List of isolated islands and archipelagos

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This is a list of the most isolated islands and archipelagos on Earth in terms of distance to another landmass. Many of these islands are of volcanic origin via tectonic plates such as Bouvet Island while others appear from hotspots such as the Azores which was created by the Azores hotspot. This list includes islands that are more than 500 kilometres (310 mi) away from another point of land.

Notable omissions[edit]

One such omission on this list is Tristan da Cunha. While it is usually regarded as one of the most remote islands on Earth the island is actually only 320 kilometres (200 mi) from Gough Island. The island is instead known as the most remote inhabited island on Earth. Gough Island is uninhabited apart from a weather station with around 6–7 people on it but they are not a permanent population.[1]

Easter Island is another omission. The island is 320 kilometres (200 mi) from Isla Salas y Gómez.[2]

Other islands and archipelagos include the Chagos Archipelago being 475 kilometres (295 mi) away from the Maldives, the Kerguelen Islands and the Heard Island and McDonald Islands are about 480 kilometers away from each other. Other fairly remote islands include Ducie Island, South Orkney Islands, Peter I Island, Malpelo Island, Conway Reef and Palmerston Island. The New Zealand Subantarctic Islands are relatively close to each other.[3][4]

List[edit]

Island / Archipelago Distance to nearest landmass Closest point Notes / Refs
Bouvet Island 1,639 kilometres (1,018 mi) Antarctica Queen Maud Land The island is a territory of Norway.[5]
Azores 1,300 kilometres (810 mi)  Portugal Distance to the European mainland is about 1,500 kilometres (930 mi).[6][7]
Trindade and Martim Vaz 1,167 kilometres (725 mi)  Brazil [8]
Ascension Island 1,100 kilometres (680 mi)  Saint Helena The island is administratively part of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a territory in the United Kingdom.[9][10]
Saint Helena 1,100 kilometres (680 mi)  Ascension Island The island is administratively part of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a territory in the United Kingdom.[9][11]
Madeira 1,060 kilometres (660 mi)  Morocco [7]
Bermuda 1,050 kilometres (650 mi) United States North Carolina The island is a territory of the United Kingdom.
Crozet Islands 1,050 kilometres (650 mi) South Africa Prince Edward Islands [12]
Prince Edward Islands 1,050 kilometres (650 mi) French Southern and Antarctic Lands Crozet Islands [12]
Minamitorishima 1,015 kilometres (631 mi)  Northern Mariana Islands [13]
Kermadec Islands 1,000 kilometres (620 mi)  New Zealand [14]
Clipperton Island 945 kilometres (587 mi) Mexico Revillagigedo Islands [15]
Cocos (Keeling) Islands 900 kilometres (560 mi)  Christmas Island [16]
Johnston Atoll 890 kilometres (550 mi) United States Hawaii [17]
Desventuradas Islands 850 kilometres (530 mi)  Chile [18]
Norfolk Island 800 kilometres (500 mi)  New Zealand [19]
Galápagos Islands 720 kilometres (450 mi) Costa Rica Cocos Island [20]
South Sandwich Islands 700 kilometres (430 mi)  South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands [21]
South Georgia 700 kilometres (430 mi) South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands South Sandwich Islands [21]
Chatham Islands 650 kilometres (400 mi)  New Zealand [22]
Juan Fernández Islands 650 kilometres (400 mi)  Chile [23]
Macquarie Island 650 kilometres (400 mi) Auckland Islands Auckland Islands [24]
Saint Peter and Saint Paul Archipelago 625 kilometres (388 mi) Brazil Fernando de Noronha [25]
Wake Island 580 kilometres (360 mi) Marshall Islands Bokak Atoll [26]
Rodrigues 560 kilometres (350 mi)  Mauritius Distance to main island.[27]
Bass Islands 550 kilometres (340 mi) French Polynesia Raivavae [28]
Cocos Island 550 kilometres (340 mi)  Costa Rica [29]
Okinotorishima 534 kilometres (332 mi) Japan Okidaitōjima [30]
Scott Island 505 kilometres (314 mi) Antarctica Victoria Land Due to the Antarctic treaty, any landmass south of 60°S are not part of any country.[31]
Jan Mayen 500 kilometres (310 mi) Iceland Kolbeinsey [32]
Marquesas Islands 500 kilometres (310 mi) French Polynesia Tuamotus [33]

References[edit]

