Deep in the South Atlantic Ocean, thousands of kilometers away from any settlement, lies the most remote island in the world: Bouvet Island. This small and icy uninhabited island is a nature reserve and a dependency of Norway, despite being located 12,500 km away from the Norwegian mainland. Few people have set foot on this island, and it is regarded as one of the hardest places to visit in the world.
Position and environment
To understand how remote this island is, let’s take a look at what’s around it. The closest land to Bouvet Island is Queen Maud Land, in Antarctica, located 1,700 km to the south. The unhinabited South Sandwich islands lie around 1,900 km to the west, while Tristan da Cunha, itself one of the most remote islands in the world, is the closest permanently inhabited land, located almost 2,300 km northwest of Bouvet Island. The closest continental landmass to Bouvet Island, other than Antarctica, is Africa, as the coast of South Africa is located almost 2,600 km to the northeast.
Bouvet Island has an area of just 49 km2, 93% of which is covered in ice, while a few tiny rocky islets and skerries surround the main island. Its coast is characterized by tall and steep cliffs, that make it almost inaccessible. The tallest peak on Bouvet Island is called Olavtoppen, and it stands at 780 m above sea level. There is a caldera under the island, but the volcano is likely in a declining state.
The island is located along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, an underwater mountain range that spans the entire length of the Atlantic Ocean, starting from Iceland and ending right at Bouvet Island. Here, the African, South American, and Antarctic plates meet, forming the so-called Bouvet Triple Junction. So, Bouvet Island formed as a volcanic island due to the movements of the tectonic plates.
Bouvet Island lies south of the Antarctic Convergence, a marine belt that encircles Antarctica and marks the point where the cold Antarctic waters meet the warmer waters of the surrounding oceans. Thus, Bouvet Island has an Antarctic climate, with cold temperatures all year round and little fluctuation. The yearly mean temperature is −1 °C, with around 2 °C in summer and −3 °C in winter. The island is often covered by clouds and fog.
Due to its harsh climate, the flora and fauna of Bouvet Island are very limited. A few species of mosses, lichens, and algae have been found, while the only animals on the island are birds and seals. Bouvet Island has been designated as an Important Bird Area, and it is a breeding ground for many bird species, especially penguins.
Position of Bouvet Island compared to Antarctica (left) (TUBS, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0) and Norway (right) (TUBS, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0).
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History
The remote island was discovered by French sailor and explorer Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier on January 1, 1739. Bouvet was leading an exploration mission in the South Atlantic, with the goal of finding a large southern continent, the existence of which had been hypothesized for centuries. The island was spotted through a thick fog and the expedition was not able to land on it or even circumnavigate it. Thus, Bouvet could not confirm if what he found was an island or part of the continent he was looking for. Also, he recorded the wrong coordinates, and so various later expeditions, including one led by James Cook, failed to find the island.
Bouvet Island was rediscovered in 1808 by James Lindsay, captain of an English whaling ship. Although he was unable to land, he at least managed to confirm that the landmass was indeed an island. A few more expeditions reached Bouvet Island during the 19th century, including one led by English captain George Norris, who landed on the island and claimed it as part of the British Empire, calling it Liverpool Island. Due to the rough terrain and tall cliffs of the island, there was no way to establish a whaling station like in other polar lands.
A Norwegian expedition led by Harald Horntvedt reached Bouvet Island in 1927, and made the first extended stay here. The land was claimed by Norway and officially annexed on January 23, 1928, and was called Bouvetøya (literally “Bouvet Island”). The United Kingdom initially contested the annexation, affirming that it had already been claimed by the British a century earlier. However, there were some doubts about the expedition led by George Norris, since he got the wrong coordinates and also mistakenly sighted another island nearby, which didn’t exist. Since the island was remote, small, and with no natural harbor, it was not worth the hassle of a diplomatic dispute, so the British renounced their claim and accepted the Norwegian annexation. Being located north of 60°S latitude (it lies at 54°S) it is not covered by the Antarctic Treaty, and thus it is internationally recognized as a part of Norway, unlike other more southern claims.
The Norwegians made two more expeditions to Bouvet Island over the next few years, building a small hut and taking the first aerial photographs of the island. In 1955 a South African vessel sailed to the island aiming to establish a weather station, but found no suitable place. However, in 1958 an American expedition noted an ice-free area on the northwest of the island.
Apparently a minor volcanic eruption or a landslide happened sometime between 1955 and 1958, leading to the creation of this area, which was called Nyrøysa (“new mound”). This place allowed easier access to the island, and a British team landed here in 1964. There, they found an abandoned lifeboat in a small lagoon, but no signs of human presence nearby. Some equipment was found in the boat, like a pair of oars and a copper tank.
The origin of this boat and the fate of whoever was on it remained an unsolved mystery for decades. It was hypothesized that the lifeboat could have arrived here with the survivors of a shipwreck, by washing away to the island with no people onboard, or as part of an unknown expedition. The latter was deemed the most likely, but why was the boat abandoned?
An explanation was only found a few years ago. In late 1958, a Soviet research vessel reached Bouvet Island, and a group of sailors landed with a small boat on November 27. Due to a worsening weather, ten men were stuck on the island for three days, and were then recovered by helicopter on November 29. This explains why the boat was abandoned, and the secrecy that surrounded many Soviet missions during the Cold War also explains why the expedition was unknown in the West.
A nature reserve was established in 1971 for Bouvet Island and the surrounding sea, and only a few expeditions reached the remote island in the past few decades, mostly led by scientists or amateur radio operators. The Norwegians established a research station on the island in 1977, which was expanded in 1996. In 2006, the station was destroyed by an earthquake and then washed away by a storm. A new and more robust station was placed on Nyrøysa in 2014. In 2012, four climbers became the first humans to reach the highest point of the island. Curiously, the island has been assigned its own country code top-level domain, .bv, but it is not in use, and the Norwegian .no is used instead.
Picture of Bouvet Island taken from the International Space Station (Image courtesy of the Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space Center, Photo ID: ISS017-E-16161, http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/).
Visiting Bouvet Island
Due to its remoteness, it is extremely hard to reach and visit Bouvet Island. The island lies far from the route of cruise ships, and landing is difficult, with Nyrøysa being the only opening among the tall cliffs. The safest way to get in and out is by helicopter from a nearby ship. However, landing helicopters on Bouvet Island is prohibited, and can only be done after acquiring a special permit from the Norwegian Polar Institute. Only specialized vessels reach Bouvet Island, mostly scientific polar expeditions, but the island has sometimes been visited by amateur radio enthusiasts.
The Norwegian Polar Institute also has a set of rules to protect the local environment and avoid the introduction of non-native species to Bouvet Island, which is one of the few places in the world where no introduced species have been registered. These guidelines include cleaning and disinfecting any piece of equipment before landing, including boats, aircrafts, and clothing. Also, any waste has to be securely collected, stored, and taken away from the island. There are also special regulations for the Nyrøysa area, where visiting is prohibited between November 15 and March 1, except for special exemptions.
Since there is no infrastructure on the island, and no way to quickly rescue anyone that might be in danger, safety is a major concern on Bouvet Island. The island is often covered in fog, which hinders visibility, and weather conditions can change quickly. There is a considerable risk of landslides and avalanches, as the mountainsides are unstable, and staying anywhere on the island is hazardous. Also, there is little room for camping, or any kind of activity on the island. Thus, any visitor must be adequately prepared and able to ensure their own safety.
The steep cliffs of Cape Valdivia, on the northern side of Bouvet Island (1447, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0).
