The Island

For the smaller island off the coast of the Island, see Hydra Island.

For specific locations on the Island, see Locations.

The Island is the principal location for the events of Lost. The Island is treated as if it is a character, with its own desires and designs. The Island displays unusual "powers" that can apparently function beyond its geographical territory, into the outside world. The Island is notoriously difficult to find and can apparently "move" by an unknown method. The Island appears to have been in the South Pacific for at least a portion of its history, but due to it being "moved", its current whereabouts, or more fittingly 'whenabouts', are unknown.

Location

The exact location of the Island is a mystery. The pilot of Oceanic Flight 815 said the plane had lost radio contact before the crash and had changed course towards Fiji. He estimated they were 1000 miles off course by the time they crashed. ("Pilot, Part 1"). Desmond believed the Island was one week East of Fiji, traveling at 9 knots. ("Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1") This fits with Rousseau's statement that she was three days out of Tahiti when she wrecked on the Island. ("Solitary")

The Oceanic Six were rescued by Penelope's boat Searcher, from which they sailed to the Island of Sumba to stage their reappearance to the world. ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 2") This places the Island's original location, at least within the established timeline of the show, to be within the South Pacific.

As stated, the exact location of the Island remains a mystery. Firstly, individuals trying to find the Island, such as the team aboard the Kahana found it difficult to find the Island even with a set of coordinates. Whilst Naomi Dorrit did manage to find the Island in her helicopter, it took a satellite phone's GPS system for the freighter team to lock on to the Island's position. Moreover, it is known that the DHARMA Initiative had to use a sonar beacon to guide submarines to the Island. Other issues surrounding the Island's location include how a small plane which launched from Nigeria could have traveled all the way to the Pacific Ocean before it crashed (assuming that is indeed where the Island is).

Result of Moving the Island

Ben turned the frozen wheel located in a secret chamber underneath the Orchid station, which apparently caused the Island to "move". Soon after the wheel was turned, a loud noise and bright lights were experienced throughout the local area, both on and off the Island.

It is worth noting that the events and sounds that resulted from the turning of the wheel were similar to those from the Discharge. ("Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1") This disturbance happened immediately before the Island disappeared from the ocean. The Island, along with its smaller companion island, vanished from the space they occupied, leaving a vacuum in the ocean that was quickly filled-in by seawater. ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 2") It is implied by Daniel Faraday that the Island did not physically move location, but instead moved through time. ("Because You Left")

On the Island, the Survivors, Juliet, and the Science Team left behind began skipping through time. Every time that the Island is engulfed by white light, time skips and the survivors find themselves in a new time: past, present or future. It is unknown where the Island is now, though Ben promised Charles Widmore that he would "never find it." ("The Shape of Things to Come") However, Locke was somehow able to leave the Island and contact the Oceanic Six in an attempt to convince them to return. ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 2")

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Click on the icons to re-sort the table; only "People" and "Island" are significant

