Prepare To Have Your Brain Scrambled By Canada’s Island In A Lake On An Island In A Lake On An Island

Nestled in the Arctic Archipelago, Canada’s Victoria Island is home to a mind-bending, Russian nesting doll of lakes and islands. The geographical oddity is comprised of an island in a lake on an island in a lake on an island – yes, you read that right.

The Inception-worthy phenomenon is known as a third-order island or a sub-sub-sub island, and Canada’s, located between Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, is thought to be the largest in the world. 

It was only discovered in 2007, when Josh Calder, a geographer and expert on recursive islands – islands that lie within a lake – stumbled upon it while scouring Google maps.

At the center of this whole lake/island mess lies a small landmass measuring just 300 meters (1,000 feet) across. This island is located in an unnamed lake, inside a larger, seahorse-shaped island, which is itself found inside a lake near the coast of Victoria Island – the eighth largest island in the world and the second largest in Canada. Do you have a headache yet?

Believe it or not, this is not the only such concentric tangle of lakes and islands in the world. Another third-order island, called Vulcan Point, can be found in the Philippines. Here, a tiny island lies within Main Crater Lake, which has formed inside Taal Volcano. The volcano can be found within Lake Taal on Luzon Island in the Philippines – aka an island in a lake, in the middle of a volcano, in the middle of another, bigger lake, in the middle of a third and final island.

In another bizarre twist, Vulcan Point disappeared in 2020 when Taal volcano erupted, causing Main Crater Lake to dry up and temporarily disrupting the whole island-within-a-lake-within-an-island-within-a-lake-within-an-island thing. Luckily (or perhaps unluckily for those still getting to grips with the geographic mental gymnastics), it soon refilled.

Canada’s curious sub-sub-sub island, located in the freezing Arctic, has likely never been visited by humans before. It’s incredibly isolated: the nearest residents live some 145 kilometers (90 miles) away in Cambridge Bay, and no roads come anywhere near it. 

It’s possible that it’s not a lone third-order island. Victoria Island, and large swathes of Canada, are littered with little lakes, meaning the chances of another one being found are relatively high.

Canada apparently can’t get enough of brain-scrambling islands/lakes: it is home to the largest lake island on the planet, Manitoulin Island in Lake Huron, which happens to have lakes of its own, some of which in turn have their own lake islands, including the largest island in a lake on an island in a lake, Treasure Island. It is also where you’ll find the largest lake on an island, Nettilling Lake on Baffin Island. 

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to lie down. I think we can all agree that’s enough geography for one day.