Vanguardia’s loacation in the Atlantic Ocean

‘La Vanguardië means “brave pioneer” in Spanish and

“fighter beneath the wind” in Keltoromanic’.

Location

Both descriptions aptly capture the archipelago’s position as Europe’s outer bastion in the stormy Atlantic Ocean. Vanguardien stretches between 50° and 45° north latitude and between 6° and 16° west longitude. The capital, Prèsenet, lies exactly on the 49th parallel.

Near Estellers lies the geographical centre of the Earth’s land hemisphere, which means that Vanguardien can be regarded as the centre of all the Earth’s landmasses.

Area

The total area of Vanguardien is 80,995 square metres, making it slightly smaller than the Republic of Austria but slightly larger than the Czech Republic. Vanguardien’s land area thus ranks 116th in a global comparison. Vanguardien’s total coastline measures 2,766 km, which, according to A. von Humboldt, indicates the country’s good accessibility relative to its land area.

Distances

The archipelago stretches from Pt. Prèsenet in the north-eastern part of the capital city of the same name to Cap Sants Bethan in the far west of Europe, over 657 km away as the crow flies. The distance to the western tip of France at Point Saint Mathieu is merely 85 nautical miles across the Prince’s Sea, which is no more than 130 m deep at its deepest point. The eastern tip at Prèsenet is between 610 and 690 km from Dublin, London and Paris. To the north, the island kingdom is bordered by the rough #Celtic Sea, facing Ireland and Great Britain along the 24-mile maritime border. The Spanish city of Santander is 510 km away as the crow flies across the warmer #Prince’s Bay. Although the Vanguard Islands extend far into the #Atlantic, it is still 3,100 km from Rosfleur to St John’s in Newfoundland, the easternmost point of North America. That is the same distance as to Moscow. Had more of the 17th-century emigrants known this back then, they would surely have stayed in this much more beautiful corner of the world.

Territories

Vanguardia also lays claim to Rockall, a 784 m² rock standing 17 metres high situated even further north, which is also claimed by the United Kingdom. After all, sailors under Captain Janault were the first to stop there for a wee in 1720.

Since the 1961 Antarctic Treaty was contested, Marie Byrd Land in Antarctica, as the segment between 90°W and 150°W longitude, has been considered a territory directly administered by the government # territory of L'Antarctide, covering 1,610,000 m², which is also part of Vanguardia - a status not universally recognised internationally, though it is recognised by the portly King of Nauru. Including these territories, the land area totals 1,690,996 m² – slightly larger than Iran. And if ice melts now, that land will be usable too!