What is Point Nemo?

Point Nemo lies in the South Pacific Ocean at 48°52.6′ South latitude and 123°23.6′ West longitude. It is approximately 2,700 kilometres away from the nearest land in every direction, making it the most isolated point on Earth.

Nearest Landmasses
The closest land to Point Nemo includes:

• Ducie Island (Pitcairn Islands)
• Maher Island near Antarctica
• Motu Nui, a small rocky islet off Easter Island

‘Pole of Inaccessibility’
Point Nemo is also known as the oceanic pole of inaccessibility, a term used for locations that are harder to reach than any other point on Earth. It represents the most extreme example of such isolation.

Discovered by a Computer, Not an Explorer
Unlike most geographical discoveries, Point Nemo was not identified by sailors or explorers. In 1992, Hrvoje Lukatela, a Croatian-Canadian survey engineer, used a computer-based calculation to determine the point in the ocean farthest from any landmass.

Origin of the Name ‘Nemo’
The name “Nemo” comes from Latin, meaning “no one”, and also refers to Captain Nemo, the fictional explorer from Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, symbolising a place rarely, if ever, reached by humans.

Located Within the South Pacific Gyre
Point Nemo lies inside the South Pacific Gyre, a massive system of slow-moving, rotating ocean currents formed by:

• Antarctic Circumpolar Current
• Humboldt Current
• West Wind Drift

This gyre is twice the size of North America and is considered the most barren region of the global oceans.

A Biological Desert
The region around Point Nemo is described as a biological desert due to:

• Extreme distance from land, resulting in minimal nutrient input
• Circular currents blocking nutrient-rich deep water from reaching the surface
• Lack of plankton, which forms the base of the marine food chain

As a result, very little marine life can survive in these waters.