But out here, there is another miracle. A hundred miles from the coast, In the midst of this huge flat sea, suddenly and without warning, land jumps up out of the blue. Out here, islands appear and disappear all the time. But what creates them?

 

This magical process is easiest to see from the air. When waves hit the reef, close to the surface, they smash its rocky skeleton, grinding it down into sand. The sand settles, layer on layer, until eventually out of the sea emerges an island. Some of these new islands will be wiped off the map by cyclones. But with help from on high, islands can endure or even grow. 

 

On a highway with few rest stops, the embryonic island becomes a haven for long-distance travelers. These birds leave seeds in their droppings that grow into plants, binding the island’s sand together, protecting it from the destruction of storms. An entire island paradise formed out of the sea, grown by the animals that live there.