WASHINGTON, July 10 (Xinhua) -- A new mile-long sandbar that emerged off the coast of North Carolina in east coast of the U.S. has created buzz of excitement among local residents, but has also posed a question, who owns the new island?
The stretch of sand, named Shelly Island, has emerged about nearly 30 meters off of Cape Point of Cape Hatteras National Seashore, and was spotted by a local beachgoer earlier this year.
local reports said the island was spotted as a "bump" in April and gradually expanded to its current size.
According to Dave Hallac, the superintendent of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, the new island belongs to the state of North Carolina for now.
But if the shifting sands eventually connects the land mass to the mainland, then it would become part of the national seashore and therefore under the jurisdiction of the Department of Interior at the federal government.
Experts said the fate of the island is unpredictable as sand may continue to accumulate or it could vanish in the next big storm.
Despite its reputation as a "seashell haven", the National Park Service has advised beachcombers to exercise caution when approaching the island.
"Due to the number of recent water rescues the Hatteras Island Rescue Squad has made between the tip of Cape Point and the sandbar, the National Park Service and Dare County are urging all park visitors to use caution when attempting to access the offshore sandbar," it said in a notice late June.