People	Island	Time	Events	Episode
1	4	The day Yemi's plane crashes in the late 1990s	1. Locke sees the plane crash and is wounded in his leg by Ethan, who then prepares to kill him. 2. Sawyer and party proceed into the jungle toward the Swan.	("There's No Place Like Home, Part 2") ("Because You Left")
2	7	After the Oceanic Six return to safety in Jan 2005	1. Locke encounters Richard, who treats his wound, tells him that when they next meet he will not recognize Locke, gives him a compass, tells him that his people have returned safely to civilization, that they must come back, and tells him he has to die. 2. Sawyer and party arrive at the site of the imploded hatch, which is now slightly overgrown with foliage.	("Because You Left")
3	5	After Desmond arrives on the Island in 2001, and before Flight 815 crashes on Sep 22, 2004	1. Locke finds the Beechcraft to be back on the top of the cliff. 2. Sawyer and party "find" the hatch; Sawyer attempts entry through the lower door. Charlotte has a nosebleed. Sawyer and party, minus Daniel, depart for the beach. After the others leave, Daniel retrieves and reads through his journal, then encounters Desmond and tells him to go to Oxford to speak with Daniel's mother.	("Because You Left")
4	1	1954	1. Daniel returns to the beach, and explains that he needs to calculate a new bearing, by determining where they are now, in time. 2. After sunset, the Survivors are attacked by flaming arrows. Locke saves Sawyer and Juliet from an unknown group. 3. While Charlotte, Miles, and Daniel are captured by the Others, Locke, Sawyer and Juliet capture Jones and Cunningham. Everyone ends up in the Others camp. 4. Daniel declares his love for Charlotte and gives Ellie directions on making the H-Bomb safe. 5. We meet a young Charles Widmore. 6. Locke tells Richard to go find him as a baby in Tustin, California; Locke asks for but does not receive instructions on how to leave the Island.	("The Lie"), ("Jughead")
5	6	1 November 2004	1. Charlotte's nose immediately begins bleeding, and she collapses to the ground; she later recovers. 2. Locke, Sawyer, Juliet and the three scientists decide to head for the beach to retrieve the Zodiac. After dark, they suddenly see the light from the hatch. 3. A while later, they hear moaning in the jungle; Sawyer goes to look and watches Kate serving as midwife to Claire birthing Aaron.	("Jughead") ("The Little Prince")
6	8	2005 or later	1. Enroute to the beach, Miles suffers a nosebleed. 2. The party reaches the beach and finds the camp vandalized, their fellow survivors absent and the Zodiac gone. 3. The party finds two outrigger canoes and take one to travel around the Island to the vicinity of the Orchid. Enroute, they are pursued by people in the other canoe and come under fire, which reveals that their pursuers have modern weapons.	("The Little Prince")
7	2	1988	1. The party finds itself in the canoe in a storm and paddles for the beach, where they find wreckage of a boat having recently come ashore. Juliet suffers a nosebleed. 2. A group of French speakers in a large raft pull an Asian man out of the water. When they get to shore, they revive him. He introduces himself as Jin-Soo Kwon and a young pregnant woman introduces herself as Danielle Rousseau. 3. As the expedition searches for the radio tower, Nadine is killed by the Monster. Minutes later Montand is grabbed by the Monster, which begins dragging him underground; when the other French and Jin try to save Montand, the Monster encircles his arm with a wisp of smoke and separates the arm from Montand's body.	("The Little Prince") ("This Place Is Death")
8	3	1988 (before Danielle gives birth)	1. Jin finds himself by the Monster's lair, alone except for Montand's slightly putrid arm. He makes his way to the beach and finds first the camp, then two male bodies. He sees Danielle shoot Robert. Danielle sees Jin and fires at him three times as he runs back into the jungle.	("This Place Is Death")
9	X	Unknown	1. Jin hears a weapon being cocked and a voice telling to turn around. He is elated to see Sawyer, then Locke and Juliet with Charlotte, Miles and Daniel further away. Jin looks at the faces present and asks about Sun. The group explains what has been happening to them with Charlotte's help in translating and proceed toward the Orchid.	("This Place Is Death")
10	X	Unknown	1. While the party is walking single-file along a trail a flash takes them from daylight to darkness. They have virtually no time to recover from the flash when yet another flash immediately occurs.	("This Place Is Death")
11	X	Unknown	1. The flash takes them back to daylight. Sawyer and Juliet develop nosebleeds. 2. Charlotte collapses. She says, in both Korean and English, "Don't let them bring her back." She then asks, "Why can't Daddy come with us?" and makes two statements: "You know what my mother would say about me marrying an American," and "I know more about ancient Carthage than Hannibal himself."	("This Place Is Death")
12	X	After the creation of DHARMA	1. Charlotte is unable to continue. Sawyer asks what will happen if the Orchid is not there. Charlotte says to look for the well. Locke, Sawyer, Juliet, Jin and Miles proceed to the Orchid. 2. Daniel and the prostrate Charlotte remain behind on the trail.	("This Place Is Death")
13	X	Unknown	1. The Orchid disappears. 2. Locke discovers the well and prepares to descend. Jin makes him promise to not bring Sun back to the Island. Locke begins his descent on the well rope. 2. As Locke descends the rope, the sky brightens and there is a light at the bottom of the well. The rope breaks and Locke falls to the bottom of the well, breaking his leg.	("This Place Is Death")
14	X	Unknown	1. Sawyer discovers the rope he is holding leads to solid dirt. The well is gone or has not yet been dug. 2. Daniel comforts Charlotte, who tells that him she grew up on the Island; that she was forced to leave with her mother (while her father stayed), who tried to convince her the Island never existed; that a crazy man told her that if she came back she would die; and that the crazy man was Daniel. Moments later, she dies. 3. Locke is met by Christian Shephard, who chides Locke for not personally moving the Island when he was told to do it himself. He tells Locke that he must find everyone who left the Island and take them to Eloise Hawking. He reinforces Richard's statement that Locke has to make the ultimate sacrifice and die. At his instruction, Locke fixes the wheel. The room is engulfed by light.	("This Place Is Death")

