Point Nemo

Geographic Details

Point Nemo is the most remote location on Earth, situated in the southern Pacific Ocean between New Zealand and Chile. It is 2,688 km from the nearest landmasses, including Easter Island and Marie Byrd Land in Antarctica. Discovered in 1992 by Croatian-Canadian engineer Hervoya Lucatella using a geospatial computer, Point Nemo is named after Captain Nemo from Jules Verne's novel 1.

If you want to visit Point Nemo, you'll need a good ship and a GPS because there is nothing about Point Nemo which is special other than being a place on a map.

--- Gary Arndt

The area is so isolated that the closest humans are often astronauts aboard the International Space Station, 408 km overhead 1.

   

Biological Inactivity

Point Nemo is one of the least biologically active places on Earth due to its extreme remoteness and lack of micronutrients. The scarcity of iron and other vital nutrients results in an aquatic desert with minimal phytoplankton and no fish. This isolation also keeps it far from major shipping lanes, making it an area rarely visited by ships 1.

The area around Point Nemo is perhaps the least biologically active place on earth because it is so far from land.

--- Gary Arndt

If you were to visit, the nearest human beings would be on the International Space Station, orbiting 254 miles above 1.

   

Spacecraft Graveyard

Point Nemo serves a unique purpose as a spacecraft graveyard due to its isolation. Countries de-orbit their satellites to crash in this part of the South Pacific, minimizing the risk of hitting populated areas and reducing environmental impacts. The area is also known in fiction as the origin of H.P. Lovecraft's monster Cthulhu 1.

Many countries will de-orbit their satellites and make it so they crash in this part of the South Pacific.

--- Gary Arndt

This makes Point Nemo not only the most remote place on Earth but also a critical location for space agencies 1.