Buss Island

Buss Island map from John Seller's "English Pilot"

Buss Island is a phantom island. It was recorded as discovered during the third expedition of Martin Frobisher in September 1578 by sailors aboard the Emmanuel and was indicated on maps as existing between Ireland and mythical Frisland at about 57° N. The island was named after the type of vessel that its discoverers used, a busse. It is believed that Frobisher took Greenland for Frisland and Baffin Island for Greenland and the Emmanuel, returning home, made a mistake in dead reckoning and mistook optical effects near Greenland at around 62° N for a new land.

A Thomas Shepard claimed to have explored and mapped the island in 1671. As Atlantic traffic increased, the island's existence was less certain and its supposed size was greatly reduced. In 1745, it was suggested that the island had 'sunk' as the supposed area was relatively shallow. The island or 'site of sunken island' persisted on charts into the 19th century. Its existence was finally disproved by John Ross in Isabella in 1818 during his first Arctic expedition, finding no depth at 180 fathoms (330 m).