40th parallel north

circle of latitude

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.

Line across the Earth
40°
40th parallel north

At this latitude, the sun can be seen for 15 hours, 1 minute during the summer solstice and 9 hours, 20 minutes during the winter solstice.[1]

Around the world

change

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

Co-ordinatesCountry, territory or seaNotes
40°0′N 0°0′E / 40.000°N 0.000°E / 40.000; 0.000 (Prime Meridian)  SpainValencian Community
40°0′N 0°2′E / 40.000°N 0.033°E / 40.000; 0.033 (Mediterranean Sea)Mediterranean SeaPassing just north of the island of Majorca,  Spain
40°0′N 3°48′E / 40.000°N 3.800°E / 40.000; 3.800 (Spain)  SpainIsland of Menorca
40°0′N 4°13′E / 40.000°N 4.217°E / 40.000; 4.217 (Mediterranean Sea)Mediterranean Sea
40°0′N 8°24′E / 40.000°N 8.400°E / 40.000; 8.400 (Italy)  ItalyIsland of Sardinia
40°0′N 9°42′E / 40.000°N 9.700°E / 40.000; 9.700 (Mediterranean Sea)Mediterranean SeaTyrrhenian Sea
40°0′N 15°20′E / 40.000°N 15.333°E / 40.000; 15.333 (Italy)  ItalyCampania
40°0′N 15°26′E / 40.000°N 15.433°E / 40.000; 15.433 (Mediterranean Sea)Mediterranean SeaGulf of Policastro
40°0′N 15°41′E / 40.000°N 15.683°E / 40.000; 15.683 (Italy)  ItalyBasilicata, Calabria
40°0′N 16°37′E / 40.000°N 16.617°E / 40.000; 16.617 (Mediterranean Sea)Mediterranean SeaGulf of Taranto
40°0′N 18°0′E / 40.000°N 18.000°E / 40.000; 18.000 (Italy)  ItalyApulia
40°0′N 18°25′E / 40.000°N 18.417°E / 40.000; 18.417 (Mediterranean Sea)Mediterranean SeaStrait of Otranto
40°0′N 19°53′E / 40.000°N 19.883°E / 40.000; 19.883 (Albania)  AlbaniaPassing just north of Sarandë and just south of Gjirokastër
40°0′N 20°23′E / 40.000°N 20.383°E / 40.000; 20.383 (Greece)  Greece
40°0′N 22°37′E / 40.000°N 22.617°E / 40.000; 22.617 (Aegean Sea)Mediterranean SeaAegean Sea
40°0′N 23°23′E / 40.000°N 23.383°E / 40.000; 23.383 (Greece)  GreeceKassandra and Sithonia
40°0′N 24°0′E / 40.000°N 24.000°E / 40.000; 24.000 (Aegean Sea)Mediterranean SeaAegean Sea
40°0′N 25°6′E / 40.000°N 25.100°E / 40.000; 25.100 (Greece)  GreeceIsland of Lemnos
40°0′N 25°26′E / 40.000°N 25.433°E / 40.000; 25.433 (Aegean Sea)Mediterranean SeaAegean Sea
40°0′N 26°11′E / 40.000°N 26.183°E / 40.000; 26.183 (Turkey)  TurkeyPassing just north of Ankara
40°0′N 44°24′E / 40.000°N 44.400°E / 40.000; 44.400 (Armenia)  ArmeniaPassing through Verin Artashat and Norashen, Ararat
40°0′N 45°36′E / 40.000°N 45.600°E / 40.000; 45.600 (Azerbaijan)  AzerbaijanPassing through Nagorno-Karabakh
40°0′N 49°27′E / 40.000°N 49.450°E / 40.000; 49.450 (Caspian Sea)Caspian Sea
40°0′N 52°46′E / 40.000°N 52.767°E / 40.000; 52.767 (Turkmenistan)  Turkmenistan
40°0′N 62°26′E / 40.000°N 62.433°E / 40.000; 62.433 (Uzbekistan)  Uzbekistan
40°0′N 68°48′E / 40.000°N 68.800°E / 40.000; 68.800 (Tajikistan)  Tajikistan
40°0′N 69°31′E / 40.000°N 69.517°E / 40.000; 69.517 (Kyrgyzstan)  Kyrgyzstan
40°0′N 70°32′E / 40.000°N 70.533°E / 40.000; 70.533 (Tajikistan)  TajikistanFor about 9 km
