It is a protected nature reserve, and situated in the South Atlantic Ocean at the southern end of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, it is the world's most remote island.

The island was first spotted on 1 January 1739 by the Frenchman Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier, during a French exploration mission in the South Atlantic with the ships Aigle and Marie.

The island was discovered on 1 January 1739 by Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier, commander of the French ships Aigle and Marie.

[5] Bouvet, who was searching for a presumed large southern continent, spotted the island through the fog and named the cape he saw Cap de la Circoncision.

[9] The next expedition to spot the island was in 1808 by James Lindsay, captain of the Samuel Enderby & Sons' (SE&S) snow whaler Swan.

Morrell, by his own account, found the island without difficulty (with "improbable ease", in the words of historian William Mills)[12]: 434–435  before landing and hunting 196 seals.

[7]: 62  In his subsequent lengthy description, Morrell does not mention the island's most obvious physical feature: Its permanent ice cover.

[16] A 1967 paper suggested that the island might have disappeared in an undetected volcanic eruption, but in 1997 it was discovered that the ocean is more than 2,400 m (7,900 ft) deep in the area.

[17] In 1927, the First Norvegia Expedition, led by Harald Horntvedt and financed by the shipowner and philanthropist Lars Christensen, was the first to make an extended stay on the island.

At Ny Sandefjord, a small hut was erected and, on 1 December, the Norwegian flag was hoisted and the island claimed for Norway.

Norris's positioning deviating from the correct location combined with the island's small size and lack of a natural harbour made the UK accept the Norwegian claim.

[7]: 63 The Second Norvegia Expedition arrived in 1928 with the intent of establishing a staffed meteorological radio station, but a suitable location could not be found.

The Third Norvegia Expedition, led by Hjalmar Riiser-Larsen, arrived the following year and built a new hut at Cape Circoncision and on Larsøya.

One of Protector's two Westland Whirlwind helicopters landed a small survey team on the island led by Lieutenant Commander Alan Crawford at Nyrøysa for a brief visit.

With very little time, a brief search was made but no other signs of human activity were found, and the identity of the lifeboat remained a mystery for many years.

This observation has been variously interpreted as a meteor, or an instrumentation glitch, but most independent assessments conclude it was an undeclared joint nuclear test carried out by South Africa and Israel.

[23][25][26][27] In the mid-1980s, Bouvetøya, Jan Mayen, and Svalbard were considered as locations for the new Norwegian International Ship Register, but the flag of convenience registry was ultimately established in Bergen, Norway, in 1987.

[32] The expedition ship Hanse Explorer visited Bouvet Island on 20 and 21 February 2012 as part of "Expédition pour le Futur".

[35][36][37][38] The 3Y0J DX-pedition to Bouvet Island took place between January and February 2023, but had to be reduced in scope and eventually cut short due to bad and worsening weather conditions.

[7]: 59 The Norwegian Polar Institute established a 36 m2 (390 sq ft) research station, made of shipping containers, at Nyrøysa in 1996.

On 23 February 2006, the island experienced a magnitude 6.2 earthquake whose epicentre was about 100 km (62 mi) away,[41] weakening the station's foundation and causing it to be blown to sea during a winter storm.

[44] The robust and technically advanced station was assembled in Nyrøysa, on the north-western part of the island, the only place wide enough to land by helicopter.

The energy is supplied by wind power, which makes it easier to operate the equipment during the long periods when the station is uninhabited.

[45] Bouvetøya is a volcanic island constituting the top of a shield volcano just off the Southwest Indian Ridge in the South Atlantic Ocean.

[51] The harsh climate and ice-bound terrain limits non-animal life to fungi (ascomycetes including symbiotic lichens) and non-vascular plants (mosses and liverworts).

The remaining vegetation is located in snow-free areas such as nunatak ridges and other parts of the summit plateau, the coastal cliffs, capes and beaches.

[73] Unlike Peter I Island and Queen Maud Land, which are subject to the Antarctic Treaty System,[7]: 65  Bouvetøya is not disputed.

[73] Norwegian administration of the island is handled by the Polar Affairs Department of the Ministry of Justice and the Police, located in Oslo.

Utilizing an intelligence-sharing approach, vessels that may have participated in illegal, unregulated or unreported fishing are subject to blacklisting and potential enforcement measures by member states and through INTERPOL.

[79] A king penguin in Edinburgh Zoo, Major General Sir Nils Olav III, carries the title Baron of the Bouvet Islands.