History

Early history

Little is known of the early history of the Island. There are the remains of a four-toed statue, a Temple, a well leading to a secret cavern, along with other ruins. ("Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1") ("Stranger in a Strange Land") ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 2") These all suggest that a significant culture was present on the Island at some undetermined point in the past.

Hieroglyphs are engraved in several places around the Island, such as the frozen wheel room, the Temple and Ben's secret door under his home at the barracks. ("The Shape of Things to Come") ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 2") ("This Place Is Death")

The first known visitors to the Island are the sailors of the Black Rock. They arrived on the Island between 1845, when she left Portsmouth, England, and 1852, when her ledger was found among the artifacts of pirates. ("The Constant") The crew consisted of Magnus Hanso, 40 crew-members, and an unknown number of chained individuals, possibly slaves or convicts. The blast door map says that the remains of the ship's owner, Magnus Hanso, are somewhere on the Island.

The remains of two people known as Adam and Eve were found in a cave. Jack's time-of-death estimate placed them at some point in the 1950s or 1960s; however, the producers have hinted that the presence of Adam and Eve is related to the time-traveling aspect of the show. Finally, it was stated by Juliet that Richard Alpert has "always been here" on the Island. The exact truth of this statement has yet to be determined. ("Jughead")

United States Military

The Island was one of several in the South Pacific designated for nuclear tests by the United States military in the 1950s. However, the initial scouting party of eighteen soldiers of an Army battalion, was isolated and eventually killed by the Hostiles under Richard Alpert. Before this defeat, the scouting party did manage to transport a hydrogen bomb, named "Jughead," to the Island. Per Daniel Faraday's instructions, the bomb was encased in concrete and buried somewhere on the Island to keep it from detonating. ("Jughead")

DHARMA Initiative

A large new period of human activity began in the early 1970s under the leadership of the DHARMA Initiative. Construction projects occurred across the Island, including a series of isolated science stations. They also built a community-style living facility known as the Barracks. Tunnels were dug, along with a limited number of road projects. The Island was also equipped with a communications network.

Richard Alpert was still leading his group of people, possibly natives, during this time. Ben aided them in what would become known as The Purge. This resulted in the deaths of nearly all members of the DHARMA Initiative. The Purge occurred on the December 19th, 1992: Ben's birthday. Ben became the leader of Richard and his people; this group is now what we know as the Others.

Island castaways

Tailsectionsink — The tail section sinks

A French science team, attracted by radio signals from the Island, arrived around 1988. While several members of the team survived the shipwreck, only Danielle Rousseau survived after a mysterious sickness, which apparently caused her team to act as though they were not themselves. ("This Place Is Death") After killing everyone in her team to protect herself from becoming "sick", Danielle took up residence on the Island for more than 16 years until she was killed in December 2004.

Some time during 2001 Desmond Hume got stranded on the Island whilst racing across the Pacific on his sailboat "Elizabeth". He got into a storm, was knocked unconscious, and rescued by Island inhabitant Kelvin Inman. On December 31, 2004, after over three years on the Island, Desmond was rescued along with the Oceanic Six.

