Our “Remote Islands” Series takes us to one of the most isolated lands on Earth: Bouvet Island, in the South Atlantic. It lies about 900 nautical miles from Africa, 2300 nm from South America, and 1300 nm from Antarctica. It is a small island (about 50 sq. km) almost entirely covered by ice.
Bouvet Island was first sighted in the 1700s and was named after French explorer Jean-Baptiste Bouvet. Norway was the first power to establish a permanent station on the island, and it annexed the island in 1928. While Great Britain protested this on the basis of a more ancient claim, they recognized Norwegian sovereignty in the 1930s, and this is now universally acknowledged, although Norway does not maintain a year-round presence on the island.
More on Bouvet Island
Bouvet Island
