72nd parallel south

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72nd parallel south

The 72nd parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 72 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane in the Antarctic. The parallel passes through the Southern Ocean and Antarctica.

This is the parallel where twilight/nighttime boundary on the equinoxes.

This is also the lowest parallel that golden hour occurs even at midnight sun, because the Sun is less than 6°00'00" above the horizon. Midnight Sun without golden hour occurs at latitudes greater than 72°33'38.58804", i.e., about 666.8 km (414.3 mi) south of the Antarctic Circle in the case of the December Solstice.

Around the world

Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the parallel 72° south passes through:

Co-ordinatesContinent or oceanNotes
72°0′S0°0′E / 72.000°S 0.000°E / -72.000; 0.000 (Prime Meridian) Antarctica Queen Maud Land, claimed by Flag of Norway.svg  Norway
72°0′S45°0′E / 72.000°S 45.000°E / -72.000; 45.000 Western Australian Antarctic Territory, claimed by Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
72°0′S136°0′E / 72.000°S 136.000°E / -72.000; 136.000 Adélie Land, claimed by Flag of France.svg  France
72°0′S142°0′E / 72.000°S 142.000°E / -72.000; 142.000 Eastern Australian Antarctic Territory, claimed by Flag of Australia (converted).svg  Australia
72°0′S160°0′E / 72.000°S 160.000°E / -72.000; 160.000 Ross Dependency, claimed by Flag of New Zealand.svg  New Zealand
72°0′S170°38′E / 72.000°S 170.633°E / -72.000; 170.633 (Southern Ocean) Southern Ocean Ross Sea, south of the Pacific Ocean
72°0′S102°15′W / 72.000°S 102.250°W / -72.000; -102.250 Antarctica Thurston Island, off coast Ellsworth Land, unclaimed territory
72°0′S95°36′W / 72.000°S 95.600°W / -72.000; -95.600 (Southern Ocean) Southern Ocean Bellingshausen Sea, south of the Pacific Ocean
72°0′S74°21′W / 72.000°S 74.350°W / -72.000; -74.350 (Antarctica) Antarctica Alexander Island and Antarctic Peninsula - claimed by Flag of Argentina.svg  Argentina, Flag of Chile.svg  Chile and Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  United Kingdom (overlapping claims)
72°0′S60°5′W / 72.000°S 60.083°W / -72.000; -60.083 (Southern Ocean) Southern Ocean Weddell Sea, south of the Atlantic Ocean
72°0′S14°33′W / 72.000°S 14.550°W / -72.000; -14.550 (Antarctica) Antarctica Queen Maud Land, claimed by Flag of Norway.svg  Norway

See also

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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.

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The 72nd parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 72 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane, in the Arctic. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, Europe, Asia, the Arctic Ocean and North America.

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The 64th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 64 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the Southern Ocean and the Antarctic mainland, the latter as the most northern latitude.

The 65th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 65 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses the Southern Ocean and Antarctica.

The 67th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 67 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane, about 50 km south of the Antarctic Circle. It crosses the Southern Ocean and Antarctica.

The 68th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 68 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane, in the Antarctic. It crosses the Southern Ocean and Antarctica. At this latitude, the sun is visible for 24 hours, 0 minutes during the December Solstice, and Civil Twilight during the June Solstice.

The 75th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 75 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane in the Antarctic. It passes through the Southern Ocean and Antarctica.

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