The most remote island. The strangest and most mysterious islands on our planet
Even in the 21st century, there are places on the planet where the average wanderer rarely gets to. lonely Mountain peaks, desert landscapes, arctic ice floes or vast ice cliffs are remote places that immediately come to mind. Some of the most remote places on the planet are islands that are still far off the beaten track by air and shipping that are easily forgotten by the rest of the world. This description is about eight of the ten such places that could be mentioned. All islands (or island groups, in some cases) are dependent or outlying territories for more than major countries, all of which are remote and fascinating places that continue to fire the imaginations of adventurers and explorers.
Kerguelen Islands
The islands are a group of wind islands indian ocean filled with glaciers, mountains, rocky outcrops and vast plains of creeping grasses and mosses. With an average daily temperature of 2.1 to 8.2°C, the Kerguelen Islands are not the best choice for human settlement, but the islands are a haven for seals, albatrosses, terns and four species of penguins.
Svalbard
With an area of 39,044 sq. km, Svalbard is largest island Svalbard archipelago, and is also the largest island in Norway. Given its location about 830 km east of the coast of Greenland and about 950 km north of the coast of Europe, it is not surprising that the island is covered in snow and ice and contains a significant population of polar bears. The main settlement on the island is the city of Longyearbyen, or Longyearbyen, which is less than 3.2 km from the Svalbard World Seed Vault. It is a secure facility built into a mountain designed to protect the seeds of the world's major food producers in the event of a global crisis.
Pitcairn Island
This small volcanic island in the southern part Pacific Ocean- the only inhabited island of the British Overseas Territory of Pitcairn, Henderson, Doucey and the Oeno Islands - probably best known as the harbor of the rebel British ship "Bounty", which docked there in 1790. Today, Pitcairn Island is in the center of one of the largest marine reserves in the world, a vast area open ocean with an area of 830,000 sq. km, larger than the US state of Texas.
Two large arctic islands and several small islands make up. Archipelago in the North Arctic Ocean between the Barents and by the Kara seas is part of the administrative department of the Arkhangelsk Region and is located along the north - west coast Russia. Two main islands: North and South, stretch for 1000 km in a southwest-northeast direction and are separated by a narrow strait Matochkin Shar, which is only 1.6 to 2.4 km. The northeastern tip of the North Island - Cape Flissing - is the easternmost point of Europe. During the Cold War, Novaya Zemlya was the site of over 100 nuclear tests between 1954 and 1990.
Tristan da Cunha
The British Overseas Territory of St. Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha consists of isolated islands. Tristan da Cunha, the southernmost inhabited island in this territory (along with the reserve, consisting of the islands of Inaccessible, Solovyov, Sredny, Gofsky and Stoltenhoffsky), and is located about 2100 km south of St. Helena itself has a round outline, from coastline 34 km and the central volcanic hill (altitude 2060 m), which is usually covered with clouds.
Easter Island
Easter Island, Rapa Nui ("Great Rapa"), and Te Pito-e-Hyuna ("Navel of the World") are the names of a small triangular volcanic island in the South Pacific. Located 2,088 km from Pitcairn Island and 3,767 km from Santiago. Despite this remoteness, the government administers this group of islands. Easter Island is probably located in the most isolated place on the planet. It is 163 square kilometers. This unique place is famous for its giant stone statues ( moai in the form of a human head with a body truncated approximately at the level of the belt. Their height reaches 20 meters) ,
of which there are more than 600. The ruins of giant stone platforms with open areas for construction and a ceremonial platform of round stones.
South Georgia
Island South Georgia, which is part of the British Overseas Territory (South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands), is located in the Atlantic part of Antarctica, about 1,450 km east of the Falkland Islands and 4,790 km west of Cape Town, South Africa. Although the island and its nearby waters are teeming with wildlife, there are few people on the island. A small number of scientists and support staff maintain the British Antarctic Expedition's stations at Grytviken on King Edward Island and Bird Island, on the northwestern tip of the island, which are the only inhabitants of the island. The island served intermittently as a base for whaling and scientific expeditions during the 19th century, but it is most commonly referred to as the final resting place made by British explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton, who first crossed South Georgia Island in 1916, to seek help for his ill-fated trans -Antarctic expedition.
Diego Garcia
Diego Garcia is a curious V-shaped coral atoll in the center. The island is the largest and southernmost part of the Chagos Archipelago, which is part of the British Indian Ocean Territory. The island serves as a huge air and naval base for the US and British military due to its strategic location between East Africa, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Australia. While this island does indeed have a lot of wildlife, it could be argued that Diego Garcia's quasi-secret military objective justifies its inclusion on this list. The island was once inhabited by more than a thousand islanders who were resettled in Mauritius and Seychelles from Diego Garcia in 1971 to make room for the militarization of the island. These islanders and their descendants continue to sue for the right to return home.