Henry Gale's balloon crashed on the Island sometime around July 2004. Henry Gale survived the crash long enough to write a note to Jennifer. He died (or was killed) sometime in the following months after his crash.

A drug smugglers' plane crashed on the Island sometime between the late 1980s and early 2000s. There were no survivors.

On September 22, 2004, Oceanic Flight 815 crashed on the Island during an electromagnetic event precipitated by Desmond Hume's failure to push the button in the Swan station on the Island. At least 70 passengers survived the crash.

On December 17, 2004, Naomi Dorrit parachuted onto the Island after her helicopter went down. A few days later, the Kahana's science team and mercenary team came to the Island. Naomi and the mercenaries were eventually killed. The three-member science team remained stranded on the Island after the Kahana exploded, while pilot Frank Lapidus escaped with the Oceanic Six ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 2")

Flora and fauna

Main articles: Plants, Food, and Animals

1X16 Boar — Boar, it's what's for dinner

Among the Island's vegetation are fruit-bearing mango, papaya, and guava plants. There are also bananas, passion fruit, coconuts and some star fruit. ("Hearts and Minds")

Native animals encountered by the survivors include wild chicken, bees, tree frogs, and spiders. From the sea, various types of fish, shellfish, and sea urchin have been found. The Island is also in the path of tagged migratory seagulls. The Island has a number of animal species not native to the South Seas, including boars, Mikhail's cat Nadia, and a domesticated dove. The Others also kept cattle at the Flame, and at least two horses have been seen: one ridden by Bea Klugh, and a mysterious black horse seen by Kate and Sawyer.

The DHARMA Initiative brought certain non-native animals, such as polar bears, sharks, and dolphins, to Hydra Island and modified them to an unknown degree. During the Purge, the polar bears escaped and made their way to the main island and beyond. ("Confirmed Dead")

Geography

Islands — A view of the Island from the Hydra Island

The size of the Island has not yet been determined. Its diameter has been shown to be a several-days' walk, as demonstrated by the Tailies traveling to join the midsection survivors, by Kate and Sawyer's return from the Hydra Island, and by Kate, Locke, Sayid and Rousseau's journey to The Flame and then to the Barracks. ("The Other 48 Days") ("I Do") With the revelation of Hydra Island, it is likely that none of the survivors have entirely circumnavigated the Island. According to the scale of Danielle Rousseau's maps, it is 24.0 kilometers (14.91 miles) long along one side.

The Island has many different geographical zones. There is a very distinctive coastline comprised mostly of beach sand. Some of the beach is rocky and hard to navigate, such as the cove where Kelvin kept the Elizabeth. ("Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1") There also appears to be steep cliff faces that drop off into the sea, such as where Dave is seen jumping away from Hurley. ("Dave")

Jungle and forest seem to make up most of the interior of the Island. Although they run together, there are distinct differences between them: the forest appears to be more sparse, with smaller trees; while the jungle appears to be more dense, with more hanging vines over-head. Within the jungle area is also the dark territory, a dangerous area where the Monster seems to roam.

In the hills is a plateau called the Mesa where Hurley's golf course is located. Hurley rode the DHARMA van on the Mesa. ("Enter 77") The caves are also located near the Mesa. There is also a cliff next to some mountains that can be seen when Sayid, Charlie, and Ana Lucia were searching for Henry Gale's balloon. ("The Whole Truth"). Also, Jack was rescued by Locke from falling off a cliff. ("White Rabbit")

There are mountains throughout the Island, including at least one volcano in the South. There are two main ridges, both stretching from North to South. The valley between the mountain ridges contains rivers, streams, and waterfalls. There is also a lake located next to the sonar fence.

