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Bouvet Island

Coordinates: 54°26′S 3°24′E / 54.433°S 3.400°E / -54.433; 3.400
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Bouvet Island
Native name:
Bouvetøya
Location of Bouvet Island (white dot in center)
Geography
LocationSouth-Atlantic Ocean
Coordinates54°26′S 3°24′E / 54.433°S 3.400°E / -54.433; 3.400
Area49 km2 (19 sq mi)
(93% glaciated)
Highest elevation780 m (2560 ft)
Highest pointOlavtoppen
Administration
Norway
Demographics
Population0
Bouvet Island as seen from space

Bouvet Island (Norwegian: Bouvetøya, also historically known as Liverpool Island or Lindsay Island) is an island in the southern part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is in the sub-antarctic areas, 2500 km (1500 miles) south-southwest of the Cape of Good Hope (South Africa).[1]

It belongs to Norway and is not subject to the Antarctic Treaty (which says that land south of 60°S, including Antarctica, does not belong to any country). It is the most remote island in the world, which means that is farther from other land than any other island on Earth.[2] The closest piece of land to the island is Queen Maud Land in Antarctica,[3] which is more than 1600 km (994 miles) away.[4] Nobody lives there, and there are rarely any visitors.

Geography

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The island is volcanic and has high cliffs on all sides (created by high waves over thousands of years). Because of these cliffs, people usually only go to the island by flying in a helicopter.[5] 90% of its area is covered by glaciers (ice).

In January 2015 a new research station was put on Bouvet Island, for use by research expeditions.[5]

Climate, plants and animal life

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The climate is cold and does not change much, with an average of +1 °C in the warmest month, and −3 °C in the coldest.

There are penguins, sea birds and seals on the island.[6]

In fiction

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  • Bouvet Island is the setting of the 2004 movie Alien vs. Predator, where it is called by its Norwegian name "Bouvetøya".

References

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  1. "Bouvet Island" at CIA World Factbook Archived 2010-10-08 at the Wayback Machine; retrieved 2013-4-19.
  2. "Global Volcanism Program - Volcanoes of the World - Volcanoes of the Atlantic Ocean - Volcanology Highlights". volcano.si.edu. Retrieved November 25, 2010.
  3. "Most Remote Places in the World - Associated Content from Yahoo! - associatedcontent.com". associatedcontent.com. Archived from the original on November 18, 2011. Retrieved November 25, 2010.
  4. "NASA - Bouvet Island, South Atlantic Ocean". nasa.gov. Archived from the original on November 7, 2010. Retrieved November 25, 2010. {{cite web}}: More than one of |archivedate= and |archive-date= specified (help); More than one of |archiveurl= and |archive-url= specified (help)
  5. 5.0 5.1 "Bouvetøya". Norsk Polarinstitutt.
  6. "The Unofficial Bouvet Island Pages". phys.ucalgary.ca. Retrieved November 25, 2010.[permanent dead link]