Tristan da Cunha is the most remote inhabited island in the world. To the nearest land - the island of St. Helena - more than 2 thousand kilometers, to the nearest coast of the African continent - more than 2700 kilometers. 272 people live permanently on the island. The only island of the archipelago with a permanent population.
Tristan da Cunha is an archipelago in the southern part Atlantic Ocean part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena. Along with Easter Island, it is one of the most remote inhabited places on Earth. Located 2816 km from South Africa, 3360 km from South America and 2161 km south of Saint Helena.
Tristan da Cunha is a group of small volcanic islands in the southern part of the Atlantic Ocean as part of the dependent British territory of St. Helena. The islands are located within 37°6' South latitude and 12°1' West longitude. The total area of the islands is approximately 202 sq. km. On Tristan da Cunha, the largest (98 sq. km) and the only inhabited island of the entire group (population in 1988 - 313 people), at an altitude of 2060 m there is a volcano that was silent until 1961, when it happened his eruption. Most of the inhabitants of the island are descendants of British soldiers who were stationed on Tristan da Cunha during the time of Napoleon's imprisonment on St. Helena, some residents are descendants of whaling sailors who once settled on the islands. The inhabitants of the islands are agriculture, fisheries and animal husbandry. Since 1942, the British radio and weather stations have been located on the island. Until 1948, there was no organized form of government on the islands. In 1950, the first Governor of St. Helena was appointed, and in 1952, general elections were held for the Island Council. Other islands in this group: Gough, Inaccessible (Inaccessible) and Nightingale (Nightingale). The islands were discovered in 1506 by Portuguese sailors under Admiral Tristro Cunha and were annexed by Great Britain in 1816. During the volcanic eruption in 1961, all the inhabitants of the islands were evacuated, but later, in 1963, they returned to their native places.
Tristan Da Canha is home to a population of 270 very isolated people, with an economy based in the fishing industry. The climate of the islands is temperate oceanic, rainy and windy. On Gough Island average monthly temperature ranges from +9°C to 14.5°C, on northern islands- from +11 °С to 17.5 °C. Precipitation per year varies from 2000 mm in the north to 2500 mm on Gough Island.
The islanders often find themselves hostages of Atlantic storms: wind gusts of almost 190 km per hour were once so strong that they lifted cows and sheep into the air, and they fell into the ocean and died there ...
Tristan da Cunha is the only island in the archipelago with a permanent population. The main settlement of the island is Edinburgh of the Seven Seas in the northwestern part of the island. Other settlements are unstable and are scientific bases and meteorological stations. The population of the island is about 300 people. Tristan da Cunha is an island of volcanic origin that appeared about a million years ago. On the island is located highest point archipelago - the peak of Queen Mary (Queen Mary), a height of 2055 meters above sea level. In winter, the top of the mountain is covered with snow. Queen Mary is a volcano that has erupted several times since the discovery of the island. The island of Tristan da Cunha has a rocky coast and mountainous terrain, numerous ravines that locals called "gorges" ("gulches"). The only territory of the island adapted for permanent human life is the northern and northwestern part. You can land there from the sea without much risk.
And this is the "breakfast" of the inhabitants of this island - Authentic Tails of Tristan Lobster - they say it is very tasty!
The island now has a mini market, radio station, cafe, video store and swimming pool. Tristan is connected to the world by one telephone and fax in the Manager's Department, and is visited once a year by the only mail ship in the world. This ship brings not only mail, but also canned food, videos, books and magazines, medicines.
Incredible Facts
There are still places on Earth where no human foot has set foot.
But also on our planet there are places where people should not have lived, but they still live there.
Whether it's unbearable heat, Siberian frosts, or an island that is almost impossible to get to, some people are unwilling or unable to leave their places of residence for one reason or another.
Here is a list of 25 such places.
25. Atacama Desert, Chile/Peru
This desert is considered the driest place on Earth. It rains here 4 times in a thousand years.
Temperatures can range from incredibly cold at night to stifling heat during the day.
Despite these conditions, over 1 million people consider the desert their home, and most of them work in a copper mine.
24. Verkhoyansk, Russia
Despite the fact that this is one of the coldest places on our planet, and officially most cold city on the ground, Verkhoyansk is still inhabited.
Where the temperature reached the mark -69.8 degrees Celsius lives a little over 1,200 people.
23. Merapi Volcano, Indonesia
This is the largest in the country active volcano, which is located on the island of Java, near the city of Yogyakarta.
Merapi is also called " fiery mountain", And it erupted more than 60 times in 500 years. But this did not force nearly a quarter of a million residents to leave their homes, located on fertile land in the shadow of a volcano.
22. Kivu (Lake), Rwanda/Democratic Republic of the Congo
At the bottom of this lake are several million cubic meters of methane and carbon dioxide. If all this comes to the surface, more than 2 million people could be affected.