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  2. ^ Society, National Geographic. "Salas y Gómez and Easter Island". National Geographic Society. Archived from the original on 2023-07-13. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  3. ^ SHEPPARD, C. R. C.; ATEWEBERHAN, M.; BOWEN, B. W.; CARR, P.; CHEN, C. A.; CLUBBE, C.; CRAIG, M. T.; EBINGHAUS, R.; EBLE, J.; FITZSIMMONS, N.; GAITHER, M. R.; GAN, C-H.; GOLLOCK, M.; GUZMAN, N.; GRAHAM, N. A. J. (2012). "Reefs and islands of the Chagos Archipelago, Indian Ocean: why it is the world's largest no-take marine protected area". Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems. 22 (2): 232–261. Bibcode:2012ACMFE..22..232S. doi:10.1002/aqc.1248. ISSN 1052-7613. PMC 4260629. PMID 25505830.
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  5. ^ "Bouvet Island", The World Factbook, Central Intelligence Agency, 2023-05-16, archived from the original on 2023-06-10, retrieved 2023-07-12
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  8. ^ Mesquita, João Lara (2019-02-08). "Arquipélago de Trindade e Martim Vaz, a grande joia do litoral". Mar Sem Fim (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 2023-09-16. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
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  10. ^ "Ascension: The island where nothing makes sense". BBC News. 2016-04-18. Archived from the original on 2018-02-20. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
  11. ^ "St Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha profiles". BBC News. 2011-07-12. Archived from the original on 2019-03-17. Retrieved 2023-07-12.
  12. ^ a b T. Lombard; B. Reyers; L.Y. Schonegevel; J. Cooper; L.B. Smith-adao; D.C. Nel; P.W. Froneman; I.J. Ansorge; M.N. Bester; C.A. Tosh; T. Strauss; T. Akkers; O. Gon; R.W. Leslie; S.l. Chown (2007). "Conserving pattern and process in the Southern Ocean: designinga Marine Protected Area for the Prince Edward Islands". Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  13. ^ "Minamitorishima _ AcademiaLab". academia-lab.com. Archived from the original on 2023-07-13. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  14. ^ "Kermadec Islands | Volcanic, Pacific, Wildlife | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Archived from the original on 2015-09-12. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  15. ^ Jost, Christian. "Géographie | Bienvenue sur l'île de la passion...Clipperton! | Christian Jost". www.clipperton.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 2023-07-13. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  16. ^ Atoll Research Bulletin. Smithsonian Press. 1951. Archived from the original on 2023-12-28. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  17. ^ "Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument". www.papahanaumokuakea.gov. Archived from the original on 2023-07-13. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  18. ^ "Islands off the coast of central Chile in the Pacific Ocean | Ecoregions | WWF". World Wildlife Fund. Archived from the original on 2023-01-29. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  19. ^ Hollingsworth, Julia (2019-10-30). "Norfolk Island: Why residents want to ditch Australia for New Zealand". CNN. Archived from the original on 2021-04-03. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  20. ^ Browne, Robert A.; Collins, Elizabeth I.; Anderson, David J. (2010). "Morphological variation of Galapagos island populations of the Yellow Warbler Dendroica petechia aureola". Aqua Docs. ISSN 1390-2830. Archived from the original on 2023-07-15. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
  21. ^ a b "South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands Map and Satellite Image". geology.com. Archived from the original on 2023-07-13. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  22. ^ Otago, University of. "11 July 2016, Prehistoric demise of Chathams sea lion a stark warning for conservation of NZ sea lion". University of Otago. Archived from the original on 2023-07-13. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  23. ^ "Juan Fernández Islands | Robinson Crusoe, Pacific Ocean, Archipelago | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Archived from the original on 2023-09-13. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  24. ^ Childerhouse, Simon (2008). "Conservation Biology of New Zealand Sea Islands (Phocartos hookeri)" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-07-13. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  25. ^ Pinheiro, Hudson T.; Macena, Bruno C. L.; Francini-Filho, Ronaldo B.; Ferreira, Carlos E. L.; Albuquerque, Fernanda V.; Bezerra, Natalia P. A.; Carvalho-Filho, Alfredo; Ferreira, Romulo C. P.; Luiz, Osmar J.; Mello, Thayna J.; Mendonça, Sibele A.; Nunes, Diogo M.; Pimentel, Caio R.; Pires, Alessandra M. A.; Soares-Gomes, Abilio (2020). "Fish biodiversity of Saint Peter and Saint Paulʼs Archipelago , Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Brazil: new records and a species database". Journal of Fish Biology. 97 (4): 1143–1153. Bibcode:2020JFBio..97.1143P. doi:10.1111/jfb.14484. ISSN 0022-1112. PMID 32743800. S2CID 220942252. Archived from the original on 2023-07-13. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  26. ^ Thorston-Krell, Frank; Breidenbaugh, Mark (2016). "The Mango Flower Beetle, Protaetia fusca (Herbst), on Wake Island, Western Pacific Ocean (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae: Cetoniinae)—an Accomplished Island Invasive Island Invasive". Archived from the original on 2023-07-13. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  27. ^ "May 2008 climatological summary" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-10-10. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  28. ^ Ghasarian, Christian. "Protection of natural resources through a sacred prohibition: The rahui on Rapa Iti" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-07-13. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  29. ^ "Case Study: Cocos Island National Park". education.nationalgeographic.org. Archived from the original on 2023-07-13. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  30. ^ "How Much can a Rock Get?" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-07-13. Retrieved 2023-07-13.
  31. ^ "Scott Island and Iselin Bank IMMA" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2023-07-14. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
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  33. ^ Florence, Jacques; Lorence, David H. (1997). "Introduction to the Flora and Vegetation of the Marquesas Islands". Allertonia. 7 (4): 226–237. ISSN 0735-8032. JSTOR 23190456.
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