Sitting nearly 1,100 miles north of Queen Maud Land in Antarctica and around 1,570 miles south-southwest of South Africa is a tiny, 19 square mile island that’s almost completely covered in glaciers. Bouvet Island might seem rather insignificant, but it represents one of, if not the, most isolated islands on the planet.
Bouvet Island is a volcanic island under Norwegian claim. Its highest peak, Olavtoppen, reaches to around 2,560 feet above sea level. The island does have status as a nature reserve, becoming such in 1971. Permission to land or stay on the island is basically not required, but because of its steep cliffs and hazardous ocean swells, a helicopter is typically required to reach its lands. Special permits from the Norwegian Polar Institute are required to land a helicopter on the island.
The isolated island is one of very few places on the planet with no introduced non-native species. The Norwegian Polar Institute takes care to make sure no non-native species, especially those from other sub-Antarctic islands or polar regions that are most likely to establish on Bouvet, are brought to the land. Most of the wildlife on the island is made up of seals, penguins and other seabirds that breed in colonies, while vegetation is dominated by mosses and lichens.
The island was first discovered by Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Lozier Bouvet as early as 1739, but it would take many years after to rediscover its location. The first Norwegian expedition went ashore on Bouvet Island on December 1st, 1927, when the explorers raised the Norwegian flag and claimed the island as Norwegian territory. After some dispute with the British, the Norwegian claim was solidified in 1929.
