The Island
When people think of Mount Vema or Vema Seamount today, images of water, fishery, royalty and wealth spring to mind. However this unique South East Atlantic territory, is not just a submerged ancient island, once at the surface of the sea which eroded by millions of years of wave action. Mount Vema is a monument, a piece of rock inextricably linked with The Vema Seamount Authority - Peter J. Goldishman who has managed to propel this once overfished and almost forgotten submerged island, to a well-managed and well-regulated fishing ground, and transformed it, to its greatest ever imagined state of wealth and prominence. Kingdom of Mount Vema is the official country name, and City of Mount Vema is the floating city project, aiming to be the largest and the only floating City-State in the world.
What is Mount Vema
Mount Vema is an island that is below sea level, a sovereign Kingdom, and a territory located in the South Atlantic East, at 31 38' S 8° 20' E. The name comes from Seamount Vema.
What is Seamount Vema
Seamount Vema also referred as Sea Mount Vema, or simply Mount Vema is a volcanic rock, an intraplate volcano known as the 'Vema hotspot' which have moved farther west, about 200 kilometres, after it created the Seamount, discovered by a vessel called Vema.
The sea mount became know as Vema Seamount, which is now with its adjacent waters a sovereign territory controlled by the Vema Seamount Authority. The territory is now a kingdom, known as Kingdom of Mount Vema which is the official country name, and City of Mount Vema is the floating city project, aiming to be the largest and the only floating City-State in the world.
Is Mount Vema an island or a seamount
Some people thought the Earth was flat. Now we know it is not. So just because it was named a seamount, it doesn't mean it is a seamount. Mount Vema, is not a Seamount. It is an Oceanic Island that is below sea level. Seamounts are independent features that rise to at least 1,000 meters above the seafloor, and are considered to be within the deep sea.
Why do they call it an island
Because Mount Vema is ancient island, once at the surface of the sea which, eroded by millions of years of wave action. What remains of the island is what we came to know as a seamount. If its peak is only 4 to 10 meters below sea level, which is no different from many countries including volcanic islands with most of their territories partly underwater or likely to be underwater sometime in the future. Mount Vema is unique, it rises more than 4000 meters from the seafloor and parts of its peak are just 4 to 10 meters below sea level.
How big is Mount Vema
With its rocky plateau-like summit of approximately 14 kilometers in diameter, and its mean base diameter of about 60 kilometers, Mount Vema is bigger than other small sovereign states such as the Vatican City of the Holy See, or The Principality of Monaco. But if you add its territorial waters (200 nautical miles), then Mount Vema is also bigger than The Republic of San Marino, or The Principality of Liechtenstein.
The Atlantic Ocean, the second largest ocean in the world. But just under the Tropic of Capricorn, in the South Atlantic East, about 11 meters below the surface, lays a monument. A monument discovered in the late 1950s by a ship called Vema. This monument, which rises more than 4,000 meters from the seabed, became known as Vema Seamount.
Vema Seamount, is not just a seamount or an independent feature rising above the seafloor and considered to be within the deep sea. This rock is four times bigger than a typical seamount, which makes it a monument, and its impact in the ocean is four to five times bigger than that of a seamount.
With a plateau-like summit of approximately 14 kilometers in diameter, and a mean base diameter of about 60 kilometers, it cannot be categorized as a seamount. It may not be an island, but it is not a seamount either, it is simply,
Mount Vema!
A submerged and ancient rock, once at the surface of the sea, eroded by millions of years of wave action. A sovereign territory, inextricably linked with The Vema Seamount Authority, Peter J Goldishman, who has managed to propel this overfished and almost forgotten ancient island once at the surface of the sea, to a well-managed and well-regulated fishing ground, and transformed it, to its greatest ever imagined state of wealth and prominence.
Vema Seamount, is not just a seamount or an independent feature rising above the seafloor and considered to be within the deep sea. This rock is four times bigger than a typical seamount, which makes it a monument, and its impact in the ocean is four to five times bigger than that of a seamount.
With a plateau-like summit of approximately 14 kilometers in diameter, and a mean base diameter of about 60 kilometers, it cannot be categorized as a seamount. It may not be an island, but it is not a seamount either, it is simply,
Mount Vema!
A submerged and ancient rock, once at the surface of the sea, eroded by millions of years of wave action. A sovereign territory, inextricably linked with The Vema Seamount Authority, Peter J Goldishman, who has managed to propel this overfished and almost forgotten ancient island once at the surface of the sea, to a well-managed and well-regulated fishing ground, and transformed it, to its greatest ever imagined state of wealth and prominence.
Vema Seamount - Vema is the location of an intraplate volcano (the Vema hotspot) which have moved farther west, about 200 kilometres, after it created the Vema Seamount.
Vema Seamount Terrain - The Vema Seamount summit substrate is rocky, with phonolite outcrops, bedrock of volcanic ash agglomerates, and calcareous accretions. The seamount's plateau-like summit is approximately 14 kilometers in diameter, with the highest peak located on the southern flank of the island. However the mean base diameter of the country is about 60 kilometers.
Marine Traffic Map
Monitor marine traffic in Mount Vema
Marine Traffic Map
Monitor marine traffic in Mount Vema
Why is Vema Seamount so unique
“It is unique because it is probably the only seamount known which rises from the deep ocean basin to a level sufficiently near the surface of the sea to allow effective sunlight penetration, and for direct study by scuba divers using normal equipment.” “It must be remembered that this isolated peak rises directly from the abyssal plain yet reaches the zone of light penetration. There is no direct connection with the mainland of Africa 500 miles to the east, nor with the nearest island group of Tristan da Cunha to the south-west, and St. Helena Bay to the north-west, both a thousand-odd miles away. Therefore, the biological exploration of this small area was bound to prove most interesting, fascinating and rewarding.
– Captain J. K. M a l l o r y - EXPLORATION OF THE “VEMA” SEAMOUNT
MOUNT VEMA - KINGDOM OF MOUNT VEMA - THE VEMA SEAMOUNT TERRITORY
ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS
COUNTRY
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COUNTRY CODE
COUNTRY CODES IN USE Mount Vema Country Code: OV / MOV Mount Vema Numeric Country Code: 507 Currency Code: VSG Proposed Top-Level Domain: .com, and .ov (proposed) Proposed Telephone Country Code: +294 |
