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Bouvet Island
Quick Overview:
This uninhabited volcanic island is almost entirely covered by glaciers and is difficult to approach. It was discovered in 1739 by a French naval officer after whom the island was named. No claim was made until 1825 when the British flag was raised. In 1928, the UK waived its claim in favor of Norway, which had occupied the island the previous year. In 1971, Bouvet Island and the adjacent territorial waters were designated a nature reserve. Since 1977, Norway has run an automated meteorological station on the island.
Geography:
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Location:
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Southern Africa, island in the South Atlantic Ocean, south-southwest of the Cape of Good Hope (South Africa) |
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Area:
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total: 58.5 sq km water: 0 sq km land: 58.5 sq km |
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Land boundaries:
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0 km |
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Elevation extremes:
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lowest point: South Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Olav Peak 935 m |
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Geography - note:
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covered by glacial ice; declared a nature reserve |
Population:
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uninhabited (July 2002 est.) |
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Population growth rate:
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NA |
Bouvet Island was discovered on January 1, 1738 by Monsieur Jean-Baptiste Lozier Bouvet with French ships Aigle and Marie, but the island's position was not accurately fixed and because Bouvet did not circumnavigate his discovery, he remained uncertain whether it was an island or part of a southern continent. Though he remained in the neighborhood for ten days, he was unable to land. In 1772, Captain James Cook aboard HMS Resolution found no land in a position 300 miles south of BouvetØya, thus proving that Bouvet's discovery was not part of a southern continent. In 1774, Captain Furneaus, aboard HMS Adventure and again in 1775 by Captain James Cook on HMS Resolution again unsuccessfully searched for this island. In 1808, Captain Lindsay of the enderby whaler Swan, in company with the Otter, searched for this island along the parallel of latitude 54 degrees southeast from longitude10 degrees west and sighted it on October 6th, 1808. The position of the island was then fixed with the island center measured at 54 degrees 22 minutes south latitude, and 4 degrees, 15 minutes east longitude. Owing to bad weather, no landing was attempted during a week long stay nor was any anchorage discovered, the island being surrounded to a distance of 3 miles with field ice. On December 10th, 1825, the island was again sighted by Captain Norris aboard the ships Sprightly and Lively. On December 16th, a difficult landing was made on Bouvet. The crews of two boats sent ashore for seals were weather bound on shore from December 18 to December 24. By 1918 there were four different islands shown on charts in this extreme southern part of the South Atlantic - Liverpool, Lindsay, Thompson and Bouvet Islands respectively. A Lieutenant Gould of the Royal Navy Hydrographic Survey considered that they were all the same, thoughthere was a chance that a volcanic island had appeared and subsequently disappeared. Britain eventually waived all claims to the island in favour of the Norwegians, as they already possessed a far more suitable whaling station on South Georgia . In December, 1927, the Norwegian vessel Norvegia, (Harald Horntvedt), visited the island, staying for a month and landing several times: an emergency depot of food on Cape Circumcision (54º 35' South, 3º 21' East) for shipwrecked sailors was established. In 1929, the Norvegia again visited the island and another hut with provisions was established on Lars0ya off the southwest extremity of BouvetØya but on a visit by the same vessel in 1931, this hut and the one erected on Cape Circumcision (54 degrees, 35 minutes south, 3 degrees, 21 minutes east) had also disappeared. In 1934 Admiral E.R.G.R.Evans, Commander in Chief of the British Naval Base at Simonstown, made a dramatic dash to Bouvet in HMS Milford to make sure that no hostile power was operating there: none was, the sole occupants being seals, sea elephants, penguins and seabirds. The island has only rarely been visited, so its history is extremely brief. Two events, however, are rather mysterious: first, a sunken lifeboat and assorted supplies were discovered on the island in 1964, but their origin could not be determined. Then, on September 22, 1979, a thermonuclear bomb test very probably occurred in the vivinity of Bouvetøya and Marion Island. Though no country ever admitted to setting off a nuclear device there, an orbiting satellite detected a very brief, intense burst of light and magnetic, seismographic and ionospheric evidence all point to a nuclear blast. Personnel at Australian Antarctic stations later detected radiation and radioactive debris. It is now believed that the test was carried out by the South Africans.
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