The 17th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 17 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, Central America, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean.
The parallel is particularly significant in the history of Vietnam (see below).
At this latitude the sun is visible for 13 hours, 9 minutes during the summer solstice and 11 hours, 7 minutes during the winter solstice. [1]
Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the parallel 17° north passes through:
The Seventeenth parallel (Vietnamese : vĩ tuyến 17) was the provisional military demarcation line between North and South Vietnam established by the Geneva Accords of 1954. The demarcation line did not exactly coincide with the 17th parallel but ran south of it, approximately along the Bến Hải River in Quảng Trị Province to the village of Bo Ho Su and from there due west to the Laos–Vietnam border.
In 1976 the demarcation line was made irrelevant as Vietnam was unified following the withdrawal of American forces and the surrender of the South Vietnamese government.
The 45th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 45° south of the Earth's equator.
The 30th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 30 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It stands one-third of the way between the equator and the North Pole and crosses Africa, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean. The parallel is used in some contexts to delineate Europe or what is associated with the continent of Europe as a southernmost limit, e.g. to qualify for membership of the European Broadcasting Union.
The 37th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 37 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, Africa, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean.
The 39th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 39 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean.
The 55th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 55 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean.
The 10th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 10 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, the Indian Ocean, the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Ocean, Central America, South America, and the Atlantic Ocean.
The 20th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 20 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, North America, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean.
The 50th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 50 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean.
The 30th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 30 degrees south of the Earth's equator. It stands one-third of the way between the equator and the South Pole and crosses Africa, the Indian Ocean, Australia, the Pacific Ocean, South America and the Atlantic Ocean.
The 15th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 15 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the Saharan fringe in Africa, three key peninsulas of Asia, the Pacific Ocean, an isthmus of Central America, the southern Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean.
The 25th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 25 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, North America and the Atlantic Ocean.
The 55th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 55 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and South America.
The 26th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 26 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean.
The 16th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 16 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, Central America, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean.
The 18th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 18 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, Central America, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean.
The 12th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 12 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, the Indian Ocean, South Asia, Southeast Asia, the Pacific Ocean, Central America, South America, and the Atlantic Ocean.
The 19th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 19 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, North America, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean.
The 23rd parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 23 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane, about 50 kilometres (31 mi) south of the Tropic of Cancer. It crosses Africa, Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, North America, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean.
The 24th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 24 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane, about 60 kilometres (37 mi) north of the Tropic of Cancer. It is the line which demarcates boundary between Pakistan and India in the general area of Rann of Kutch. It also crosses Africa, Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean.
The 38th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 38 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean. The 38th parallel north formed the border between North and South Korea prior to the Korean War.