Bermeja

Bermeja (Isla Bermeja) is a small island that was reported on historical nautical charts off the northern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula. In recent decades the island has become notable because modern surveys and searches have been unable to find any land at the coordinates shown on older maps.

Historic cartography shows the feature in the Gulf of Mexico, but contemporary hydrographic surveys and expeditions have returned no confirmed physical island, leading to debate and speculation about whether the island sank, was eroded, or was a cartographic error. The absence of a confirmed landmass has influenced discussions about maritime delimitation.

References to the island date to the age of exploration and to later maps, while modern satellite imagery and on‑site searches in the late 20th and early 21st centuries did not confirm its presence. As a result the feature is usually described as a “vanished” or “missing” island in contemporary sources.

The charted location lies off the northern coast of the Yucatán state of Mexico in the southern Gulf of Mexico, in deep coastal waters north of the Yucatán Peninsula.

• Disappearance: The island appears on historical maps but modern surveys and expeditions have failed to locate any land at the charted position.
• Geopolitical significance: Its uncertain existence has had practical implications for maritime boundaries and resource claims in the region.