40th parallel north

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40°
40th parallel north

The 40th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 40 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean.

Contents

At this latitude the sun is visible for 15 hours, 1 minute and 28 seconds during the summer solstice and 9 hours, 20 minutes during the winter solstice. [1] On 21 June, the maximum altitude of the sun is 73.44 degrees, while it's 26.56 degrees on 21 December.[ citation needed ]

The maximum altitude of the Sun is > 35.00º in October and > 28.00º in November.

The 40th parallel north is the southern baseline for Canada's National Topographic System.

Around the world

Starting in Spain at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the parallel 40° north passes through:

Co-ordinatesCountry, territory or seaNotes
40°0′N0°0′E / 40.000°N 0.000°E / 40.000; 0.000 (Prime Meridian) Flag of Spain.svg  Spain Valencian Community
40°0′N0°2′E / 40.000°N 0.033°E / 40.000; 0.033 (Mediterranean Sea) Mediterranean SeaPassing just north of the island of Majorca, Flag of Spain.svg  Spain
40°0′N3°48′E / 40.000°N 3.800°E / 40.000; 3.800 (Spain) Flag of Spain.svg  Spain Island of Menorca
40°0′N4°13′E / 40.000°N 4.217°E / 40.000; 4.217 (Mediterranean Sea) Mediterranean Sea
40°0′N8°24′E / 40.000°N 8.400°E / 40.000; 8.400 (Italy) Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Island of Sardinia
40°0′N9°42′E / 40.000°N 9.700°E / 40.000; 9.700 (Mediterranean Sea) Mediterranean Sea Tyrrhenian Sea
40°0′N15°20′E / 40.000°N 15.333°E / 40.000; 15.333 (Italy) Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Campania
40°0′N15°26′E / 40.000°N 15.433°E / 40.000; 15.433 (Mediterranean Sea) Mediterranean SeaGulf of Policastro
40°0′N15°41′E / 40.000°N 15.683°E / 40.000; 15.683 (Italy) Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Basilicata, Calabria
40°0′N16°37′E / 40.000°N 16.617°E / 40.000; 16.617 (Mediterranean Sea) Mediterranean Sea Gulf of Taranto
40°0′N18°0′E / 40.000°N 18.000°E / 40.000; 18.000 (Italy) Flag of Italy.svg  Italy Apulia
40°0′N18°25′E / 40.000°N 18.417°E / 40.000; 18.417 (Mediterranean Sea) Mediterranean Sea Strait of Otranto
40°0′N19°53′E / 40.000°N 19.883°E / 40.000; 19.883 (Albania) Flag of Albania.svg  Albania Passing just north of Sarandë and just south of Gjirokastër
40°0′N20°23′E / 40.000°N 20.383°E / 40.000; 20.383 (Greece) Flag of Greece.svg  Greece
40°0′N22°37′E / 40.000°N 22.617°E / 40.000; 22.617 (Aegean Sea) Mediterranean Sea Aegean Sea
40°0′N23°23′E / 40.000°N 23.383°E / 40.000; 23.383 (Greece) Flag of Greece.svg  Greece Kassandra and Sithonia
40°0′N24°0′E / 40.000°N 24.000°E / 40.000; 24.000 (Aegean Sea) Mediterranean SeaAegean Sea
40°0′N25°6′E / 40.000°N 25.100°E / 40.000; 25.100 (Greece) Flag of Greece.svg  Greece Island of Lemnos
40°0′N25°26′E / 40.000°N 25.433°E / 40.000; 25.433 (Aegean Sea) Mediterranean SeaAegean Sea
40°0′N26°11′E / 40.000°N 26.183°E / 40.000; 26.183 (Turkey) Flag of Turkey.svg  Turkey Passing just north of Ankara
40°0′N44°24′E / 40.000°N 44.400°E / 40.000; 44.400 (Armenia) Flag of Armenia.svg  Armenia Passing through Verin Artashat and Norashen, Ararat
40°0′N45°36′E / 40.000°N 45.600°E / 40.000; 45.600 (Azerbaijan) Flag of Azerbaijan.svg  Azerbaijan Passing through Karabakh and Kur-Araz Lowland
40°0′N49°27′E / 40.000°N 49.450°E / 40.000; 49.450 (Caspian Sea) Caspian Sea
40°0′N52°46′E / 40.000°N 52.767°E / 40.000; 52.767 (Turkmenistan) Flag of Turkmenistan.svg  Turkmenistan
40°0′N62°26′E / 40.000°N 62.433°E / 40.000; 62.433 (Uzbekistan) Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan
40°0′N68°48′E / 40.000°N 68.800°E / 40.000; 68.800 (Tajikistan) Flag of Tajikistan.svg  Tajikistan
