Point Nemo

proper noun

The location in the ocean that is farthest from land, situated in the South Pacific Ocean at roughly 48°52.6′S 123°23.6′W, equally distant from the three closest land vertices which are each roughly 2,688 km (1,670 mi) away; the oceanic pole of inaccessibility.

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Meanings

proper noun
  1. The location in the ocean that is farthest from land, situated in the South Pacific Ocean at roughly 48°52.6′S 123°23.6′W, equally distant from the three closest land vertices which are each roughly 2,688 km (1,670 mi) away; the oceanic pole of inaccessibility.

    Samples taken near the planet’s most remote area, Point Nemo, which is 2,688km (1,450 nautical miles) from land in all directions, revealed 320 microplastic particles per cubic metre, compared with 9-41 in the last race.

    2023 June 5, Yvonne Gordon, “Microplastics found in every sample of water taken during Ocean Race”, in The Guardian

Origin

Named after the character Captain Nemo in Jules Verne's 1870 novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas. The novel was a childhood favorite of Croatian survey engineer Hrvoje Lukatela, who first discovered Point Nemo in 1992.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Point Nemo. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Point%20Nemo

MLA

“Point Nemo.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Point%20Nemo. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Point Nemo,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Point%20Nemo.

Source: Point Nemo on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.