40°0′N 70°39′E / 40.000°N 70.650°E / 40.000; 70.650 (Kyrgyzstan)  Kyrgyzstan
40°0′N 71°5′E / 40.000°N 71.083°E / 40.000; 71.083 (Uzbekistan)  UzbekistanSokh exclave - for about 7 km
40°0′N 71°10′E / 40.000°N 71.167°E / 40.000; 71.167 (Kyrgyzstan)  Kyrgyzstan
40°0′N 71°48′E / 40.000°N 71.800°E / 40.000; 71.800 (Uzbekistan)  UzbekistanShohimardon exclave - for about 4 km
40°0′N 71°50′E / 40.000°N 71.833°E / 40.000; 71.833 (Kyrgyzstan)  Kyrgyzstan
40°0′N 73°58′E / 40.000°N 73.967°E / 40.000; 73.967 (China)  People's Republic of ChinaXinjiang
Gansu
Inner Mongolia
Shanxi
Hebei
Beijing (passing just north of the city centre)
Hebei
Tianjin
Hebei
Liaoning (for about 8 km)
40°0′N 119°54′E / 40.000°N 119.900°E / 40.000; 119.900 (Yellow Sea)Pacific OceanLiaodong Bay, Yellow Sea
40°0′N 121°53′E / 40.000°N 121.883°E / 40.000; 121.883 (China)  People's Republic of ChinaLiaoning (Liaodong Peninsula)
40°0′N 124°21′E / 40.000°N 124.350°E / 40.000; 124.350 (North Korea)  North KoreaNorth Pyeongan Province - Passing through Sinuiju
Jagang Province
South Hamgyeong Province - Passing just north of Hamheung
40°0′N 127°57′E / 40.000°N 127.950°E / 40.000; 127.950 (Sea of Japan)Pacific OceanSea of Japan
40°0′N 128°10′E / 40.000°N 128.167°E / 40.000; 128.167 (North Korea)  North KoreaMayang Island
40°0′N 128°13′E / 40.000°N 128.217°E / 40.000; 128.217 (Sea of Japan)Pacific OceanSea of Japan
40°0′N 139°54′E / 40.000°N 139.900°E / 40.000; 139.900 (Japan)  JapanIsland of Honshū
Akita Prefecture
Iwate Prefecture
40°0′N 141°57′E / 40.000°N 141.950°E / 40.000; 141.950 (Pacific Ocean)Pacific Ocean
40°0′N 124°1′W / 40.000°N 124.017°W / 40.000; -124.017 (United States)  United StatesCalifornia - passing though Cooks Valley
Nevada
Utah
Colorado
Nebraska / Kansas border
Missouri
Illinois
Indiana
Ohio - passing just north of Columbus
West Virginia
Pennsylvania - passing through Philadelphia
New Jersey
40°0′N 31°7′W / 40.000°N 31.117°W / 40.000; -31.117 (Atlantic Ocean)Atlantic OceanPassing just north of Corvo Island, Azores,  Portugal
40°0′N 8°55′W / 40.000°N 8.917°W / 40.000; -8.917 (Portugal)  PortugalPassing near Pombal and Covilhã
40°0′N 6°51′W / 40.000°N 6.850°W / 40.000; -6.850 (Spain)  SpainExtremadura
Castile-La Mancha
Community of Madrid - for about 10 km
Castile-La Mancha
Valencian Community - Rincón de Ademuz exclave, for about 4 km
Castile-La Mancha - for about 5 km
Aragon
Valencian Community

United States

change
The 40th parallel defines the border between Nebraska and Kansas
Survey marker on the Kansas/Nebraska state line

The parallel 40° north forms the boundary between the states of Kansas and Nebraska. On 30 May 1854, the Kansas–Nebraska Act created the Territory of Kansas and the Territory of Nebraska divided by the parallel 40° north.

References

change
  1. "Duration of Daylight/Darkness Table for One Year". aa.usno.navy.mil. Archived from the original on 2019-10-12. Retrieved 2019-09-26.