Located in the equatorial waters of the South Atlantic Ocean, at around 1,600km from the coast of Africa and 2,250km from the coast of Brazil, the isolated Ascension Island is governed as part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. A volcanic peak rising from only 100km west of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, much of the island is a wasteland of lava flows and cinder cones, inhabited by 880 people.
