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46th parallel north

The 46th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 46 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean.

At this latitude the sun is visible for 15 hours, 45 minutes during the summer solstice and 8 hours, 38 minutes during the winter solstice.¹

Around the world

Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the parallel 46° north passes through:

47th parallel north

The 47th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 47 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean.

At this latitude the sun is visible for 15 hours, 54 minutes during the summer solstice and 8 hours, 31 minutes during the winter solstice.² This is the northern limit of the visibility of the star θ Scorpii and thus of the 'tail' of the constellation Scorpius.

Around the world

Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the parallel 47° north passes through:

48th parallel north

The 48th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 48 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean.

In Canada the parallel forms part of the border between Quebec and New Brunswick.

Ships heading north along the coast of Washington toward the Strait of Juan de Fuca must make radio contact with Canadian Coast Guard vessel traffic service upon crossing the 48th parallel.

At this latitude the sun is visible for 16 hours, 3 minutes during the summer solstice and 8 hours, 22 minutes during the winter solstice. If the latitude in the northern hemisphere is 48º50' or smaller, it is possible to view both astronomical dawn and dusk every day of the month of July. At the latitude of 48°33′38.58804” North, which is about 62.3 km (38.7 mi) north of this parallel, is the parallel where twilight/nighttime boundary on the June Solstice.³

Around the world

Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the parallel 48° north passes through:

49th parallel north

Main article: 49th parallel north

The 49th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 49° north of Earth's equator. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean.

The city of Paris is about 15 km (9 mi) south of the 49th parallel and is the largest city between the 48th and 49th parallels. Its main airport, Charles de Gaulle Airport, lies on the parallel.

Roughly 2,030 kilometres (1,260 mi)⁴ of the Canada–United States border was designated to follow the 49th parallel from British Columbia to Manitoba on the Canada side, and from Washington to Minnesota on the U.S. side, more specifically from the Strait of Georgia to the Lake of the Woods. This international border was specified in the Anglo-American Convention of 1818 and the Oregon Treaty of 1846, though survey markers placed in the 19th century cause the border to deviate from the 49th parallel by up to 810 metres (2,660 ft).

From a point on the ground at this latitude, the sun is above the horizon for 16 hours, 12 minutes during the summer solstice and 8 hours, 14 minutes during the winter solstice.⁵

This latitude also roughly corresponds to the minimum latitude in which astronomical twilight can last all night near the summer solstice. All-night astronomical twilight lasts from about June 9th to July 2nd."49°00'N, 45°00'E — Sunrise, Sunset, and Daylength, June 2024"."49°00'N, 45°00'E — Sunrise, Sunset, and Daylength, July 2024". At midnight on the summer solstice, the altitude of the sun is about −17.56°."Planets Visible in the Night Sky in 49°00'N, 45°00'E".

Slightly less than one-eighth of the Earth's surface is north of the 49th parallel.

Around the world

Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the parallel 49° north passes through:

Ordnance Survey of Great Britain

The British national grid reference system uses the point 49° N, 2° W as its true origin. 49°00′00″N 2°00′00″W / 49.0000°N 2.0000°W / 49.0000; -2.0000⁶

50th parallel north

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.

At this latitude the sun is visible for 16 hours, 22 minutes during the summer solstice and 8 hours, 4 minutes during the winter solstice.⁷ The maximum altitude of the sun during the summer solstice is 63.44 degrees and during the winter solstice it is 16.56 degrees. During the summer solstice, nighttime does not get beyond astronomical twilight, a condition which lasts throughout the month of June. It is possible to view both astronomical dawn and dusk every day of the month of May.⁸

At this latitude, the average sea surface temperature between 1982 and 2011 was about 8.5 °C (47.3 °F).⁹

Around the world

Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the parallel 50° north passes through:

Sakhalin island

From the signing of the 1875 Treaty of Saint Petersburg until the Russo-Japanese War which broke in 1904, the Russian Empire had full control of Sakhalin island. As a result of the 1905 Treaty of Portsmouth that brought an end to the Russo-Japanese War, the portion of the island south of the 50th parallel line became Japanese territory, part of Karafuto Prefecture. However, following the month long Soviet–Japanese War during the summer of 1945, the entire island was reunified under Soviet control.¹⁰

See also

• Circles of latitude between the 40th parallel north and the 45th parallel north
• Circles of latitude between the 50th parallel north and the 55th parallel north
• 49th Parallel, 1941 Canadian and British film
• Hymns of the 49th Parallel, 2004 album by k.d. lang
• Boundary Lake (Manitoba/North Dakota)
• Northwest Angle (northern Lake of the Woods County)
• Oregon boundary dispute
• Pig War, 1859
• War of 1812
• Weißwurstäquator

References

1. "Duration of Daylight/Darkness Table for One Year". U.S. Naval Observatory. 24 September 2019. Archived from the original on 12 October 2019. Retrieved 10 March 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20191012094319/http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/Dur_OneYear.php ↩

2. "Duration of Daylight/Darkness Table for One Year". U.S. Naval Observatory. 24 September 2019. Archived from the original on 12 October 2019. Retrieved 10 March 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20191012094319/http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/Dur_OneYear.php ↩

3. "Duration of Daylight/Darkness Table for One Year". U.S. Naval Observatory. 24 September 2019. Archived from the original on 12 October 2019. Retrieved 10 March 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20191012094319/http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/Dur_OneYear.php ↩

4. Jacobs, Frank (28 November 2011), "The Not-So-Straight Story of the U.S.-Canadian Border", New York Times, retrieved 13 May 2020 https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/11/28/a-not-so-straight-story/?mtrref=www.google.com&gwh=EDA45B7961C583627809CAC1AFB872C3&gwt=pay&assetType=REGIWALL ↩

5. "Duration of Daylight/Darkness Table for One Year". U.S. Naval Observatory. 24 September 2019. Archived from the original on 12 October 2019. Retrieved 10 March 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20191012094319/http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/Dur_OneYear.php ↩

6. "The true origin". Welcome to OS Net. Southampton: Ordnance Survey. 4 September 2007. Archived from the original on 29 April 2007. Retrieved 13 August 2009. https://web.archive.org/web/20070429132713/http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/gps/information/coordinatesystemsinfo/guidetonationalgrid/page2.html ↩

7. "Duration of Daylight/Darkness Table for One Year". U.S. Naval Observatory. 24 September 2019. Archived from the original on 12 October 2019. Retrieved 10 March 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20191012094319/http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/Dur_OneYear.php ↩

8. "Earth-Sun geometry - The Encyclopedia of Earth". www.eoearth.org. http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/151843/ ↩

9. "Zonal Mean Sea Surface Temperatures (5 deg Latitude Bands) Average of Jan 1982 to Dec 2011". Retrieved 7 July 2022. https://pielkeclimatesci.files.wordpress.com/2012/07/zonal-mean-sst-1982-2011-average.png ↩

10. Sevela, Mariya. "Sakhalin: the Japanese Under Soviet Rule". History Today. Retrieved 10 May 2014. http://www.historytoday.com/mariya-sevela/sakhalin-japanese-under-soviet-rule ↩