The Bouvet Island, whose photo is located below, is a small piece of land that is located in the southern Atlantic Ocean. It covers an area of 58 square kilometers and is uninhabited. The distance from here to Antarctica, South America and Africa is quite large and about the same (about 1,600 kilometers).
Short story
Bouvet is an island that was discovered by accident. This happened on January 1, 1739 then. Then the French traveler Bouvet de Lozier, while studying the Antarctic, accidentally discovered it. As the researcher himself later recalled in his memoirs, initially, due to heavy fog, he mistook this land for the cape of some unknown continent. The island received its name in honor of its discoverer. December 10, 1825 the first documented landing of people took place here. They became representatives of the British expedition, led by Captain Norris. Then he proclaimed this land English property.
In the winter of 1927, the first long parking on the Bouvet dates back. The island was then visited by crew members of the ship "Norway" from the same country. Captain Lars Christensen declared it the property of Norway, and the very next year the king of the country declared it by his decree. Since this land area could not boast of strategic and material value, the British government officially abandoned it. Now a meteorological station, opened in 2005, is functioning here autonomously , which is prevented by people only once a year.
Geography
The geographic coordinates of Bouvet Island are 54 degrees, 26 minutes south latitude and 3 degrees, 24 minutes east longitude. It is a tiny piece of land formed by several eruptions of the Olavtopen Volcano. On the same mountain at an altitude of 780 meters above sea level is its highest point. The local topography is mountainous. The hillsides are almost completely covered by glaciers. The coast has a regular round shape without bays and bays. Small beaches are exposed by sliding glaciers and consist of black sand of lava origin.
Climatic conditions
Bouvet is an island located in the subantarctic belt. In this regard, it is not surprising that it is characterized by appropriate climatic conditions. In particular, the summer here is stably cold. Air temperature at this time is on average 10 degrees below zero. In winter, the thermometer is usually in the range from -5 to +1 degrees. Almost throughout the year strong winds blow here, and a large amount of precipitation occurs in the form of snow and drizzle.
Animal and plant world
Currently, Bouvet is an island that is a nature reserve. Its western part is partially free of glaciers. Such conditions have become a favorable habitat for ten species of seabirds. Due to the scarcity of volcanic soil, the severity of the climate, as well as the lack of liquid moisture, only a few species of lichens and mosses are found here. Bright representatives of the local fauna can be called elephant seals , seals, as well as several species of penguins that appear here during the breeding season.
Tourism
As noted above, Bouvet Island is uninhabited. Moreover, there are no historical documents confirming the fact that people have ever stayed here for the winter. This is not surprising, since you can get here either by boat from a nearby ship or by helicopter, because there are no bays suitable for calling ships. From a tourist point of view, one can only call it attractive an extinct volcano with an ice-filled crater, which occupies almost the entire territory of a glacier, untouched by human nature, as well as an interesting (albeit meager) animal world. Every year near the ship “Alexey Maryshev” an Antarctic cruise passes, making a two-day stop near the island. At the same time, people are not allowed to land ashore. Therefore, they can observe this patch of land only at a distance.
Interesting Facts
The development of the island is extremely difficult due to geographical and weather conditions. Landing on the south coast is prevented by glaciers, and on the other sides - steep cliffs, whose height reaches a mark of 490 meters.
In 1971, the Norwegian authorities declared Bouvet Island a reserve. Why this was done is not clear, because people rarely appear here.
In 1964, not far from this island, a ship was found with good supplies of water and food. It remains a mystery who traveled on it and where the passengers disappeared.
According to unofficial information, not far from Bouvet in 1979, an outbreak of an explosion was detected, which can be classified as nuclear weapons tests. Be that as it may, weighty evidence of this fact has not yet been found.
To visit this place, a Norwegian visa is required.
The closest people live 1404 miles from here. In particular, about 270 people constantly live on the island of Tristan da Cugna. On its territory there are all the modern attributes of civilization - the Internet, cafes and road transport.