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42nd parallel north facts for kids

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The 42nd parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 42 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 is visible for 15 hours, 15 minutes during the summer solstice and 9 hours, 6 minutes during the winter solstice.

The earth's rotational speed at this latitude is roughly equal to the speed of sound.

One minute of longitude along the 42nd parallel is approximately 0.7456 nautical miles (0.8580 mi; 1.381 km).

Around the world

Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the parallel 42° north passes through:

Co-ordinates Country, territory or sea Notes
42°0′N 0°0′E / 42.000°N 0.000°E / 42.000; 0.000 (Prime Meridian)  Spain Passing near Laluenga and Laperdiguera (Huesca province)
42°0′N 3°11′E / 42.000°N 3.183°E / 42.000; 3.183 (Mediterranean Sea) Mediterranean Sea
42°0′N 8°39′E / 42.000°N 8.650°E / 42.000; 8.650 (France)  France Island of Corsica
42°0′N 9°27′E / 42.000°N 9.450°E / 42.000; 9.450 (Mediterranean Sea) Mediterranean Sea Tyrrhenian Sea
42°0′N 11°58′E / 42.000°N 11.967°E / 42.000; 11.967 (Italy)  Italy Passing just north of Rome and through Termoli
42°0′N 15°0′E / 42.000°N 15.000°E / 42.000; 15.000 (Adriatic Sea) Mediterranean Sea Adriatic Sea
42°0′N 19°9′E / 42.000°N 19.150°E / 42.000; 19.150 (Montenegro)  Montenegro
42°0′N 19°23′E / 42.000°N 19.383°E / 42.000; 19.383 (Albania)  Albania
42°0′N 20°37′E / 42.000°N 20.617°E / 42.000; 20.617 (Serbia/Kosovo)  Kosovo or  Serbia Kosovo is a partially recognised state. Some nations consider its territory to be part of Serbia.
42°0′N 20°46′E / 42.000°N 20.767°E / 42.000; 20.767 (North Macedonia)  Macedonia Passing through Skopje
42°0′N 22°52′E / 42.000°N 22.867°E / 42.000; 22.867 (Bulgaria)  Bulgaria
42°0′N 26°56′E / 42.000°N 26.933°E / 42.000; 26.933 (Turkey)  Turkey
42°0′N 27°25′E / 42.000°N 27.417°E / 42.000; 27.417 (Bulgaria)  Bulgaria
42°0′N 27°51′E / 42.000°N 27.850°E / 42.000; 27.850 (Turkey)  Turkey For about 300 m
42°0′N 27°51.42′E / 42.000°N 27.85700°E / 42.000; 27.85700 (Bulgaria)  Bulgaria For about 100 m
42°0′N 27°51.52′E / 42.000°N 27.85867°E / 42.000; 27.85867 (Turkey)  Turkey For about 500 m
42°0′N 27°52.08′E / 42.000°N 27.86800°E / 42.000; 27.86800 (Bulgaria)  Bulgaria
42°0′N 28°2′E / 42.000°N 28.033°E / 42.000; 28.033 (Black Sea) Black Sea
42°0′N 33°17′E / 42.000°N 33.283°E / 42.000; 33.283 (Turkey)  Turkey
42°0′N 33°34′E / 42.000°N 33.567°E / 42.000; 33.567 (Black Sea) Black Sea
42°0′N 34°52′E / 42.000°N 34.867°E / 42.000; 34.867 (Turkey)  Turkey
42°0′N 35°7′E / 42.000°N 35.117°E / 42.000; 35.117 (Black Sea) Black Sea
42°0′N 41°45′E / 42.000°N 41.750°E / 42.000; 41.750 (Georgia)  Georgia
42°0′N 46°5′E / 42.000°N 46.083°E / 42.000; 46.083 (Russia)  Russia Dagestan - For about 2 km
42°0′N 46°7′E / 42.000°N 46.117°E / 42.000; 46.117 (Georgia)  Georgia For about 3 km
42°0′N 46°9′E / 42.000°N 46.150°E / 42.000; 46.150 (Russia)  Russia Dagestan just south of Derbent
42°0′N 48°20′E / 42.000°N 48.333°E / 42.000; 48.333 (Caspian Sea) Caspian Sea
42°0′N 52°27′E / 42.000°N 52.450°E / 42.000; 52.450 (Kazakhstan)  Kazakhstan
42°0′N 52°48′E / 42.000°N 52.800°E / 42.000; 52.800 (Turkmenistan)  Turkmenistan
42°0′N 54°51′E / 42.000°N 54.850°E / 42.000; 54.850 (Kazakhstan)  Kazakhstan
42°0′N 56°0′E / 42.000°N 56.000°E / 42.000; 56.000 (Uzbekistan)  Uzbekistan
42°0′N 57°10′E / 42.000°N 57.167°E / 42.000; 57.167 (Turkmenistan)  Turkmenistan
42°0′N 60°0′E / 42.000°N 60.000°E / 42.000; 60.000 (Uzbekistan)  Uzbekistan
42°0′N 66°0′E / 42.000°N 66.000°E / 42.000; 66.000 (Kazakhstan)  Kazakhstan
42°0′N 70°20′E / 42.000°N 70.333°E / 42.000; 70.333 (Uzbekistan)  Uzbekistan
42°0′N 70°50′E / 42.000°N 70.833°E / 42.000; 70.833 (Kyrgyzstan)  Kyrgyzstan
42°0′N 79°50′E / 42.000°N 79.833°E / 42.000; 79.833 (China)  People's Republic of China Xinjiang
Gansu
Inner Mongolia
42°0′N 103°3′E / 42.000°N 103.050°E / 42.000; 103.050 (Mongolia)  Mongolia
42°0′N 105°56′E / 42.000°N 105.933°E / 42.000; 105.933 (China)  People's Republic of China Inner Mongolia
Hebei
Inner Mongolia
Hebei
Inner Mongolia
Hebei
Inner Mongolia
Liaoning
Inner Mongolia
Liaoning
Jilin
42°0′N 128°3′E / 42.000°N 128.050°E / 42.000; 128.050 (North Korea)  North Korea Passing through Heaven Lake on Baekdu Mountain
42°0′N 128°29′E / 42.000°N 128.483°E / 42.000; 128.483 (China)  People's Republic of China Jilin (for about 8 km)
42°0′N 128°34′E / 42.000°N 128.567°E / 42.000; 128.567 (North Korea)  North Korea North Hamgyeong Province - Kaema Plateau
- Passing just north of Cheongjin
Passing just south of Raseon
42°0′N 130°2′E / 42.000°N 130.033°E / 42.000; 130.033 (Sea of Japan) Sea of Japan Passing just south of Okushiri Island,  Japan
42°0′N 140°7′E / 42.000°N 140.117°E / 42.000; 140.117 (Japan)  Japan Island of Hokkaidō
42°0′N 140°53′E / 42.000°N 140.883°E / 42.000; 140.883 (Pacific Ocean) Pacific Ocean
42°0′N 143°9′E / 42.000°N 143.150°E / 42.000; 143.150 (Japan)  Japan Island of Hokkaidō
42°0′N 143°15′E / 42.000°N 143.250°E / 42.000; 143.250 (Pacific Ocean) Pacific Ocean
42°0′N 124°13′W / 42.000°N 124.217°W / 42.000; -124.217 (United States)  United States Oregon / California border
Oregon / Nevada border
Idaho / Nevada border
Idaho / Utah border
Wyoming
Nebraska
Iowa - passing through Cedar Rapids
Illinois - passing through the campus of Loyola University in Chicago
42°0′N 87°39′W / 42.000°N 87.650°W / 42.000; -87.650 (Lake Michigan) Lake Michigan
42°0′N 86°33′W / 42.000°N 86.550°W / 42.000; -86.550 (United States)  United States Michigan - passing through Tecumseh
42°0′N 83°11′W / 42.000°N 83.183°W / 42.000; -83.183 (Lake Erie) Lake Erie
42°0′N 82°58′W / 42.000°N 82.967°W / 42.000; -82.967 (Canada)  Canada Ontario - passing through Point Pelee National Park
42°0′N 82°29′W / 42.000°N 82.483°W / 42.000; -82.483 (Lake Erie) Lake Erie
42°0′N 80°26′W / 42.000°N 80.433°W / 42.000; -80.433 (United States)  United States Pennsylvania (Erie County)
New York / Pennsylvania border
New York
Connecticut - running just south of the border with Massachusetts
Rhode Island - running just south of the border with Massachusetts
Massachusetts
42°0′N 70°42′W / 42.000°N 70.700°W / 42.000; -70.700 (Cape Cod Bay) Cape Cod Bay
42°0′N 70°5′W / 42.000°N 70.083°W / 42.000; -70.083 (United States)  United States Massachusetts (Truro, Cape Cod)
42°0′N 70°2′W / 42.000°N 70.033°W / 42.000; -70.033 (Atlantic Ocean) Atlantic Ocean
42°0′N 8°53′W / 42.000°N 8.883°W / 42.000; -8.883 (Spain)  Spain Oia (province of Pontevedra, Galicia)
42°0′N 8°39′W / 42.000°N 8.650°W / 42.000; -8.650 (Portugal)  Portugal Valença (Viana do Castelo District)
42°0′N 8°7′W / 42.000°N 8.117°W / 42.000; -8.117 (Spain)  Spain Entrimo (province of Ourense, Galicia)
42°0′N 3°48′W / 42.000°N 3.800°W / 42.000; -3.800 (Spain)  Spain Lerma, Province of Burgos (Castile and León)

