8 Facts About The World’s Most Remote Locations
The wish of wanting to 'get away from it all,' so to speak, is pretty common in the modern world, especially when the phone won’t stop ringing or the traffic gets overwhelming. While we usually just mean a weekend camping trip or an afternoon in the garden, some places on Earth take isolation to the extreme. Let’s look at what life and nature look like in the most remote places in the world.
The Potato Patches of Tristan da Cunha
You can't get much more isolated than Tristan da Cunha. It’s the most remote inhabited archipelago in the world. The residents rely heavily on their own agriculture to survive since supply ships are rare. They’ve created an area called The Patches about two miles from the main settlement, a collection of potato plots walled off by volcanic rock to protect the crops from fierce winds. Even in isolation, a good harvest is everything.
The Disease-Free Bees of Pitcairn Island
Pitcairn Island is famous for its history with the Bounty mutineers, but it's also a haven for apiarists. Because the island is so far from other landmasses, its bee population hasn’t been exposed to the diseases that plague hives elsewhere. This means Pitcairn produces some of the purest, healthiest honey on the planet. It’s a wonderful example of how geographic barriers can actually serve as protection for vulnerable species.
The Ancient Flora of Socotra
If you visited Socotra off the coast of Yemen, you'd think you landed on another planet. The island has been isolated for millions of years. This separation allowed it to develop plant life found nowhere else. The most striking is the Dragon’s Blood Tree, which looks like an umbrella blown inside out and has adapted to capture moisture from the mist in the air. It’s a masterclass in how nature adapts to specific, harsh environments over time, especially when left alone.
The Silence of Point Nemo
Point Nemo isn't land at all. It’s a spot in the South Pacific Ocean that's further from land than any other point on Earth. When you’re there, the nearest humans are usually the astronauts on the International Space Station. It’s technically the oceanic pole of inaccessibility. There’s no plant life to speak of here, as the currents prevent nutrients from flowing that far out. Just nothing but water in all directions but up.
The Sub-Zero Garden of Svalbard
Svalbard is located high in the Arctic Circle. It's harsh and cold, but it holds the key to the future of gardening and agriculture. This is the home of the Global Seed Vault. It’s built deep into the permafrost to stay naturally frozen and houses duplicates of seed samples from crop collections around the world. It was built to ensure that no matter what happens to our climate or global stability, we’ll always have the ability to grow food.
The Vitamin C of the Kerguelen Islands
Known as the Desolation Islands, this sub-Antarctic archipelago is windblown and chilly. However, it's home to a very special plant called the Kerguelen cabbage. In the days of sailing, sailors would stop here to eat this vitamin-rich plant to prevent scurvy. It’s even self-pollinating, as there aren’t any flying insects on the islands to pollinate them due to the high winds. It’s a fascinating, practical adaptation that kept explorers alive in a place that didn’t want them there.
The Dry Valleys of Antarctica
We tend to think of remote polar regions as snowy, but the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica are actually deserts. They haven't seen rain for nearly two million years. It’s actually our closest earthly equivalent to the surface of Mars. Despite this, scientists have found microbes living inside the rocks there. Life truly doesn't need much to survive sometimes, and these valleys prove it.
The Mail Run to Supai
Supai, Arizona, is located inside the Grand Canyon. It's the only place in the United States where mail is still delivered by mule. There are no roads to get there. You have to hike, ride a horse, or take a helicopter. It’s a village that prioritizes its landscape over convenience, and the difficult path preserves a way of life that a paved road would destroy.
These places remind us that the world is vast and incredibly varied. We don't have to travel to the South Pole or the middle of the Pacific to appreciate the resilience of nature, though. We can see that same tenacity in a seedling pushing through hard soil in our own backyards. Whether it’s a remote island or a corner of your patio, life finds a way to adapt, and it’s comforting to know that nature is always at work, even (or especially) when we're not around.