Extreme points of Earth

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This is a list of extreme points of Earth, the points that are farther north or south than, higher or lower in elevation than, or farthest inland or out to sea from, any other locations on the landmasses, continents or countries.

The world[edit]

Latitude and longitude[edit]

The southernmost open sea is also part of Ross Sea, namely Bay of Whales at 78°30'S, at the edge of Ross Ice Shelf.[2][note 1]

Elevation[edit]

Highest point[edit]

  • The highest point measured from sea level is the summit of Mount Everest in Nepal, and was first reached by Sir Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Sherpa of Nepal Tenzing Norgay in 1953 (with speculation that it may have been reached in 1924). While measurements of its height vary slightly, the elevation of its peak is usually given as 8,848 m (29,029 feet) above sea level.
  • The point farthest from the Earth's center is the summit of Chimborazo,[3] in Ecuador, at 6,384.4 km (3,967 miles) (the peak's elevation in relation to the sea level is 6,268 m (20,564 feet)). This is due to the Earth being an oblate spheroid rather than a perfect sphere. An oblate spheroid is very much like a sphere except it is wider at the equator and narrower between the poles. This means that Chimborazo, which is near the equator, is farther away from the center of the Earth than the peak of Mount Everest. The summit of Mount Everest is 2.168 km (1.347 miles) closer at 6,382.3 km (3,965.8 miles) to the Earth's center. Peru's Huascarán contends closely with Chimborazo, the difference in the mountains' heights being 23 m (75 feet)[citation needed]

Lowest point (artificial)[edit]

Lowest point (natural)[edit]

Highest attainable by transportation[edit]

Lowest attainable by transportation[edit]

  • Road: Excluding roads in mines, the roads beside the Dead Sea in Palestine, Israel and Jordan are, at 418 m (1,371 feet) below sea level, the deepest. The deepest undersea road tunnel is the Eiksund Tunnel, Norway, 287 m (942 feet) below sea level.
  • Airfield: Bar Yehuda Airfield (MTZ), near Masada, Israel, 378 m (1,240 feet) below sea level.
  • Commercial airport: Atyrau Airport (GUW), near Atyrau, Kazakhstan, 22 m (72 feet) below sea level.
  • Train: Excluding tracks inside South African gold mines, which can be several thousand metres below sea level, the world's lowest railway is located in Japan's Seikan Tunnel, at 240 m (787 feet) below sea level. By comparison, the Channel Tunnel between Folkestone, England, and Coquelles, France, reaches a depth of 75 m (246 feet). The lowest station is Yoshioka-kaitei, 150 m (492 feet) below sea level. Outside tunnels, the lowest railway is 71 m (233 feet) below sea level, on the line connecting Yuma, Arizona, and Palm Springs, California, in the United States.[10]

Highest geographical features[edit]

Remoteness[edit]

Each continent has its own continental pole of inaccessibility, defined as the place on the continent that is farthest from any ocean. Of these continental points, the most distant from an ocean is the Eurasian Pole of Inaccessibility (or "EPIA") 46°17′N 86°40′E / 46.283°N 86.667°E / 46.283; 86.667 (Continental Pole of Inaccessibility), in China's Xinjiang region near the Kazakhstan border. Calculations have commonly suggested that this point, located in the Dzoosotoyn Elisen Desert, is 2,645 km (1,644 miles) from the nearest coastline. The nearest settlement to the EPIA is Suluk at 46°15′N 86°50′E / 46.250°N 86.833°E / 46.250; 86.833 (Suluk) about 11 km (6.8 miles) to the east.[citation needed]