40°0′N69°31′E / 40.000°N 69.517°E / 40.000; 69.517 (Kyrgyzstan) Flag of Kyrgyzstan (2023).svg  Kyrgyzstan
40°0′N70°32′E / 40.000°N 70.533°E / 40.000; 70.533 (Tajikistan) Flag of Tajikistan.svg  Tajikistan For about 9 km (5.6 mi)
40°0′N70°39′E / 40.000°N 70.650°E / 40.000; 70.650 (Kyrgyzstan) Flag of Kyrgyzstan (2023).svg  Kyrgyzstan
40°0′N71°5′E / 40.000°N 71.083°E / 40.000; 71.083 (Uzbekistan) Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan Sokh exclave - for about 7 km (4.3 mi)
40°0′N71°10′E / 40.000°N 71.167°E / 40.000; 71.167 (Kyrgyzstan) Flag of Kyrgyzstan (2023).svg  Kyrgyzstan
40°0′N71°48′E / 40.000°N 71.800°E / 40.000; 71.800 (Uzbekistan) Flag of Uzbekistan.svg  Uzbekistan Shohimardon exclave - for about 4 km (2.5 mi)
40°0′N71°50′E / 40.000°N 71.833°E / 40.000; 71.833 (Kyrgyzstan) Flag of Kyrgyzstan (2023).svg  Kyrgyzstan
40°0′N73°58′E / 40.000°N 73.967°E / 40.000; 73.967 (China) Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China Xinjiang
Gansu
Inner Mongolia
Shanxi
Hebei
Beijing (passing just north of the city centre)
Hebei
Tianjin
Hebei
Liaoning (for about 8 km (5.0 mi))
40°0′N119°54′E / 40.000°N 119.900°E / 40.000; 119.900 (Yellow Sea) Pacific Ocean Liaodong Bay, Yellow Sea
40°0′N121°53′E / 40.000°N 121.883°E / 40.000; 121.883 (China) Flag of the People's Republic of China.svg  China Liaoning (Liaodong Peninsula)
40°0′N124°21′E / 40.000°N 124.350°E / 40.000; 124.350 (North Korea) Flag of North Korea.svg  North Korea North Pyeongan Province - Passing through Sinuiju
Jagang Province
South Hamgyeong Province - Passing just north of Hamheung
40°0′N127°57′E / 40.000°N 127.950°E / 40.000; 127.950 (Sea of Japan) Pacific Ocean Sea of Japan
40°0′N128°10′E / 40.000°N 128.167°E / 40.000; 128.167 (North Korea) Flag of North Korea.svg  North Korea Mayang Island
40°0′N128°13′E / 40.000°N 128.217°E / 40.000; 128.217 (Sea of Japan) Pacific Ocean Sea of Japan
40°0′N139°54′E / 40.000°N 139.900°E / 40.000; 139.900 (Japan) Flag of Japan.svg  Japan Island of Honshū
Akita Prefecture
Iwate Prefecture
40°0′N141°57′E / 40.000°N 141.950°E / 40.000; 141.950 (Pacific Ocean) Pacific Ocean
40°0′N124°1′W / 40.000°N 124.017°W / 40.000; -124.017 (United States) Flag of the United States (23px).png  United States California - passing 2.35 km (1.46 mi) south of Shelter Cove
Nevada
Utah
Colorado - passing through Boulder
Nebraska / Kansas border
Missouri
Illinois
Indiana - passing through Hoosier Hill, the state high point
Ohio - passing through Columbus
West Virginia
Pennsylvania - passing through Philadelphia
New Jersey - passing through Toms River
40°0′N31°7′W / 40.000°N 31.117°W / 40.000; -31.117 (Atlantic Ocean) Atlantic Ocean Passing just north of Corvo Island, Azores, Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal
40°0′N8°55′W / 40.000°N 8.917°W / 40.000; -8.917 (Portugal) Flag of Portugal.svg  Portugal Passing near Figueira da Foz and Coimbra
40°0′N6°51′W / 40.000°N 6.850°W / 40.000; -6.850 (Spain) Flag of Spain.svg  Spain Extremadura
Castile-La Mancha
Community of Madrid - for about 10 km (6.2 mi)
Castile-La Mancha
Valencian Community - Rincón de Ademuz exclave, for about 4 km (2.5 mi)
Castile-La Mancha - for about 5 km (3.1 mi)
Aragon
Valencian Community

Notable cities and towns on 40°N

United States

The 40th parallel defines the state line between Nebraska and Kansas 40th parallel US.svg
The 40th parallel defines the state line between Nebraska and Kansas
Survey marker on the Kansas/Nebraska state line Survey monument RH00-062 from SW 3.jpg
Survey marker on the Kansas/Nebraska state line

The parallel 40° north formed the boundary between the Kansas and Nebraska territories, as per the Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854. It remains the boundary between the modern states of Kansas and Nebraska.

