The mysterious 'Eye' island floating in the middle of the swamp

The eye-like floating island in the middle of the marshes in the Paraná Delta was formed by erosion and ocean currents.

El Ojo is a mysterious uninhabited floating island in Argentina's swampy Paraná Delta . Its name means "The Eye," derived from its perfectly round shape that resembles an eyeball when viewed from above, according to Live Science .

El Ojo Island is located in the Buenos Aires province of Argentina. (Photo: Wikipedia).

El Ojo came to the attention of filmmakers in 2016 while looking for material for a documentary on the delta. A crew led by Argentine director Sergio Neuspiller flew over the island and was struck by its shape amid the delta's vegetation.

'We discovered the perfect circle when viewed from the air,' Neuspiller recalled. ' The water looked black but in fact it was completely transparent, which is almost impossible to find in a river delta because the water is often muddy, but at the bottom there is black soil.'

El Ojo floats in a clear lake that is just as round as the island. According to El Observador, the island and the lake shore interact to create a smooth outer edge through slow erosion. The island, which is 118 meters in diameter and made of vegetation, is buoyed by the ocean currents that rotate around the lake, causing it to rotate on its axis and erode the shore. The phenomenon is similar to the process on the Presumpscot River near Westbrook, Maine, where a large ice disc has formed several times since 2019 through ocean currents that rotate under the water.

El Ojo moves clockwise . Researchers are not sure how or when the island separated from the mainland, but it first appeared in satellite images nearly 20 years ago. While studying the area, Neuspiller and his colleagues found that local residents knew about El Ojo, but many feared the island, believing it to be the home of an ancient god.