A recent study suggests that the historical calculation of the EPIA has failed to recognize the point where the Gulf of Ob joins the Arctic Ocean, and proposes instead that varying definitions of coastline could result in other Eurasian Pole of Inaccessibility results: EPIA1 somewhere between 44°17′N 82°11′E / 44.283°N 82.183°E / 44.283; 82.183 (EPIA1.1) and 44°29′N 82°19′E / 44.483°N 82.317°E / 44.483; 82.317 (EPIA1.2), about 2,510 ± 10 kilometres (1,559.6 ± 6.2 mi) from the nearest ocean, or EPIA2 somewhere between 45°17′N 88°08′E / 45.283°N 88.133°E / 45.283; 88.133 (EPIA2.1) and 45°28′N 88°14′E / 45.467°N 88.233°E / 45.467; 88.233 (EPIA2.2), about 2,514 ± 7 kilometres (1,562.1 ± 4.3 mi) from the nearest ocean.[19] If adopted, this would place the final EPIA roughly 130 km (81 miles) closer to ocean than currently agreed upon.[19]

Coincidentally, EPIA1 (or EPIA2) and the most remote of the Oceanic Poles of Inaccessibility (specifically, the point in the South Pacific Ocean that is farthest from land) are similarly remote; EPIA1 is less than 200 km (120 miles) closer to the ocean than the Oceanic Pole of Inaccessibility is to land.

  • The most remote island is Bouvet Island, an uninhabited and small Norwegian island in the South Atlantic Ocean. It lies at coordinates 54°26′S 3°24′E / 54.433°S 3.400°E / -54.433; 3.400 (most remote island). The nearest land is the uninhabited Queen Maud Land, Antarctica, over 1,600 km (994 mi) away to the south. The nearest inhabited lands are Tristan da Cunha, 2,260 km (1,404 mi) away and South Africa, 2,580 km (1,603 mi) away.
  • The most remote archipelago and the most remote inhabited island is Tristan da Cunha in the South Atlantic Ocean, 2,434 km (1,512 mi) from Saint Helena, 2,816 km (1,750 mi) from South Africa, and 3,360 km (2,090 miles) from South America. If Gough Island, which is 399 km (248 mi) away from the main island, is considered part of this archipelago, the nearest land from it should be Bouvet Island, 1,845 km (1,146 mi) away. The islands are part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. With a population of approximately 270, the main island of Tristan da Cunha is also the remotest inhabited island in the world. Tristan da Cunha has no airport, so all travel must be by boat, making it the most remote inhabited place by transport time. Boat travel to the nearest scheduled airport in South Africa takes around five days.
  • The most remote city
    • The most remote city with a population in excess of one million, from another city of at least that population: Auckland, New Zealand. The nearest city of comparable size or greater is Sydney, Australia, 2,168.9 kilometres (1,347.7 mi) away.[22] Coming in second at 2,139 kilometres (1,329 mi) (air travel distance) is Perth, Australia. Its nearest city of at least 1 million population is Adelaide, Australia.
    • The most remote city with a population in excess of one million, from another city with population above 100,000 is Perth, Australia, located 2,138 kilometres (1,328 mi)[23] away from Adelaide, Australia. Auckland, New Zealand is a notable contender for this title with a distance of 2,155 kilometres (1,339 mi) to Sydney – however, it is 114 km (71 miles) away from Hamilton, population 153,000.[24]
    • The most remote city with a population in excess of 500,000, from another city of at least that population is Honolulu, United States. The nearest city of comparable size or greater is San Francisco, 3,841 km (2,387 miles) away.
  • The most remote capital city in the world (longest distance from one capital of a sovereign country to the one closest to it) is a tie between Wellington, New Zealand, and Canberra, Australia, which are 2,326 km (1,445 mi) apart from each other. Canberra could drop from this tie in the future as it is only 2,217 km (1,378 mi) from Noumea,[25] the capital of New Caledonia, a special territory of France which is scheduled to vote on independence between 2014 and 2018.[26]

Farthest apart[edit]

The world's farthest-apart city pairs (with a population of over 100,000) are:[28]

  1. 19,996 km (12,425 mi) Rosario, Argentina to Xinghua, China[29]
  2. 19,994 km (12,424 mi) Liu'an, China to Río Cuarto, Argentina[30]
  3. 19,989 km (12,421 mi) Cuenca, Ecuador to Subang Jaya, Malaysia[31]

Center[edit]

Since the Earth is a spheroid, its center (the core) is thousands of kilometres beneath its crust. On the surface, the point 0°, 0°, located in the Atlantic Ocean approximately 614 km (382 miles) south of Accra, Ghana, in the Gulf of Guinea, at the intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian, at the coordinates of zero degrees by zero, is the "center" of the standard geographic model, as viewed on a map—but this selection of longitude meridian is culturally and historically dependent. The center of population, the place to which there is the shortest average route for everyone in the world, could be considered a centre of the world, and is located in the north of the Indian subcontinent, although the precise location has never been calculated and is constantly shifting.

