months! Stunning images reveal new volcanic land mass Island started forming in January after a volcano close to Tonga exploded underwater and then expanded Images taken by three men who climbed to the peak of the island 40 miles (65 km) north of capital Nuku'alofa They said the surface of the island was still warm and it contained a vast green lake which smelled of sulphur New island is 1.1 miles (1.8 km) by 0.9 miles (1.5km), and it rises about 328ft (100 metres) above the sea. Beautiful images have emerged of a new island that has formed off the coast of Tonga - although scientists say it could soon disappear. The photographs were taken by three men who climbed to the peak of the land mass 40 miles (65 km) northwest of the capital, Nuku'alofa. The island started forming in January after a volcano exploded underwater and then expanded creating a mile long, cone-shaped formation. Hotel owner GP Orbassano, along with a friend and his son, arrived at one of the island's three black beaches on Saturday. 'It was a perfect day, with fantastic views – bright blue sky and the sea was the same colour as the sky,' GP Orbassano, one of the locals, told Tonga's Matangi Online. The island is made mainly of scoria, which is a dark coloured volcanic rock that can sometimes contain crystals. The holes in the material form when gases that were dissolved in the magma come out of solution as it erupts Scientists believe the dimensions of the new island are about 1.1 miles (1.8 km) by 0.9 miles (1.5km), and that it rises about 328ft (100 metres) above the sea. Orbassano admitted that the climb was dangerous as a result of the excessive heat on the dark landscape, according to Matangi Online. However, he said the natural beauty of the location could make it into a popular tourist attraction before the island disappears in a few months. The island was first spotted in an image taken by the Pleiades satellite on 19 January 2015. The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha'apai underwater volcano, that created the formation, is located between two land masses in the Tonga archipelago - Hunga Tonga and Hunga Ha'apai. They said the surface of the island was still warm and, after climbing to the highest point of its crater, they caught sight of a vast green lake which smelled of sulphur. 'The island is double the size of Fafa. There is a lot of rock, it's not just ash. It looks like the moon,' said Orbassano.

• published: 12 Mar 2015
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