Open fields are common on the Island, such as where Shannon translated the distress signal and where Hurley and Charlie drove the DHARMA van. ("Pilot, Part 1") ("Tricia Tanaka Is Dead") They seem to be mostly on hill-sides and on the Mesa. The Pascal Flats are shown on Ben's map. ("Through the Looking Glass, Part 1"). Not much is known of this area other than it is south of the Barracks and the Pearl, and southwest of the radio tower.

Volcanic activity

Dharma Classroom — Olivia Goodspeed explains the Island's volcanic activity. ("The Man Behind the Curtain")

There is at least one volcano on the Island. Olivia mentions to her class how the Island had volcanic reactions occurring "a long time ago", suggesting it was dormant or extinct. ("The Man Behind the Curtain") Furthermore, the word "crater" is seen on Rousseau's map.

There are several clues to the Island being volcanic. The general topography of the Island is typical of a volcanic island, such as the apparent lava-formed coastlines. The powdery substance surrounding Jacob's cabin also looked similar to volcanic ash. The sign Bernard was making in "S.O.S." consisted of volcanic rocks. Moreover, The Barracks appear to sit in a crater-like formation, possibly a caldera or volcanic crater. ("A Tale of Two Cities") Finally, Jack and Sayid surmised that the Swan's power source was geothermal. While volcanic activity is not required for geothermal power, it makes the process much easier. Overall, the Island's presumed located in the South Pacific seems to correspond with the notion of it being volcanic, as it is an area falling along the "Ring of Fire," so named because of a high frequency of seismic and volcanic occurrences.

On the DVD commentary track for "The Man Behind the Curtain", Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse point out an Easter egg when Olivia demonstrates the volcano model in her classroom. The producers stated that the volcano on the Island will be "less important than Annie, but still seismic"

Mysterious properties

Main article: Mysteries

Aside from the unusual history, population, and locations, the Island also exhibits some unusual properties of its own.

1x04lockesfoot — Locke realizes he's no longer paralyzed

Healing and life-extension properties

Main article: Healing properties

The Island, or some unknown force or thing on the Island, appears to have healing powers that cure at least some inhabitants of long-term ailments, expedite recovery from mild to moderate wounds, and extend lifespans. Some of the more dramatic examples of this healing power are Locke's healed legs, Rose's cured cancer, Jin's heightened sperm count, and Richard Alpert's unusual appearance given his assumed age. ("Walkabout") ("S.O.S.") ("Cabin Fever")

Navigational difficulties

Compass2 — Sayid explains the compass's deviation from true magnetic north. ("Hearts and Minds")

Various anomalous phenomena exist around the Island that complicate the ability to navigate around and away from the Island. The DHARMA Initiative placed a sonar beacon just off the coast of the Island, which was used to guide submarines.

The unique magnetic properties of the Island were first encountered by the survivors when Sayid's examination of Locke's compass showed a significant local deviation in bearings.

Locating and traveling to the Island is difficult due to an unknown phenomenon that apparently causes travelers to experience a time dilation. This has been demonstrated by Daniel's experiment, the Helicopter's lost time, and the events surrounding Ray's death. Possibly this distortion is variable in nature as no such distortion appeared to take place on Sayid's journey to the Island via the Zodiac. ("The Economist") ("The Constant") ("Cabin Fever")

When traveling to the Island, one must stay on a particular compass bearing, lest they travel in circles and/or experience unsettling effects. Desmond's attempt to leave the Island by sailing due West was futile, as he ended up sailing in circles and back to the Island. Upon learning of the survivors' possession of a sailboat, Juliet showed knowledge of the difficulty of leaving, commenting that "sailing in circles will keep them busy".