21. Pitcairn Islands
Sometimes they are called "the smallest democracy on Earth." This state is the place of residence for 50 residents from 9 families.
On the island no harbor or airport- can only be reached by canoe. But there is high-speed Internet.
20. Cook Islands, Australia and Oceania
Only 4 people live here. Used to be here railroad station where the trains were fueled to cross longest straight road on earth.
Since nothing grows on the island, the inhabitants have to bring all the food and drinking water by boat.
19. Minqin, China
This area has a sad future. The rapid growth of the population has led to the fact that on the site of the only river passing through the district, desert formed.
Here left only 155 square kilometers of fertile land.
18. La Rinconada, Peru
The city is located in the Andes at an altitude of about 5 100 meters above sea level. That makes La Rinconada the highest human settlement on the planet. You can get into the city only by climbing a narrow mountain road.
Plus, its ecology is completely unfavorable. Except almost underdeveloped sewerage and wastewater systems, here you can find high mercury content, which remains after gold mining.
live here about 30,000 people, many of which suffer from mercury poisoning.
17. Chernobyl, Ukraine
After a tragic accident that happened in 1986, almost all the inhabitants of this city were evacuated.
To date some workers still live in the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone, but the time of their stay is limited - only a few days a week they can live there.
It should be noted that the Exclusion Zone is a territory into which no free access, since after the accident she was subjected to intense contamination with long-lived radionuclides.
16. Linfen, China
Until 1978, this city was known for its clean spring water, greenery and rich agricultural culture, thanks to which he received the nickname " Modern city fruits and flowers."
But after the city was turned into the main industrial center of coal mining environment has changed drastically.
On the this moment it is one of the most polluted cities in the world: air polluted with ash, carbon, leadAndorganic chemicals.
15. Pompeii, Italy
After the destruction brought by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius on August 24, 79, this ancient Roman city, located in the Campania region and buried under volcanic ash, is still a place of residence for some people.
And all because of the fertile land. Even despite the fact that frozen lava lies at every step, people consider the risk of living in the city justified.
14. Socotra (island), Yemen
Known as "the most ethereal place on Earth", this island is located in the northwest Indian Ocean, about 250 km from the Somali Peninsula, and 350 km south of the Arabian Peninsula.
This makes it so isolated from the rest of the world that most of the flora and faunaimpossible to findnowhere else.
There are only two roads here, but the inhabitants, who number just over 40,000, it does not bother.
Socotra is inhabited mainly by shepherds, fishermen and farmers - they all breed frankincense and aloe, as well as sheep and goats.
13. Barrow (Alaska), USA
Barrow is most northern city in USA. It is located about 2,100 km from the North Pole, which makes the city incredibly cold.
In addition, Barrow is included in the list of settlements that can "boast" the harshest environmental conditions.
Only 109 days a year the temperature can rise above 0 degrees Celsius. On the average the temperature in the city is below zero for 324 days a year. Plus, frosts and snowfalls can begin in any month, and the polar nights here are incredibly long.
12. Tristan da Cunha (Islands)
Together with Easter Island and the Pitcairn Islands, it is on the list the most remote settlements on the planet.
Tristan da Cunha is located 2,816 km from South Africa and 3,360 km from South America. You can only get here by fishing boats or scientific vessels., but be careful - the locals are not very friendly to tourists.
It is worth noting that immigration is illegal here.
11. Bajo, Philippines
This is not so much a locality as an ethnic group that lives in Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines.
Indigenous peoples and tribes from nearby areas were nicknamed "Sea Gypsies" because of their way of life. Even though more and more Bajo decide to move to land, there are families who continue to life on the water.
They live without drinking water and electricity, and they stick to the shore only when it is necessary to bury the dead.
10. Kifuka, Democratic Republic of the Congo
If you are afraid of lightning, then you will definitely not like it here. This village is where lightning strikes regularly, and for every square kilometer there are about 60 lightning strikes every year.
9. Meghalaya, India
This state in India is famous for its torrential downpours and monsoons. The town of Cherrapunji, which is located in this state, has become famous as the rainiest place on Earth - rainfall exceeds 11,000 mm. This amount of precipitation led to the emergence of unique plants.
8. Muli, Faroe Islands
Despite its extremely unstable weather and the complete or partial absence of minerals and vegetation, four residents of this tiny village on Faroe Islands until they are about to leave their home.
7. Motuo, China
This is the place where incredibly hard to get to. The path to this isolated locality considered the most difficult in the world. Here live about 10,000 people.
Here no roads and no communication with the outside world. To get to the mysterious (the word "Motuo" means "hidden, mysterious lotus") you need to make your way through the mountains, and the journey can take a week.
