The meridian 1° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, Europe, Africa, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole.

Line across the Earth
1st meridian west

The 1st meridian west forms a great circle with the 179th meridian east.

It is the most populous meridian west of Greenwich, being home to between 41.2 million and 44.9 million people as of 2019.[1]

From pole to pole edit

Starting at the North Pole and heading south to the South Pole, the 1st meridian west passes through:

Co-ordinates Country, territory or sea Notes
90°0′N 1°0′W / 90.000°N 1.000°W / 90.000; -1.000 (Arctic Ocean) Arctic Ocean
81°42′N 1°0′W / 81.700°N 1.000°W / 81.700; -1.000 (Atlantic Ocean) Atlantic Ocean
60°42′N 1°0′W / 60.700°N 1.000°W / 60.700; -1.000 (United Kingdom)   United Kingdom Scotland — islands of Yell and Hascosay, Shetland
60°36′N 1°0′W / 60.600°N 1.000°W / 60.600; -1.000 (North Sea) North Sea
60°22′N 1°0′W / 60.367°N 1.000°W / 60.367; -1.000 (United Kingdom)   United Kingdom Scotland — island of Whalsay, Shetland
60°20′N 1°0′W / 60.333°N 1.000°W / 60.333; -1.000 (North Sea) North Sea Passing just east of the Isle of Noss, Scotland,   United Kingdom (at 60°8′N 1°1′W / 60.133°N 1.017°W / 60.133; -1.017 (Noss))
54°36′N 1°0′W / 54.600°N 1.000°W / 54.600; -1.000 (United Kingdom)   United Kingdom England — making landfall just west of Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Yorkshire
50°47′N 1°0′W / 50.783°N 1.000°W / 50.783; -1.000 (English Channel) English Channel Passing just east of the Isle of Wight, England,   United Kingdom (at 50°41′N 1°4′W / 50.683°N 1.067°W / 50.683; -1.067 (Isle of Wight))
49°24′N 1°0′W / 49.400°N 1.000°W / 49.400; -1.000 (France)   France
42°59′N 1°0′W / 42.983°N 1.000°W / 42.983; -1.000 (Spain)   Spain Passing just west of Cartagena, Murcia at 37°36′N 0°59′W / 37.600°N 0.983°W / 37.600; -0.983 (Cartagena)
37°35′N 1°0′W / 37.583°N 1.000°W / 37.583; -1.000 (Mediterranean Sea) Mediterranean Sea
35°41′N 1°0′W / 35.683°N 1.000°W / 35.683; -1.000 (Algeria)   Algeria
32°32′N 1°0′W / 32.533°N 1.000°W / 32.533; -1.000 (Morocco)   Morocco For about 1 km at the easternmost part of the country
32°31′N 1°0′W / 32.517°N 1.000°W / 32.517; -1.000 (Algeria)   Algeria
22°33′N 1°0′W / 22.550°N 1.000°W / 22.550; -1.000 (Mali)   Mali
14°51′N 1°0′W / 14.850°N 1.000°W / 14.850; -1.000 (Burkina Faso)   Burkina Faso
10°59′N 1°0′W / 10.983°N 1.000°W / 10.983; -1.000 (Ghana)   Ghana
5°12′N 1°0′W / 5.200°N 1.000°W / 5.200; -1.000 (Atlantic Ocean) Atlantic Ocean
60°0′S 1°0′W / 60.000°S 1.000°W / -60.000; -1.000 (Southern Ocean) Southern Ocean
68°52′S 1°0′W / 68.867°S 1.000°W / -68.867; -1.000 (Antarctica) Antarctica Queen Maud Landclaimed by   Norway
Next westward:
2nd meridian west
1st meridian west
forms a great circle with
179th meridian east
Next eastward:
Prime meridian


See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "World Population Distribution by Latitude and Longitude". Engaging Data. 18 March 2019. Retrieved 5 August 2020.