5 Facts Bouvet Island

Bouvet Island is a land of intrigue and mystery set in the South Atlantic Ocean. The island rests on icy blue waters, shrouded in ocean fog, ice covered, and encircled by stunning glaciers. The nearest human life resides thousands of miles away, making Bouvet Island the most remote on the planet. In the middle of the island lies an inactive volcano.

5 Facts You Might Not Know

1

The best way to access the island is by helicopter. The steep surrounding glaciers are not hospitable to even a harbor. To visit, one would have to take off from the runway of a ship deck in a helicopter. The helicopter would then have to navigate a landing on the surface of stretching ice. Once on the island, only an automated weather station would be recognizable.

2

Recorded history tells of the discovery of Bouvet Island by a Jean-Baptist Bouvet. The island was originally found in 1739, although it was rediscovered multiple times afterward. Presently the country of Norway controls the island as a nature preserve.

3

Bouvet Island contains a mystery. In 1964 an abandoned whaleboat was found. To this day the explorers and their mission are surrounded in theories. As a place of mystery, the island has been featured in three different modern day novels.

4

The ocean waves have shaped the steep glacier coastline. Two main glaciers were identified on the island, the Posadowksy Glacier and the Christensen Glacier. The inactive volcano in the center of the island was named the Wilhelm II Plateau.

5

Human beings do not reside on the island, the environment is too harsh. The island hosts nearly 300 storms throughout a calendar year. Some lichen and mosses have been found on the island. Bouvet Island is also home to sea creatures. Seals, seabirds, and penguins all call Bouvet Island their home.