Bouvet Island

Where is Bouvet Island?

Located in the South Atlantic Ocean, Bouvet Island is an island nation. It has a 30.00 km coastline.

Bouvet Island is a remote island found south of the Atlantic Ocean. The island has no capital. It is a volcanic island lying on the southern edge of the mid-Atlantic ridge. 93% of the island's total area is covered by a glacier, and the middle of the island is a volcanic crater covered with ice. In 1930, the island was declared a Norwegian dependency and in the following year, it was made a nature reserve. Bouvet Island has no residents, and the first Norwegian exploration of the island was in 1927 by a group led by Harald Horntvedt. Norway laid claim to the island in the same year, and that claim was honored in 1928. The second Norwegian exploration of the island was in 1928 with aims of setting up a meteorological radio weather station with staff but finding a location was difficult. There is little to do on the island save for sight-seeing of glaciers and some animals. Bouvet Island is hard to access, so it is not toured often. Tourists mostly visit the island between March and April. Bouvet Island has an Antarctic climate with an average temperature of 30 °F. Bouvet Island experiences higher temperatures of about 37 °F between December and March, and lower temperatures between July and September.

Bouvet Island is an Antarctican country covering 49.00 km². and around 55 times smaller than Rhode Island. Its geographic coordinates are 54 26 S, 3 24 E

The Bouvet Islands are named after the French naval officer Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet.

Its ISO code is BV.

The currency of Bouvet Island is the Krone (NOK).

Geography

Bouvet Island has a mean elevation of 0 m above sea level.

It has an antarctic climate. Its terrain is volcanic with a hostile coast.

Bouvet Island is located in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is uninhabited. The Island is one of three Norwegian dependencies, meaning they depend on Norway politically but are not considered part of Norway. The island is governed by the Dependency Act of March 24, 1933. Since the island is politically dependent on Norway, the government is a constitutional monarchy with the King of Norway, King Harald V, as the head of state. Bouvet Island was claimed by Norway in 1930 and is currently a natural reserve. The dependencies are governed by the Polar Affairs department in Oslo. The department is under the Ministry of Justice and Public Safety. Anders Anundsen currently leads the ministry. Anundsen is a member of the Norwegian Cabinet which is also known as the king’s council. The prime minister heads the cabinet. The King chooses the prime minister, and in turn, the prime minister appoints the members of the cabinet. The parliament of Norway is known as Storting, and it is made up of one house consisting of 169 members who are elected by the public every four years. The members of parliament convene at the Storting building while the members of the cabinet meet at the Royal Palace.

Flag

The island of Bouvet is a dependency territory of Norway, and it does not have permanent residents. It is only occupied for a few months by Norwegians who come to research on the island. They usually consist of scientists, support staff, and military personnel for security. As the island belongs to Norway, the Norwegian flag is the national flag of Bouvet Island. It consists of a blue and white bordered Nordic cross which reaches all ends of the flag while the background of the flag is red. The flag was adopted on February 27, 1930. The white and blue color on the flag represents strong ties between Norway and its neighbors Sweden and Demark. Mr. Fredrik Meltzer designed the flag. He designed the flag putting in mind the close ties Norway has with its neighbors. Mr. Meltzer was a member of parliament for the city of Berger and also served on several committees. The island of Bouvet has had only one flag that is the Norwegian flag. Although the Norwegian flag is the only flag ever used on the island, the UK flag can be considered the previous flag of the island. Before the island became a Norwegian territory, it was discovered by the British and was claimed by the British in 1825. After the declaration, the island was named Liverpool Island. Since the island was declared a territory of the UK first, the UK flag is the only previous flag to have been used on the island.