The meridian 20° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Europe, Africa, the Atlantic and Indian oceans, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole.

Line across the Earth
20°
20th meridian east

The 20th meridian east forms a great circle with the 160th meridian west.

Part of Namibia's borders with Botswana and South Africa are defined by the meridian.[1] The boundary between the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian Ocean is defined by the meridian.[2] The meridian defines the eastern limit of the New Swabia area in Queen Maud Land, Antarctica.

From Pole to Pole edit

Starting at the North Pole and heading south to the South Pole, the 20th meridian east passes through:

Co-ordinates Country, territory or sea Notes
90°0′N 20°0′E / 90.000°N 20.000°E / 90.000; 20.000 (Arctic Ocean) Arctic Ocean
80°32′N 20°0′E / 80.533°N 20.000°E / 80.533; 20.000 (Norway)   Norway Islands of Nordaustlandet and Spitsbergen, Svalbard
78°37′N 20°0′E / 78.617°N 20.000°E / 78.617; 20.000 (Barents Sea) Barents Sea
73°54′N 20°0′E / 73.900°N 20.000°E / 73.900; 20.000 (Atlantic Ocean) Atlantic Ocean Norwegian Sea
70°10′N 20°0′E / 70.167°N 20.000°E / 70.167; 20.000 (Norway)   Norway Island of Vanna, and the mainland
68°34′N 20°0′E / 68.567°N 20.000°E / 68.567; 20.000 (Sweden)   Sweden For about 2 km
68°33′N 20°0′E / 68.550°N 20.000°E / 68.550; 20.000 (Norway)   Norway For about 18 km
68°23′N 20°0′E / 68.383°N 20.000°E / 68.383; 20.000 (Sweden)   Sweden
63°37′N 20°0′E / 63.617°N 20.000°E / 63.617; 20.000 (Baltic Sea) Baltic Sea Gulf of Bothnia
60°24′N 20°0′E / 60.400°N 20.000°E / 60.400; 20.000 (Finland)   Finland (  Åland Islands) Island of Fasta Åland
60°1′N 20°0′E / 60.017°N 20.000°E / 60.017; 20.000 (Baltic Sea) Baltic Sea
54°57′N 20°0′E / 54.950°N 20.000°E / 54.950; 20.000 (Russia)   Russia Kaliningrad Oblast (exclave)
54°25′N 20°0′E / 54.417°N 20.000°E / 54.417; 20.000 (Poland)   Poland Passing through Kraków (where crosses with 50th parallel north)
49°13′N 20°0′E / 49.217°N 20.000°E / 49.217; 20.000 (Slovakia)   Slovakia Passing through the mountain of Kriváň
48°10′N 20°0′E / 48.167°N 20.000°E / 48.167; 20.000 (Hungary)   Hungary Passing just west of Szeged
46°10′N 20°0′E / 46.167°N 20.000°E / 46.167; 20.000 (Serbia)   Serbia
43°4′N 20°0′E / 43.067°N 20.000°E / 43.067; 20.000 (Montenegro)   Montenegro
42°31′N 20°0′E / 42.517°N 20.000°E / 42.517; 20.000 (Albania)   Albania
39°41′N 20°0′E / 39.683°N 20.000°E / 39.683; 20.000 (Mediterranean Sea) Mediterranean Sea Ionian Sea
39°27′N 20°0′E / 39.450°N 20.000°E / 39.450; 20.000 (Greece)   Greece Island of Corfu
39°24′N 20°0′E / 39.400°N 20.000°E / 39.400; 20.000 (Mediterranean Sea) Mediterranean Sea Ionian Sea and the Mediterranean proper
32°1′N 20°0′E / 32.017°N 20.000°E / 32.017; 20.000 (Libya)   Libya
31°28′N 20°0′E / 31.467°N 20.000°E / 31.467; 20.000 (Mediterranean Sea) Mediterranean Sea Gulf of Sidra
30°46′N 20°0′E / 30.767°N 20.000°E / 30.767; 20.000 (Libya)   Libya
21°33′N 20°0′E / 21.550°N 20.000°E / 21.550; 20.000 (Chad)   Chad
9°7′N 20°0′E / 9.117°N 20.000°E / 9.117; 20.000 (Central African Republic)   Central African Republic
4°58′N 20°0′E / 4.967°N 20.000°E / 4.967; 20.000 (Democratic Republic of the Congo)   Democratic Republic of the Congo
7°0′S 20°0′E / 7.000°S 20.000°E / -7.000; 20.000 (Angola)   Angola
17°53′S 20°0′E / 17.883°S 20.000°E / -17.883; 20.000 (Namibia)   Namibia
22°0′S 20°0′E / 22.000°S 20.000°E / -22.000; 20.000 (Namibia / Botswana border)   Namibia /   Botswana border
24°45′S 20°0′E / 24.750°S 20.000°E / -24.750; 20.000 (Namibia / South Africa border)   Namibia /   South Africa (Northern Cape) border
28°26′S 20°0′E / 28.433°S 20.000°E / -28.433; 20.000 (South Africa)   South Africa Northern Cape
Western Cape
34°50′S 20°0′E / 34.833°S 20.000°E / -34.833; 20.000 (Atlantic Ocean / Indian Ocean boundary) Atlantic Ocean / Indian Ocean boundary
60°0′S 20°0′E / 60.000°S 20.000°E / -60.000; 20.000 (Southern Ocean) Southern Ocean
69°53′S 20°0′E / 69.883°S 20.000°E / -69.883; 20.000 (Antarctica) Antarctica Queen Maud Land, claimed by   Norway

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ Shelley, Fred M. (23 April 2013). Nation Shapes: The Story Behind the World's Borders. ABC-CLIO. p. 333. ISBN 978-1-61069-106-2.
  2. ^ Guyot, Arnold Henri; Felton, Cornelius Conway (1852). Comparative Physical Geography; Or the Earth in Relation to Man ... Translated from the French by C. C. Felton, Etc. p. 49.