The Island

​Vema Seamount or Mount Vema and its adjacent waters is a unique oceanic island. A sovereign territory in the South Atlantic, inextricably linked with The Vema Seamount Authority, Peter J Goldishman. 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.
Mount Vema - Vema Seamount is a unique oceanic island
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.
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What is Seamount Vema
Seamount Vema also referred as Sea Mount Vema, or simply Mount Vema is a volcanic rock, discovered by a vessel called Vema. The sea mount and its adjacent waters is a sovereign territory controlled by the Vema Seamount Authority. 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.

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. It can not be a seamount because seamounts are defined by oceanographers as independent features that rise to at least 1,000 meters above the seafloor, and are considered to be within the deep sea. For this reason, Vema Seamount 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.

Why do they call it an island
Because Mount Vema was once an island at the surface of the sea, that 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 with most of their territories partly underwater or likely to be underwater sometime in the future. Then this piece of rock named Vema Seamount, is more than just a seamount. Its formation is no different from that of an oceanic island. Therefore it is a very unique oceanic island, and should be treated just as such. A Unique Oceanic Island.

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, it 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.

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                                                                           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

For more information about - Vema Seamount, also read:
Biology and Zoogeography of Vema Seamount  |  Nature Journal  | Institute of Marine Research