• Images
• Videos
• Documents
• Books
• Articles

51st parallel north

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.

At this latitude the sun is visible for 16 hours, 33 minutes during the summer solstice and 7 hours, 55 minutes during the winter solstice.¹

Capital cities between the 51st and 52nd parallels are London and Astana.

Russian America 1799–1824/25

In 1799 Paul I, Tsar of the Russian Empire, issued a ukase creating the Russian-American Company (RAC). It was granted monopolistic control north of the 55th parallel north, which had been the Russian claim since 1790, as well as the right to operate and occupy territory to the south as long as the lands had not been previously occupied, or dependent on any other nation.² In 1821 the RAC's charter was renewed and at the same time an ukase proclaimed that Russian sovereignty extended south to the 51st parallel, and that waters north of that line were closed to foreign shipping. The ukase was met with strong objections by the United States and Great Britain. Subsequent negotiations resulted in a clear and permanent boundary for Russian America, the southward terminus of which was established at 54°40′ north.³

Around the world

Starting at the Prime Meridian (just north of the Sheffield Park Garden in East Sussex, England) and heading eastwards, the parallel 51° north passes through:

52nd parallel north

The 52nd parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 52 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean.

In Canada, part of the legally defined border between Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador is defined by the parallel, though Quebec maintains a dormant claim to some of the territory north of this line.⁴

The catchment area of London, the capital city of England and the United Kingdom, can be broadly defined by the 51st and 52nd parallels.

At this latitude the sun is visible for 16 hours, 44 minutes during the summer solstice and 7 hours, 45 minutes during the winter solstice.⁵

Around the world

Starting at the Prime Meridian (just west of the village of Barkway in Hertfordshire, England) and heading eastwards, the parallel 52° north passes through:

53rd parallel north

The 53rd parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 53 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, 56 minutes during the summer solstice and 7 hours, 34 minutes during the winter solstice. Approximately 53°20′ North, 37 km (23 mi) north of this parallel, during the June summer solstice, the sun is visible for 17 hours exactly. If the latitude in the northern hemisphere is 53°47′ or smaller, it is possible to view both astronomical dawn and dusk every day of the month of August.⁸

One minute of longitude along the 53rd parallel is approximately 0.6042 nautical miles (1,224 yd; 1.119 km). One degree of longitude along the 53rd parallel is about 36.252 nautical miles (41.72 mi; 67.14 km).

Around the world

Starting at the Prime Meridian (northeast of Boston, Lincolnshire, England) and heading eastwards, the parallel 53° north passes through:

54th parallel north

The 54th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 54 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 17 hours, 9 minutes during the summer solstice and 7 hours, 22 minutes during the winter solstice.⁹

Around the world

Starting at the Prime Meridian (in the North Sea southeast of Bridlington, East Riding of Yorkshire, England) and heading eastwards, the parallel 54° north passes through:

55th parallel north

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.

At this latitude the sun is visible for 17 hours, 22 minutes during the summer solstice and 7 hours, 10 minutes during the winter solstice.¹⁰

This latitude also roughly corresponds to the minimum latitude in which nautical twilight can last all night near the summer solstice.

The 55th parallel serves as the southern boundary of Nunavik territory in Quebec.

Around the world

Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the parallel 55° north passes through:

Notable cities and towns on 55°N

• Chelyabinsk, Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia
• Omsk, Omsk Oblast, Russia
• Novosibirsk, Novosibirsk Oblast, Russia
• Khimki, Moscow Oblast, Russia
• Moscow, Russia
• Copenhagen, Denmark
• Odense, Denmark
• Klaipėda, Lithuania
• Šiauliai, Lithuania
• Panevėžys, Lithuania
• Daugavpils, Latvia
• Vitebsk, Belarus
• Derry, Northern Ireland, UK
• Newcastle upon Tyne, England, UK
• South Shields, England, UK.
• Thompson, Manitoba, Canada
• Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada

See also

• 50th parallel north
• Circles of latitude between the 55th parallel north and the 60th parallel north
• Parallel 54°40′ north

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. https://web.archive.org/web/20191012094319/http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/Dur_OneYear.php ↩

2. United States, Bering Sea Tribunal of Arbitration (1892). Fur-seal Arbitration: The Case of the United States before the Tribunal of Arbitration to convene at Paris under the provisions of the treaty between the United States of America and Great Britain, concluded February 29, 1892. United States Government Printing Office. p. 14. OCLC 68198841. https://archive.org/details/fursealarbitrat01arbigoog ↩

3. Haycox, Stephen W. (2002). Alaska: An American Colony. University of Washington Press. pp. 1118–1122. ISBN 978-0-295-98249-6. 978-0-295-98249-6 ↩

4. Jacobs, Frank (2012-07-10). "Oh, (No) Canada!". Opinionator: Borderlines. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2019-10-01. Retrieved 2012-09-23. https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/10/oh-no-canada/ ↩

5. "Duration of Daylight/Darkness Table for One Year". United States Naval Observatory. 2019-09-24. Archived from the original on 2019-10-12. Retrieved 2021-03-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20191012094319/http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/Dur_OneYear.php ↩

6. "52° North: a tangible timeline". TU Delft. Retrieved 2019-05-29. https://www.tudelft.nl/en/ceg/research/stories-of-science/52-north-a-tangible-timeline/ ↩

7. Jacobs, Frank (2012-07-10). "Oh, (No) Canada!". Opinionator: Borderlines. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2019-10-01. Retrieved 2012-09-23. https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/10/oh-no-canada/ ↩

8. "Duration of Daylight/Darkness Table for One Year". Archived from the original on October 12, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191012094319/https://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/Dur_OneYear.php ↩

9. "Duration of Daylight/Darkness Table for One Year". Archived from the original on October 12, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20191012094319/https://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/Dur_OneYear.php ↩

10. "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. https://web.archive.org/web/20191012094319/http://aa.usno.navy.mil/data/docs/Dur_OneYear.php ↩