The parallel 40° north formed the original northern boundary of the British Colony of Maryland. A subsequent royal grant gave the Colony of Pennsylvania land north of the 40th parallel but mistakenly assumed it would intersect the Twelve Mile Circle, which it does not. Pennsylvania's border was thus unclear and the colony pushed for a border far south of the 40th parallel. The Mason–Dixon Line was drawn between 1763 and 1767 as the compromise boundary between the overlapping claims of these two colonies.

40th parallel marker at Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio) 40th parallel marker at The Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio).jpg
40th parallel marker at Ohio State University (Columbus, Ohio)

The parallel 40° north passes through the cities of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Columbus, Ohio; as well as northern suburbs of Indianapolis, Indiana and Boulder, Colorado and the southern suburbs of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The parallel goes directly through the John Glenn Columbus International Airport, with runway 10L-28R lying immediately north of the line, runway 10R-28L lying slightly south of it, and the line going through the northernmost edges of the terminal. It also passes through the main campus of The Ohio State University; specifically, it cuts directly across the Oval greenspace, between University Hall and the William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library. Ohio Stadium, one of the largest stadiums in the world, barely misses the parallel 40° north (6 seconds or 185 metres (607 ft) above 40° north).

Baseline Road in Boulder, Colorado, traces the parallel 40° north.

Thistle, Utah, a ghost town since 1983, is slightly (30 seconds or 956 metres (0.594 mi)) below 40° north.

Japan

See also

Related Research Articles

The 41st parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 41 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 42nd parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 42 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 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 45th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 45 degrees north of Earth's equator. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean. The 45th parallel north is often called the halfway point between the equator and the North Pole, but the true halfway point is 16.0 km (9.9 mi) north of it because Earth is an oblate spheroid; that is, it bulges at the equator and is flattened at the poles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baseline Road (Colorado)</span> Road in Colorado following the 40th parallel north

Baseline Road is a major east-west street in Boulder, Colorado that extends east of the city through parts of four counties. The western terminus of Baseline Road is at Flagstaff Mountain in the City of Boulder Mountain Parks. The eastern terminus is at 16800 Watkins Road, about 6 miles (9.7 km) east of Lochbuie on the boundary between Adams and Weld Counties. The total length of Baseline Road is approximately 38 miles (61 km), all of which is within the Denver-Aurora-Boulder Combined Statistical Area in Colorado. Baseline Road runs almost exactly along the 40th line of latitude.

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 35th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 35 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, the Mediterranean Sea, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America and the Atlantic Ocean.

The 34th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 34 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, the Mediterranean Sea, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America and the Atlantic Ocean.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">20th parallel north</span> Circle of latitude

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 40th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 40 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, Australasia, the Pacific Ocean and South America. Its long oceanic stretches are the northern domain of the Roaring Forties.

The 50th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 50 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, the Indian Ocean, the Pacific Ocean and South America.

The 60th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 60 degrees south of Earth's equatorial plane. No land lies on the parallel—it crosses nothing but ocean. The closest land is a group of rocks north of Coronation Island of the South Orkney Islands, which are about 54 km south of the parallel, and Thule Island and Cook Island of the South Sandwich Islands, which both are about 57 km north of the parallel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">25th parallel north</span> Circle of latitude

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">26th parallel north</span> Circle of latitude

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">51st parallel north</span> Circle of latitude in the Northern Hemisphere

The 51st parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 51 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean.

The 68th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 68 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane, in the Arctic. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, Europe, Asia and North America.

The 80th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 80 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane, and 10 degrees south of the North Pole, in the Arctic. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, Europe, Asia, the Arctic Ocean and North America.

The 57th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 57 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. No land lies on the parallel — it crosses nothing but ocean.

The 57th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 57 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, Asia, 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.

References

  1. "Duration of Daylight/Darkness Table for One Year". U.S. Naval Observatory. 2019-09-24. Archived from the original on 2019-10-12. Retrieved 2021-03-10.