The beauty of the remote islands of St Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha is that they lie in the South Atlantic Ocean, midway between Africa and South America.
Overview:
The island group is a constituent part of the British overseas territory of St. Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. The six small islands of the Tristan da Cunha group are administered collectively. Five of them—Tristan da Cunha, Inaccessible, Nightingale, Middle, and Stoltenhoff—are located within 25 miles (40 km) of one another, and the sixth, Gough, lies about 200 miles (320 km) south-southeast of the group.
Gough and Inaccessible islands together constitute a wildlife reserve, designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1995. Inaccessible is about 20 miles (32 km) west-southwest of Tristan da Cunha. It is ringed by cliffs some 1,000 feet (300 metres) high, and beneath the cliffs are occasional narrow beaches.
Its Capital is Georgetown with an estimated population of about 8,000. The major language spoken is English with its Major religion as Christianity. The currency is St Helena/Ascension Pound (equal to the British pound).
Education:
St. Helena has multiple schools, including Prince Andrew School. Ascension has Two Boat Schools. Tristan da Cunha also has its own school.
Political Leadership:
Executive authority is vested in a governor, who is also the governor of St. Helena and resides on that island. The governor appoints an administrator to represent him or her in Tristan da Cunha. An Island Council advises the administrator; it has three executive officio members and eight elected members. The administrator serves as president of the Island Council.
In what continent?
So, there’s a debate about what continent St. Helena Tristan Da Cunha and Ascension Island belong to. Here are some interesting perspectives by scientists and Historians.
The Atlantic Ocean’s Tristan da Cunha, St Helena, Ascension, Gough, Inaccessible and Nightingale Islands are not geographically part of any continent. The island group are part of a now-extinct group of underwater (submarine) volcanoes, formed millions of years ago when the African and South American plates divided and formed a vast undersea area known as the Walvis Ridge.
The island of Tristan da Cunha is an active shield volcano that rises some 5,500 meters above the seafloor. It is situated along an active magma hotspot located 400 km east of the Mid Atlantic Ridge that last experienced underwater volcanic activity in 2004. The other islands of the group are all of what remains of extinct strato-volcanoes.
Politically the whole island group, of which only Tristan, Ascension and St Helena islands are inhabited, form an overseas territory of the United Kingdom.
Known as the remotest Island on earth, these locations attract tourists from all over the world. Who says who can’t be one of them?
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