Tristan da Cunha

Tristan da Cunha Latest News

British military medics recently carried out a rare parachute mission to the remote South Atlantic island of Tristan da Cunha to assist a UK national suspected of contracting hantavirus after leaving the virus-hit cruise ship MV Hondius.

About Tristan da Cunha

• It is both a group of islands in the South Atlantic Ocean and the largest island of that group. 
• The archipelago is volcanic in origin.
• It is about midway between southern Africa and South America.  
• It is considered the most remote inhabited chain of islands in the world. 
• The islands were discovered in 1506 by Portuguese explorer Tristão da Cunha, after whom they are named. 
• The island group is a constituent part of the British overseas territory.
• The main island, Tristan da Cunha, has a small settlement named Edinburgh of the Seven Seas.  It has an estimated population of 250 permanent residents.
• Other islands in the Tristan Archipelago are uninhabited: two (Gough Island and Inaccessible Island) form a UNESCO World Heritage Site; Nightingale Island, Stoltenhoff and Alex (or Middle) Island also have globally significant biodiversity. 
• The archipelago contains no airstrip and is accessible only by boat or helicopter. 
• Tristan da Cunha has a unique economic and social structure in which land is communally owned and all families engage in farming. 
• Outsiders cannot settle or buy land on the islands. 
• In addition to agriculture, the other sectors of the economy are government and commercial fishing.

Source: IT

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