United States

42nd parallel US
The 42nd parallel north defining borders between states in the United States
Girard Main Street
Crossing the parallel in Girard, Pennsylvania

The parallel 42° north forms most of the New York–Pennsylvania border, although due to imperfect surveying in 1785–1786, this boundary wanders around on both sides of the true parallel. The area around the parallel in this region is known as the Twin Tiers.

The 42nd parallel became agreed upon as the northward limit of the Spanish Empire by the Adams–Onís Treaty of 1819 with the United States, which established the parallel as the border between the Viceroyalty of New Spain of the Kingdom of Spain and the western territory of the United States of America from the meridian of the headwaters of the Arkansas River west to the Pacific Ocean. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo of 1848 then ceded much of what was then northern Mexico to the United States; as a result, the northernmost U.S. states which were created from Mexican territory (California, Nevada, and Utah) have the parallel 42° north as their northern border, and the adjoining U.S. states of Oregon and Idaho have the parallel as their southern border.

The parallel passes through the states of Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and passes through (or near - within three-tenths degree of latitude) the following cities in the United States:

Canada

Point Pelee NP 42Parallel sign 2014
42nd parallel landmark at Point Pelee National Park

The parallel 42° north passes through the southern end of Lake Michigan and Lake Erie. Part of the water boundary between Canada and the United States passes south of the 42nd parallel. The southern tip of the Canadian province of Ontario just barely goes south of it at Point Pelee and Pelee Island, while the southernmost portion of the Town of Essex at Colchester is located below the 42nd parallel.

See also

  • 41st parallel north
  • 43rd parallel north
  • The Twin Tiers region of New York and Pennsylvania
  • The "Jefferson" region of Oregon and California
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