What is the Most Secluded Place in the World?

Tiny Pitcairn Island is home to fewer than 50 inhabitants
Tiny Pitcairn Island is home to fewer than 50 inhabitants
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What is the Most Secluded Place in the World?

Tiny Pitcairn Island is home to fewer than 50 inhabitants
Tiny Pitcairn Island is home to fewer than 50 inhabitants

Seclusion can be found while hiking in the Dolomites in Italy or by rowing in Sweden, but civilization is always only a few kilometers away. But what are the really isolated, inaccessible, and so remote places that hardly anyone has ever seen? This remains a question for scientists. Geography has a term for particularly remote places: poles of inaccessibility. According to the University of California's Department of Geography in Santa Barbara, “The pole of inaccessibility is the most challenging to reach owing to its remoteness from geographical features that could provide access.”

The poles of inaccessibility are usually continental or oceanic. The continental poles of inaccessibility are located on the farthest land from coasts. For example, the Eurasian pole of inaccessibility is located in the northwest desert of China, the German news agency reported.

On the other hand, the oceanic pole of inaccessibility is the place located in the ocean or the farthest point from any land. This pole is located in the South Pacific and is known as Point Nemo. It is about 2,700 kilometers from the nearest land, the Pitcairn Islands.

The most isolated island in the world is the uninhabited Bouvet Island, in the South Atlantic and makes part of Norway since 1930. But the island has little to offer to those who dream of seclusion due to its harsh weather conditions. It is mostly home to algae and fungi that only grow in areas where the earth does not freeze, along with albatrosses, penguins and other cold-resistant birds.

The question is: Are these remote places really untouched? Reinhold Leinfelder, a geophysicist at the Free University in Berlin, says humans have changed the earth and left their mark everywhere. Even at Point Nemo, the remnants of a small-scale civilization can be found, for example.



Low Water Levels Hamper Shipping in Germany's Rhine River as Heat Wave Continues

FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows a barge on the Rhine river in front of the Muenster cathedral ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest in Basel, Switzerland, May 1, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows a barge on the Rhine river in front of the Muenster cathedral ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest in Basel, Switzerland, May 1, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
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Low Water Levels Hamper Shipping in Germany's Rhine River as Heat Wave Continues

FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows a barge on the Rhine river in front of the Muenster cathedral ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest in Basel, Switzerland, May 1, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A drone view shows a barge on the Rhine river in front of the Muenster cathedral ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest in Basel, Switzerland, May 1, 2025. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

A heat wave in western Europe has lowered water levels on Germany's Rhine River, hampering shipping and raising freight costs for cargo owners due to additional surcharges as their vessels were unable to sail fully loaded, commodity traders said on Monday.

Low water has limited shipping on all of the river south of Duisburg and Cologne, including the chokepoint of Kaub, traders said.

At Kaub, cargo vessels could only sail about 50% full, at Duisburg and Cologne between 40-50% full, Reuters reported.

Shallow water leads vessel operators to impose surcharges on freight rates to compensate for the vessels being unable to sail fully loaded, which raises the need for additional vessels to move consignments and increases costs for cargo owners.

Still, cargo is being delivered, with loads being carried by several vessels instead of one, traders said.

The Rhine is an important shipping route for commodities such as grains, minerals, ores, coal and oil products, including heating oil.

An intense heat wave is again forecast in parts of Germany this week, including in the Rhine area, with temperatures as high as 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahreinheit) possible in Cologne.

Traders said no improvement was in immediate sight and water levels could fall further.

German companies also faced supply bottlenecks and production problems in the summer of 2022 after a drought and heat wave led to unusually low water levels on the Rhine.