Along constant latitude (east-west distances)[edit]

Along constant longitude (north-south distances)[edit]

  • The longest continuous distance on land:
    • 7,590 km (4,720 miles) at 99°1'30E: Russian Federation (76°13'6N), Mongolia, China, Burma, Thailand (7°53'24N).
    • 7,417 km (4,609 miles) at 20°12E: Libya (32°19N), Chad, Central Africa, Congo DR, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, South Africa (34°41'30S). (Longest in Africa).
    • 7,098 km (4,410 miles) at 70°2W: Venezuela (11°30'30N), Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Chile, Argentina (52°33'30S). (Longest in South America).
    • 5,813 km (3,612 miles) at 97°52'30W: Canada (68°21N), United States, Mexico (16°1N). (Longest in North America).
  • The longest land meridian. Still to be determined. It has to be located in the vicinity of 22°E, which is the longest land integer meridian that crosses 13,035 km (8,100 miles) of land and takes more than 65% of the meridian's length. Note: the meridian that crosses Giza Great Pyramid (31°08'3.69"E) is 855 km (531 miles) shorter.
  • The seven longest land integer meridians, in order:
    1. 13,035 km (8,100 miles) at 22°E: Europe 3,370 km (2,090 miles), Africa 7,458 km (4,634 miles), Antarctica 2,207 km (1,371 miles)
    2. 12,953 km (8,049 miles) at 23°E: Europe 3,325 km (2,066 miles), Africa 7,415 km (4,607 miles), Antarctica 2,214 km (1,376 miles)
    3. 12,943 km (8,042 miles) at 27°E: Europe 3,254 km (2,022 miles), Asia 246 km (153 miles), Africa 7,223 km (4,488 miles), Antarctica 2,221 km (1,380 miles)
    4. 12,875 km (8,000 miles) at 25°E: Europe 3,344 km (2,078 miles), Africa 7,327 km (4,553 miles), Antarctica 2,204 km (1,370 miles)
    5. 12,858 km (7,990 miles) at 26°E: Europe 3,404 km (2,115 miles), Africa 7,258 km (4,510 miles), Antarctica 2,196 km (1,365 miles)
    6. 12,794 km (7,950 miles) at 24°E: Europe 3,263 km (2,028 miles), Africa 7,346 km (4,565 miles), Antarctica 2,185 km (1,358 miles)
    7. 12,778 km (7,940 miles) at 28°E: Europe 3,039 km (1,888 miles), Asia 388 km (241 miles), Africa 7,117 km (4,422 miles)
  • The longest continuous distance at sea:
    • 15,986 km (9,933 miles) at 34°45'45W: Eastern Greenland (66°23'45N), Atlantic Ocean, Antarctica (Filchner Ice Shelf) (77°37S).
    • 15,883 km (9,869 miles) at 172°8'30W: Russian Federation (Siberia) (64°45N), Pacific Ocean, Antarctica (Ross Ice Shelf) (78°20S). (Longest in the Pacific Ocean).

