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Extreme points of Earth

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

The world

Latitude and longitude

1A 1995 realignment of the International Date Line ([3]) 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.

Altitude

Highest point

  • The highest point measured from sea level is the summit of Mount Everest that borders Nepal and Tibet, and has been reached by roughly 3,000 climbers, the first confirmed 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 ft) above sea level.
  • The point farthest from the Earth's center is the summit of Chimborazo, in Ecuador, at 6,384.4 km (3,967.1 mi). 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. The summit of Mount Everest is 2,168 m (7,113 ft) shorter at 6,382.3 km (3,965.8 mi) from Earth's center. Peru's Huascarán contends closely with Chimborazo, the difference in the mountains' heights being less than the 2 km (1.2 mi) measurement error.[citation needed]

Lowest point (artificial)

Lowest point (natural)

Highest attainable by transportation

La Rinconada, Peru

Lowest attainable by transportation

Dead Sea
  • Road: The roads beside the Dead Sea, Israel and Jordan, 418 m (1,371 ft) below sea level.
  • Airfield: Bar Yehuda Airfield (MTZ), near Masada, Israel, 378 m (1,240 ft) below sea level.
  • International Airport: Atyrau Airport (GUW), near Atyrau, Kazakhstan, 22 m (72 ft) 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 ft) below sea level. By comparison, the Channel Tunnel between Folkestone, England, and Coquelles, France, reaches a depth of 75 m (246 ft). The lowest station is Yoshioka-kaitei, 150 m (492 ft) below sea level. Outside tunnels, the lowest railway is 71 m (233 ft) below sea level, on the line connecting Yuma, Arizona, and Palm Springs, California, in the United States.[4]

Highest geographical features

Remoteness

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 remote 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 north-western China near the Kazakhstan border. Calculations have commonly suggested that it is 2,645 km (1,645 mi) from the nearest coastline, located in the Dzoosotoyn Elisen Desert. 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 7 miles (11 km) to the east.[12]

A recent study[13] 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 2510±10 km 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 2514±7 km from the nearest ocean.[13] If adopted, this would place the final EPIA roughly 130 km closer to ocean than currently agreed upon.

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 closer to the ocean than the Oceanic Pole of Inaccessibility is to land.

Other continents' poles of inaccessibility are as follows:

Center

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 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)

  • Longest continuous distance on land:
    • 10,726 km (6,665 mi) at 48°24'53N: France (4°47'44W), central Europe, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, China, Russia (140°6'3E).[citation needed]
  • Longest continuous distance at sea (between continents):
    • 15,409 km (9,575 mi) at 18°39'12N: China (Hainan) (110°15'9E), Pacific Ocean, Mexico (103°42'6W).[citation needed]
  • Longest continuous latitude on land (incl. permanent ice shelf):
  • Longest continuous latitude at sea:

Along constant longitude (north-south distances)

  • Longest continuous distance on land:
    • 7,590 km (4,717 mi) at 99°1'30E: Russia (76°13'6N), Mongolia, China, Burma, Thailand (7°53'24N).[citation needed]
    • 7,417 km (4,610 mi) at 20°12E: Libya (32°19N), Chad, Central Africa, Congo DR, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, South Africa (34°41'30S). (Longest in Africa).[citation needed]
    • 7,098 km (4,412 mi) at 70°2W: Venezuela (11°30'30N), Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Chile, Argentina (52°33'30S). (Longest in western hemisphere and in South America).[citation needed]
    • 5,813 km (3,613 mi) at 97°52'30W: Canada (68°21N), USA, Mexico (16°1N). (Longest in North America).[citation needed]
  • Longest continuous distance at sea:
    • 15,986 km (9,935 mi) at 34°45'45W: Eastern Greenland (66°23'45N), Atlantic Ocean, Antarctica (Filchner Ice Shelf) (77°37S).[citation needed]
    • 15,883 km (9,871 mi) at 172°8'30W: Russia (Siberia) (64°45N), Pacific Ocean, Antarctica (Ross Ice Shelf) (78°20S). (Longest in the Pacific Ocean).[citation needed]

Along any great circle

The Americas

Antarctica

The Arctic

Australasia

Afro-Eurasia

See also

References

  1. ^ "TauTona, Anglo Gold – Mining Technology". SPG Media Group PLC. 1 January 2009. Retrieved 2 March 2009.
  2. ^ "Transocean's Ultra-Deepwater Semisubmersible Rig Deepwater Horizon Drills World's Deepest Oil and Gas Well". Transocean. Retrieved 7 June 2010.
  3. ^ McIntyre, Loren (April 1987). "The High Andes". National Geographic. 171 (4). National Geographic Society: 422–460. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |abbr= ignored (help) (includes description and photos of Aucanquilcha summit road and mine)
  4. ^ a b Bennett, Suzy (October 2003). "Destination Guides – World's highest railway, Peru – Wanderlust Travel Magazine". Wanderlust Magazine. Retrieved 10 October 2008.
  5. ^ "Boeing News Release: Boeing 757 Now Serves World's Highest-Altitude Airport". Retrieved 7 September 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |abbr= ignored (help)
  6. ^ "Siachen: The world's highest cold war". CNN. 20 May 2002. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
  7. ^ "Andes Website – Information about Ojos del Salado volcano, a high mountain in South America and the world's highest volcano". Retrieved 7 September 2007.
  8. ^ "The Highest Lake in the World". Retrieved 7 September 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |abbr= ignored (help)
  9. ^ "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.
  10. ^ "The Mystery of World's highest river and largest Canyon". Retrieved 7 September 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |abbr= ignored (help)
  11. ^ "Island Superlatives". Retrieved 7 September 2007. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |abbr= ignored (help)
  12. ^ [1] Map of the region around the Continental Pole of Inaccessibility, showing relative locations of Hoxtolgay, Xazgat and Suluk, from MSN Maps.
  13. ^ a b c d e f Garcia-Castellanos, D. (2007). "Poles of Inaccessibility: A Calculation Algorithm for the Remotest Places on Earth" (PDF). Scottish Geographical Journal. 123 (3): 227–233. doi:10.1080/14702540801897809. Retrieved 2008. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ Centre of Australia, States and Territories, Geoscience Australia
  15. ^ Draft Logic – Google Maps Distance Calculator, accessed 4 September 2011
  16. ^ "Airliners.net: World's Most Remote Airport?". Retrieved 23 April 2007.
  17. ^ Great Circle Mapper
  18. ^ [2]
  19. ^ "Regions and territories: New Caledonia". BBC News. 16 June 2011.