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Bouvet Island is the most remote island on the planet. Credit: NASA
If you want to get away to get away from it all, forget the Caribbean, the South Pacific, or even the South Pole. We’ve got a place that beats them all: Bouvet Island, a small outcropping of rock and ice in the Southern Ocean. The nearest land is more than a thousand miles away, making Bouvet the most remote island on the planet.
A French sailor named Bouvet discovered the island in 1739. And then he promptly lost it -- he misplotted the island on his charts. So when others tried to find it, all they came up with were icebergs and choppy seas.
The island was rediscovered in the early 19th century. It was so far away from Bouvet’s reported position, though, that those who saw it thought it was a completely different island. It took a while to reconcile Bouvet’s report with the others.
Today, the island is owned by Norway, which maintains it as a nature reserve. The country occasionally sends in researchers, but no one lives there -- only a few seals and birds.
And that’s probably just as well. Bouvet is the top of a volcano that rises from the ocean floor. Most of the island is ringed by steep cliffs, and it’s covered by a glacier. The nearest land is Antarctica, more than a thousand miles to the south. And the nearest inhabited land is South Africa -- 1600 miles away.
A few decades back, visitors discovered a lifeboat on the island, but no people. That’s a pretty good indication that if you want to get away from it all, Bouvet Island is a solid choice; it’s a good bet that no one will ever find you.
