Ferdinandea

Graham Island  (English) Isola Ferdinandea  (Italian)
Approximate location of Graham Island
Summit depth	Roughly 6 m (20 ft)
Height	63 m (207 ft) (maximum)
Summit area	Campi Flegrei del Mar di Sicilia (Phlegraean Fields of the Sea of Sicily)
Location
Location	Between Sicily and Tunisia
Coordinates	37°10′N 12°43′E / 37.167°N 12.717°E / 37.167; 12.717Coordinates: 37°10′N 12°43′E / 37.167°N 12.717°E / 37.167; 12.717
Geology
Type	Submarine volcano
Last eruption	1831
History
Discovery date	First eruption 10 B.C.
Discovered by	Ancient Romans

Graham Island (also Graham Bank or Graham Shoal; Italian: Isola Ferdinandea) is a submerged volcanic island in the Mediterranean Sea. It was discovered when it last appeared on 1 August 1831 by Humphrey Fleming Senhouse, the captain of the first rate Royal Navy ship of the line St Vincent and named after Sir James Graham, the First Lord of the Admiralty. It was claimed by the United Kingdom. It forms part of the underwater volcano Empedocles, 30 km (19 mi) south of Sicily, and which is one of a number of submarine volcanoes known as the Campi Flegrei del Mar di Sicilia. Currently a seamount, eruptions have raised it above sea level several times before erosion submerged it again.

When it last rose above sea level after erupting in 1831, a four-way dispute over its sovereignty began, which was still unresolved when it disappeared beneath the waves again in early 1832. During its brief life, French geologist Constant Prévost was on hand, accompanied by an artist, to witness it in July 1831; he named it Île Julia, for its July appearance, and reported in the Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France. Some observers at the time wondered if a chain of mountains would spring up, linking Sicily to Tunisia and thus upsetting the geopolitics of the region. It showed signs of volcanic activity in 2000 and 2002, forecasting a possible appearance; however, as of 2016^[update] it remains 6 m (20 ft) under sea level.