The planet’s newest island has been formed off the coast of North Carolina.

A mile long, depending on the tides and conditions, and separated from the mainland by a 100 metre-wide stretch of the Atlantic Ocean, the islet is part of Cape Hatteras on the east coast of the US.

Dubbed Shelley Islands for its array of seashells and colourful pebbles, the island was first spotted as a “bump” above the water in April, but a recent photo of the sandbar taken with a drone went viral, prompting a surge in visitors to the region’s Outer Banks.

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Chad Koczera was one of the first to photograph the island, using a drone. "My fiancee and I were driving to the point [Cape Point] after a storm to collect shells when we spotted an area we couldn't get to by car," he said.

“I sent the drone up to check it out and noticed this beautiful island. We didn't get a chance to make it on to the island because of the strong current.”

Reide Corbett, a professor in the Department of Geological Sciences at East Carolina University, told CBS News the island might not be around for long.

“The thing about the Outer Banks – they are pretty dynamic,” he said. “[The island] is kind of neat and interesting and provides a new piece of land for people to explore, but it is a dynamic environment.

“I wasn’t surprised to see it, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it disappear.

“In the summer, things start to calm down and sands begin to accumulate and so you see this with sandbars. If I was to predict something, I'd say we'll see this likely stick around as long as we have these same calm conditions. But the first main storm that comes around, we'll likely see a change in that bar – that island.”

Corbett said that the islands should be reached by boat or paddle board, rather than swimming, as the area can harbour strong currents.

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“It's pretty narrow and deep. You can't walk across it. You have strong currents moving through there, particularly during tidal changes – that's what could lead to real hazards,” Corbett said.

The Cape Hatteras stretch is one of the most exposed coastlines on the East Coast.

The birth of new islands is not hugely unusual. One of the most recent to appear is Hunga Ha’apai in Tonga, a volcanic creation born from two disruptions in 2009 and 2014.

Europe’s most recent is Norderoogsand in Germany, a sandbank on the country’s North Sea coast.