Saint Helena is one of the three constituent parts of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, a remote British overseas territory. Saint Helena is a volcanic and tropical island, located in the South Atlantic Ocean, some 1,874 km west of mainland Africa, with Angola and Namibia being the closest nations, geographically. The island is located around 1,950 km (1,210 mi) west of the coast of southwestern South Africa, and 4,000 km (2,500 mi) east of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Until 2018, the primary method of reaching Saint Helena was by booking a spot on the RMS St Helena—a cargo and post delivery vessel that also ferried visitors—which routinely made the 3,141 km, six-day journey from Cape Town, South Africa.
João da Nova, a Galician navigator serving the Portuguese Empire, was the first person to sight Saint Helena.
A View of the Town and Island of Saint Helena in the Atlantic Ocean belonging to the British East India Company, engraving, c. 1790
Napoléon à Sainte-Hélène by François-Joseph Sandmann
Longwood House in September 2014
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha is a British Overseas Territory located in the South Atlantic and consisting of the island of Saint Helena, Ascension Island, and the archipelago of Tristan da Cunha. Its name was Saint Helena and Dependencies until 1 September 2009, when a new constitution came into force, giving the three islands equal status as three territories, with a grouping under the Crown.
A View of the Town and Island of St Helena in the Atlantic Ocean belonging to the English East India Company (engraving c. 1790)
Gough and Inaccessible Islands were declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1995.
Edinburgh of the Seven Seas, the only settlement on Tristan da Cunha. Behind it is Queen Mary's Peak, a shield volcano.
Tristan da Cunha on 6 February 2013, as seen from the International Space Station