Along any great circle[edit]


Afro-Eurasia[edit]

The Americas[edit]

Antarctica[edit]

The Arctic[edit]

Oceania[edit]

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b A 1995 realignment of the International Date Line ([1]) moved all of Kiribati to the Asian side of the Date Line, causing Caroline Island to be the easternmost. However, if the previous Date Line were followed, the easternmost point would be Tafahi Niuatoputapu, in the Tonga Islands chain.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Gould Coast US Geographic Survey.
  2. ^ Bay od Whales at britanica.com.
  3. ^ "Highest Mountain in the World". geology.com. 
  4. ^ "TauTona, Anglo Gold – Mining Technology". SPG Media Group PLC. 1 January 2009. Retrieved 2 March 2009. 
  5. ^ "Transocean's Ultra-Deepwater Semisubmersible Rig Deepwater Horizon Drills World's Deepest Oil and Gas Well". Transocean. Retrieved 7 June 2010. 
  6. ^ "Challenger Deep - the Mariana Trench". Retrieved 2012-07-30. 
  7. ^ Klimchouck, Alexander. "The deepest cave in the world (Krubera Cave) became 6 m deeper". speleogenesis.info. Retrieved 10 August 2013. 
  8. ^ "News Story - Bedmap2 gives scientists a more detailed view of Antarctica’s landmass". News Story - Bedmap2 gives scientists a more detailed view of Antarctica’s landmass. NERC BASS. 8 March 2013. Retrieved 1 May 2015. 
  9. ^ McIntyre, Loren (April 1987). "The High Andes". National Geographic (National Geographic Society) 171 (4): 422–460.  (includes description and photos of Aucanquilcha summit road and mine)
  10. ^ a b Bennett, Suzy (October 2003). "Destination Guides – World's highest railway, Peru – Wanderlust Travel Magazine". Wanderlust Magazine. Retrieved 10 October 2008. 
  11. ^ Ben Blanchard (16 September 2013). "China opens world's highest civilian airport". Reuters. Retrieved 16 September 2013. 
  12. ^ "Siachen: The world's highest cold war". CNN. 20 May 2002. Retrieved 2 May 2010. 
  13. ^ "Carrel refuge.". summitpost.org. 
  14. ^ "Andes Website – Information about Ojos del Salado volcano, a high mountain in South America and the world's highest volcano". Retrieved 18 January 2013. 
  15. ^ "The Highest Lake in the World". Retrieved 7 September 2007. 
  16. ^ "ASTER measurement of supraglacial lakes in the Mount Everest region of the Himalaya: The main Khumbu Glacier is about 17 km long with elevations ranging from 4900m at the terminus to 7600m at the source....The 7600m to 8000m elevations are also depicted on numerous detailed topographic maps". Retrieved 24 November 2008. 
  17. ^ "The Mystery of World's highest river and largest Canyon". Retrieved 7 September 2007. 
  18. ^ "Island Superlatives". Retrieved 7 September 2007. 
  19. ^ a b c d e f Garcia-Castellanos, Daniel; Lombardo, Umberto (2007). "Poles of Inaccessibility: A Calculation Algorithm for the Remotest Places on Earth" (PDF). Scottish Geographical Journal (Informa UK) 123 (3): 227–233. doi:10.1080/14702540801897809. ISSN 1470-2541. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 3, 2014. Retrieved 2008. 
  20. ^ Centre of Australia, States and Territories, Geoscience Australia
  21. ^ "Where is Point Nemo?". NOAA. Retrieved 2015-02-20. 
  22. ^ Draft Logic – Google Maps Distance Calculator, accessed 4 September 2011
  23. ^ "Flight Distance from Perth, Australia to Adelaide, Australia". travelmath.com. 
  24. ^ "Flight Distance from Auckland, New Zealand to Hamilton, New Zealand". travelmath.com. 
  25. ^ "World Distance Calculator". Retrieved 2012-07-30. 
  26. ^ "Regions and territories: New Caledonia". BBC News. 16 June 2011. 
  27. ^ "Great Circle Mapper". gcmap.com. 
  28. ^ "Discover The Furthest City On Earth From Wherever You Live". furthestcity.com. 
  29. ^ "What's the Farthest City and Country from Rosario, Argentina?". furthestcity.com. 
  30. ^ "What's the Farthest City and Country from Liu'an, Anhui, China?". furthestcity.com. 
  31. ^ "What's the Farthest City and Country from Cuenca, Ecuador?". furthestcity.com.