The Middle of Nowhere

You've heard people say that a place was in “the middle of nowhere,” but that place is in the middle of somewhere. One place I would nominate for actually being in the middle of nowhere is Point Nemo.

Scientists made the calculations to find a place in the ocean that was the furthest away in every direction from land - and people.

This remote oceanic location is located at coordinates 48°52.6′S 123°23.6′W, about 2,688 kilometers from the nearest land—Ducie Island, part of the Pitcairn Islands, to the north; Motu Nui, one of the Easter Islands, to the northeast; and Maher Island, part of Antarctica, to the south.

You cant see it. You can't land there. No one lives there. 

So why give it a name?

It is the place selected for space junk which has been ditched there starting around 1971. If you want a place to crash landing space junk like expired satellites, you want the place furthest away from land and people.

The name Nemo is Latin for "no one: and also a nod to Captain Nemo from Jules Verne's novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea.  

This point is also called the South Pacific Ocean Uninhabited Area and it is one of several "oceanic poles of inaccessibility.”  It is 2,688km away in every direction from land. I wouldn't want to be stranded there.

I tried to find it on Google Maps and Google Earth. Not there. It's nowhere.

For an expanded and more personal take on being in the middle of nowhere, check out this post at Weekends in Paradelle.