Following instructions from Ben to follow a bearing of 325 from the Pala Ferry pier, Michael and Walt successfully left the Island. ("Live Together, Die Alone, Part 1") ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 1") Daniel Faraday recognized the importance of following a single bearing to leave the Island, giving strict instructions to Frank Lapidus not to deviate from a heading of 305 degrees or risk "side effects", ("The Economist") ("The Constant") Sayid and Desmond knew to follow Daniel's instruction when returning to the Island from the Kahana. ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 1") ("There's No Place Like Home, Part 2")

It is theorized by Captain Gault that the Kahana's proximity to the unusual time differential effect around the Island was causing irrational behavior, including suicide, on the part of his crew. He likened this effect to a heightened case of "cabin fever". ("Ji Yeon") ("Cabin Fever")

The unusual behavior of ocean currents and tides may play a role in navigational difficulties. Michael and Sawyer were carried back to the Island on pieces of the raft after it was destroyed by the Others. ("Adrift") The tides rose dramatically on the beach in October of 2004, and seem to have remained at the higher level ever since.

The Monster

Main article: The Monster

The Monster is a mysterious entity on the Island, appearing as a cloud of black smoke. It appears to be highly active in the Dark Territory area of the Island. The Monster seems incredibly temperamental, at times being passive and even retreating when encountering survivors such as Eko at first. However, it can also show extreme aggression, such as turning up trees, killing humans, and dragging them away underground. The Monster makes a number of strange sounds, such as ticking noises, and often sounds mechanical.

Jacob and Apparitions

Main articles: Jacob and Dreams and visions

A number of the survivors report seeing strange apparitions of people or things from their past on the Island. For example, Kate saw a horse which appeared to be one which was almost run over by a car years earlier, while both Shannon and Locke have seen Walt in the jungle despite him being elsewhere. Characters have also seen apparitions of the deceased, such as Jack seeing his dead father on a number of occasions. Furthermore, these deceased characters also seem to be able to interact with the environment, such as Eko's brother Yemi who gave him a cross necklace. In this instance, the apparition of Yemi also stated to Eko that he was not really his brother.

The most prominent apparition on the Island appears to be Jacob, or indeed all the apparitions may simply be a form of him. Jacob can supposedly only be seen by certain people, though Ben, Locke and even Hurley have all found his hut and seen him (though Hurley may not have actually seen Jacob). Jacob seems to take the form of Christian Shepherd on a number of occasions, and has guided both Ben and Locke, and given advice on what is best for the Island. Precisely how the Island and Jacob are connected is still unknown.

Locations

Main article: Locations

Crash sites

Nikcrash — The middle section crash site

Over time, a number of people have crashed or been shipwrecked on the Island.

The known crash sites (in chronological order) are:

Black Rock, a ship unusually located deep in the Island's jungle
The French Science Expedition team
Henry Gale's balloon, where Ben acquired his alias
Desmond Hume was washed up on the island whilst attempting to sail solo around the world
Drug smugglers' plane that was perched above the Pearl
Flight 815 broke apart mid-air and landed in three locations
- Middle section landed on the beach where the majority of the survivors have made camp
- Tail section landed just off the coast on the other side of the Island
- Cockpit landed in the jungle and was where the Monster was first encountered

Survivors' locations

The various survivors on the Island have created locations in order to continue living while stranded on the seemingly deserted Island.

Some of these locations are:

The Camp
The Graveyard
The Caves
The Golf Course
The Waterfall
The Garden
The Cove
The Tiger Pit
The Church
The Sweat lodge

DHARMA Initiative locations

Main article: DHARMA Initiative stations

The DHARMA Initiative built a series of science facilities, referred to as "stations", across the Island. Most of these stations have been destroyed, abandoned, ceased functioning, or are in a general state of disrepair.

The known stations are:

The Swan (Electromagnetic research)
The Pearl (Psychological research and/or observation)
The Arrow (Defensive strategy development/Intel gathering)
The Staff (Medical research)
The Flame (Communications)
The Hydra (Zoological research)
The Looking Glass (Signal jamming and sonar beacon)
The Tempest (Toxic gas development)
The Orchid (Botanical research and space-time research)
The Temple (Sanctuary, unknown)

Utopiavillezoomout1 — The Barracks, inhabited by the Others

Other DHARMA Initiative locations:

The Capsule dump, where the Pearl station observers apparently sent their reports
Pala Ferry was the Island's central port
The Barracks is a group of modern homes and buildings which served as their living quarters
The Sonar Fence which surrounds and protects the Barracks
A radio tower designed to broadcast signals in a continuous loop over long distances

Others locations

There are other location on the Island that were created by someone, possibly the DHARMA Initiative, but whose exact origin is unknown. A number of these have been occupied and used by the Others, similar to the stations.

