Tristan da Cunha

Tristan da Cunha is a group of remote volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. Its main island is about 11 kilometres across, covers 98 square kilometres, and is home to roughly 220 people, which makes it the most remote inhabited place in the world.

There is no airstrip, so the only way in or out is by ship. The trip from Cape Town in South Africa takes about six days. The islands belong to a British Overseas Territory, and the single village is called Edinburgh of the Seven Seas. It is a good example of how far people will go to build a home in the middle of the ocean, with farms and fishing as part of daily life.

Who found Tristan da Cunha?

Portuguese explorer Tristão da Cunha sighted the islands in 1506, but rough seas stopped him from landing, so he named the main island after himself. Some sources say Portuguese sailors landed in 1520. The first landing that nobody disputes was made on 7 February 1643 by the crew of a Dutch ship, the Heemstede. Later, in 1767, a French ship's crew made the first full survey of the islands.

What is the island like?

The main island is a volcano that rises from the deep ocean. Its peak, Queen Mary's Peak, reaches 2,062 metres and gets snow in winter. Steep cliffs 300 to 600 metres tall ring most of the coast, and the only flat ground, about five square kilometres, lies in the north-west where the village sits. The nearest inhabited land is Saint Helena, about 2,400 kilometres away.

On the globe

The model shows the island as a steep volcano rising from the sea, with the tiny settlement of Edinburgh of the Seven Seas on the coast.