List of isolated islands and archipelagos

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

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

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