6. Norilsk, Russia
Besides the fact that Norilsk is one of coldest cities on earth, it is also one of most environmentally polluted cities on our planet.
5. Dallol, Ethiopia
This settlement can "boast" of the most high average annual temperature on Earth. Between 1960 and 1966, the highest average annual temperature was recorded here - 34 degrees Celsius.
In addition, Dallol - one of the most remote places on the ground. Here no roads, and to get to it, you need to use the caravan routes, which are aimed at collecting and delivering salt.
Nearby, below sea level, is Dallol volcano(last eruption in 1926). There are no exact statistics on how many people live here.
4. La Oroya, Peru
This city is famous mining and metallurgical industries. But these industries have listed the city most environmentally polluted cities in the world.
Due to lead smelting, literally all residents, including children, have some degree of lead poisoning.
The average life expectancy in this city is 51 years for men and 55 years for women. It is worth noting that on average in the country, people live 20 years more.
The main cause of death is oncology. Here there is many genetic deformities, because for several generations they have not left this lead shell.
3. Oymyakon, Russia
This village is known as one of the "Poles of Cold", ie. region where registered lowest temperature on earth.
About 500 people live here (2012). The length of the day in Oymyakon can vary from 3 hours in December to 21 hours in the summer.
In January, the average monthly temperature is -46.4 degrees Celsius(sometimes it can go down to -50).
Modern man is no longer surprised by travel. Borders remain more or less open, if there is a supply of money
you can go anywhere. In fact, this is only an appearance. Our planet is so large that its remote corners have
the opportunity to visit only special state expeditions. Here, for example, the islands most remote from civilization,
each of which could be a perfect home for a modern day Robinson Crusoe.
Tromelin
France
Tiny french island lies 450 kilometers from Madagascar. Above sea level, it rises only some 7
meters - oceanologists say that another couple of decades, and the island will completely go under water.
Pitcairn
Great Britain
All fifty islanders are descendants of rioters from a merchant ship who arrived here in 1790. They were kept company
merry Tahitians, carried by some unknown current to such a remote piece of land.
coconut islands
Australia
A thousand kilometers from Java and two thousand from the coast of Australia. Cocos Islands are a set of 27 coral
atolls, which comfortably housed as many as six hundred people. Charles Darwin noted these atolls that brought him
Lots of evidence for the theory of evolution.
Saint George Island
United States of America
One of the largest communities of the Aleuts drags out a proud existence here. However, the Indians can hardly be called true
masters of this land: hordes of seals and a couple of million sea birds fit this designation to a much greater extent.
bear island
Norway
Most south island The Svalbard archipelago looks like a real stronghold of the original dark beauty of the Norwegian lands. Here
there is almost no one: there are about 20 shifting servants of the local weather station per 178 square kilometers.
Floreana
Ecuador
Floreana is part of the larger massif of the Galapagos Islands. This small piece of land is located a hundred kilometers from
Ecuador. Floreana has only a hundred people, there is one telephone and one hotel that sees one guest once a year.
Macquarie
Australia
If you love penguins then Macquarie is the island of your dreams. True, you will have to overcome a small difficulty: an island
located a whole thousand kilometers from New Zealand. Macquarie is under the control of the Tasmanian government and remains
home for fifty people.
Modern man is no longer surprised by travel. The borders remain more or less open, and if you have enough money, you can go anywhere. In fact, this is only an appearance. Our planet is so large that only special state expeditions have the opportunity to visit its remote corners. Here, for example, are the 7 most remote islands from civilization, each of which could become a wonderful home for the modern Robinson Crusoe.
Tromelin
France The tiny French island lies 450 kilometers from Madagascar. Above sea level, it rises only some 7 meters - oceanologists say that a couple more decades, and the island will completely go under water.
Pitcairn
Great Britain All fifty islanders are descendants of rebels from a merchant ship who arrived here in 1790. They were accompanied by merry Tahitians, brought by who knows what current to such a remote piece of land.
coconut islands
Australia A thousand kilometers from Java and two thousand from the coast of Australia. The Cocos Islands are a collection of 27 coral atolls that comfortably accommodate as many as six hundred people. Charles Darwin noted these atolls, which brought him many confirmations of the theory of evolution.
Saint George Island
United States of America One of the largest Aleut communities ekes out a proud existence here. However, the Indians can hardly be called the true owners of this land: hordes of seals and a couple of million seabirds fit this designation to a much greater extent.
bear island
Norway The southernmost island of the Svalbard archipelago looks like a real stronghold of the original dark beauty of the Norwegian lands. There is almost no one here: there are about 20 shifting servants of the local weather station per 178 square kilometers.
Floreana
Ecuador Floreana is part of the large massif of the Galapagos Islands. This small piece of land is located a hundred kilometers from Ecuador. Floreana has only a hundred people, there is one telephone and one hotel that sees one guest once a year.