Some locations used by the Others are:

The Decoy Village, where the Others pretended to be primitive Island inhabitants
The Door, a fake station entrance located at the Decoy Village
A Runway where the Others were working on at the quarry
Jacob's cabin, built by Horace Goodspeed and currently occupied by Jacob

Historic locations

A few locations on the Island are still deeply shrouded in mystery. These locations were made by unknown previous inhabitants of the Island, most likely before the DHARMA Initiative's time. These locations have not been explained, but only briefly mentioned or shown:

Some notable historic locations are:

The Four-toed statue, an enormous statue of unknown origin.
Ruins of some old structure, visited briefly by the Others.
The Temple, within the Dark Territory and visited by Jin and Danielle's expedition team.
The Well, located where the Orchid station would later be built.
An underground chamber that contains the frozen wheel.
An ancient stone doorway marked by Hieroglyphs which serves as the entrance to an as-of-yet unseen chamber with an apparent connection to the Monster.

Trivia

Walkaboutmonster — Locke stares down the Monster

Personification

The Island is routinely personified by those who have been there, especially by the Others and Locke. It is often described as if it has motivations, abilities, and a conscience.

Some examples of this personification are:

After his first encounter with the Monster, Locke stated, "I looked into the eye of this Island, and what I saw... was beautiful." ("White Rabbit")
Ben told Locke that the Island is very selective of who it choose to heal. He added, "I can't wait to show you what this island can do." ("The Brig")
Tom told Michael that the Island wouldn't let him commit suicide because Michael still had "work to do". ("Meet Kevin Johnson")

Island's name

Main article: Nicknames

The only official name given by the writers to the Island so far is "The Eyeland". This is also the name of a song on the official soundtrack.

The survivors have various different nicknames for the Island and some of its geographical features:

"Heart of Darkness" - Jack - A reference to the novel by Joseph Conrad
"Craphole Island" - Shannon
"The Magical Forest" - Sawyer
"Monkey Island" - Sawyer
"Mount Vesuvius" - Sawyer
"Mystery Frickin' Island" - Shannon
"Rape Caves" - Shannon

Misc.

According to special features on the Season 1 DVD, the events described in "Whatever the Case May Be", concerning the Island tide changes, were planned by the directors. They wanted to "write-off" the fuselage set, as they had to transport, assemble, and disassemble the entire thing every time they had to shoot a scene that required it.
The Island is a tropical island. The Tropics of Cancer (north of the equator) and Capricorn (south of the equator) are both appoximately 23 degrees from the equator.

Unanswered questions

Unanswered questions
Do not answer the questions here. Keep the questions open-ended and neutral: do not suggest an answer. More details...

For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: The Island/Theories

Does the Island have a name?
How does the Island move?
- Does it move in time and/or space?
Where is the Island currently located?
- When is the Island currently located?
How is the Island hidden from the rest of the world?
- Has it always been hidden from the world?
- How did the DHARMA Initiative and Charles Widmore find it?
Who were the original inhabitants of the Island?
What is the source of the Island's apparent healing properties?
- Why did the Island heal Locke's legs and Rose's cancer?
- Why did the Island not heal Ben's tumor or Jack's appendix?
What has the Island done to Christian Shephard?
What is the cause and nature of the time-dilation effects around the Island?
- Why was there a 31-minute, 18-second delay between when Regina thought the payload reached the Island and when it actually did, but no apparent delay between electromagnetic communication as, for example, in satellite phone conversations?
Why is it necessary to travel through certain bearings to get to-and-from the Island?
Why is the Island so important that the Others are willing to kill, or be killed, in order to protect it?
Does the Island manipulate/exert control over events in the outside world?
How was the U.S. military able to find the island to set up their bomb tests in 1954?