40th parallel north Facts for Kids

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.

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.

Around the world
United States
Images for kids
See also

Around the world

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

Co-ordinates	Country, territory or sea	Notes
40°0′N 0°0′E / 40.000°N 0.000°E / 40.000; 0.000 (Prime Meridian)	Spain	Valencian Community
40°0′N 0°2′E / 40.000°N 0.033°E / 40.000; 0.033 (Mediterranean Sea)	Mediterranean Sea	Passing 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)	Spain	Island 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)	Italy	Island of Sardinia
40°0′N 9°42′E / 40.000°N 9.700°E / 40.000; 9.700 (Mediterranean Sea)	Mediterranean Sea	Tyrrhenian Sea
40°0′N 15°20′E / 40.000°N 15.333°E / 40.000; 15.333 (Italy)	Italy	Campania
40°0′N 15°26′E / 40.000°N 15.433°E / 40.000; 15.433 (Mediterranean Sea)	Mediterranean Sea	Gulf of Policastro
40°0′N 15°41′E / 40.000°N 15.683°E / 40.000; 15.683 (Italy)	Italy	Basilicata, Calabria
40°0′N 16°37′E / 40.000°N 16.617°E / 40.000; 16.617 (Mediterranean Sea)	Mediterranean Sea	Gulf of Taranto
40°0′N 18°0′E / 40.000°N 18.000°E / 40.000; 18.000 (Italy)	Italy	Apulia
40°0′N 18°25′E / 40.000°N 18.417°E / 40.000; 18.417 (Mediterranean Sea)	Mediterranean Sea	Strait of Otranto
40°0′N 19°53′E / 40.000°N 19.883°E / 40.000; 19.883 (Albania)	Albania	Passing 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 Sea	Aegean Sea
40°0′N 23°23′E / 40.000°N 23.383°E / 40.000; 23.383 (Greece)	Greece	Kassandra and Sithonia
40°0′N 24°0′E / 40.000°N 24.000°E / 40.000; 24.000 (Aegean Sea)	Mediterranean Sea	Aegean Sea
40°0′N 25°6′E / 40.000°N 25.100°E / 40.000; 25.100 (Greece)	Greece	Island of Lemnos
40°0′N 25°26′E / 40.000°N 25.433°E / 40.000; 25.433 (Aegean Sea)	Mediterranean Sea	Aegean Sea
40°0′N 26°11′E / 40.000°N 26.183°E / 40.000; 26.183 (Turkey)	Turkey	Passing just north of Ankara
40°0′N 44°24′E / 40.000°N 44.400°E / 40.000; 44.400 (Armenia)	Armenia	Passing through Verin Artashat and Norashen, Ararat
40°0′N 45°36′E / 40.000°N 45.600°E / 40.000; 45.600 (Azerbaijan)	Azerbaijan	Passing 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)	Tajikistan	For 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)	Uzbekistan	Sokh 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)	Uzbekistan	Shohimardon 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 China	Xinjiang 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 Ocean	Liaodong Bay, Yellow Sea
40°0′N 121°53′E / 40.000°N 121.883°E / 40.000; 121.883 (China)	People's Republic of China	Liaoning (Liaodong Peninsula)
40°0′N 124°21′E / 40.000°N 124.350°E / 40.000; 124.350 (North Korea)	North Korea	North 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 Ocean	Sea of Japan
40°0′N 128°10′E / 40.000°N 128.167°E / 40.000; 128.167 (North Korea)	North Korea	Mayang Island
40°0′N 128°13′E / 40.000°N 128.217°E / 40.000; 128.217 (Sea of Japan)	Pacific Ocean	Sea of Japan
40°0′N 139°54′E / 40.000°N 139.900°E / 40.000; 139.900 (Japan)	Japan	Island 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 States	California - 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 Ocean	Passing just north of Corvo Island, Azores, Portugal
40°0′N 8°55′W / 40.000°N 8.917°W / 40.000; -8.917 (Portugal)	Portugal	Passing near Pombal and Covilhã
40°0′N 6°51′W / 40.000°N 6.850°W / 40.000; -6.850 (Spain)	Spain	Extremadura 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

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.