Diver explored what mysterious 'black hole' discovered in middle of ocean on Google Maps was

We all love a casual scroll on Google Maps, looking at far flung places we'll never travel to, don't we.

Some people got a bit of a shock when they scrolled to one particular location in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, and wondered what on earth had been discovered.

The Google Maps cameras had managed to capture an image of what looks like a massive, dark hole in the middle of the sea.

It looks like the stuff of nightmares that ships would want to avoid.

Back in November 2021, conspiracy theorists finally got their answer about what the weird and wonderful geographical marvel actually is.

It was revealed the creepy looking 'hole' is actually an uninhabited island called Vostok Island.

Not only that, but it belongs to the Republic of Kiribati, and is covered in such incredibly dense foliage that it photographs black from above.

The foliage is made up of incredibly dense Pisonia trees, which cover the area.

The trees are dark green in colour but due to them being so densely packed together on the island, they appear much darker.

“What you see as black is actually very dark green, it’s a very dense forest made up of Pisonia trees,” one person pointed out online.

"I just googled these trees and they are very interesting. Their seeds are super sticky and stick to birds, although sometimes this means birds get stuck with too many of them and can’t fly anymore," wrote another, sadly.

Following the discovery, a video of a diver exploring the mysterious black hole was unearthed on YouTube.

Published by National Geographic over 15 years ago, the clip saw diver Eric Sala revealing how he had just enjoyed one of the best dives of his life, exploring the wildlife of Vostok's rich coral reefs.

"Well, we just came back from a dive on Vostok Island," he said.

"I just did the very best dive of my life."

Eric went on: "There were [indistinct] sharks around us, schools of jags, barracuda and surgeon fish, everything!

"Incredible! Really unbelievable. This is the most pristine place we have dived so far. We have found it, this is it. Vostok Island.

"I cannot wait for tomorrow to get back in the water."

Sala explored the wildlife of Vostok's rich coral reefs (National Geographic)

Despite people now knowing the location of the island, it hasn't stopped the conspiracy theories being circulated online.

"My first thought was that it’s censored," one Reddit user said in a post about the island, which is located nearly 4000 miles east of Australia.

"It wouldn’t make sense for a natural formation to be black like that in such a shallow, small atoll/island."

Another added: "That's just tree cover. Not sure how old that image is, on recent Sentinel-2 shots it's lighter green now and in January."

Others were quick to draw on Lost references, adding: "Ladies and gentlemen, they have found the island in Lost."

According to Brittanica, there are no inhabitants on the island, which was reportedly sighted for the first time back in 1820 by Russian Antarctic explorer Fabian Gottlieb von Bellingshausen.

It was then said to be claimed in 1860 by the United States under the Guano Act of 1856 and by Great Britain in 1873.