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The45×90 points are the four points onEarth which are both halfway between one of thegeographical poles and theequator, and halfway between thePrime Meridian and the180th meridian. Both northern 45×90 points are located on land, while both southern 45×90 points are in remote open ocean locations.
The best-known and most frequently visited such point is45°0′0″N90°0′0″W / 45.00000°N 90.00000°W /45.00000; -90.00000, which is 410 m (1,345 ft) above sea level in the town ofRietbrock, Wisconsin near the unincorporated community ofPoniatowski. A grand board and precise metal ground marker was placed by theMarathon County Park Commission, only to be relocated slightly[1] and restored to visitor access since September 12, 2017.[2]
The former marker has been replaced by a small parking lot with a trail that leads to a long, rectangular park. The Geographical Marker is at the southern end of the park along with informational displays.
The point has become something of a pop culture phenomenon thanks to Gesicki's Tavern in the tiny cluster of establishments in Poniatowski.[3] They sold 45×90T-shirts and registered visitors as members of the "45×90 Club".[3] Since 2006, the Wausau/Central Wisconsin Convention & Visitors Bureau has been the holder of the official "45×90 Club" registration book. The book is on loan from the family.[4] On becoming a member of the club, the Bureau gives a commemorative coin.
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The only other 45×90 point located on land is45°0′0″N90°0′0″E / 45.00000°N 90.00000°E /45.00000; 90.00000, which is at an elevation of 1,009 m (3,311 ft) above sea level. This point is located in a desolate region of theXinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region ofChina, near theMongolian border, approximately 240 km (150 mi) northeast ofÜrümqi. Administratively, it is on the border ofQitai andQinggil counties. Greg Michaels, an American, and Ru Rong Zhao, a taxi driver from the closest town ofQitai, which is 110 km to the south-southwest, visited this point on April 13, 2004 and documented the visit on theDegree Confluence Project.[5] Their visit found no monument or any physical recognition of the status and documented that the nearest community to the site documented on maps,Jiangjunmiao, had long since been abandoned.
In the southernIndian Ocean,45°0′0″S90°0′0″E / 45.00000°S 90.00000°E /-45.00000; 90.00000 has an ocean floor depth of 3,197 m (10,489 ft) below sea level and is: 1,244 km (773 mi) southeast of the nearest (uninhabited) island ofÎle Saint-Paul; 1,480 km (920 mi) northeast ofElephant Spit,Heard Island; 1,569 km (975 mi) east northeast of the small village-like capitalPort aux Français of theKerguelen Islands; 2,425 km (1,507 mi) north ofAntarctica; 2,448 km (1,521 mi) southwest ofAugusta, Western Australia, 4,080 km (2,535 mi) southeast ofRéunion Island, and 5,550 km (3,450 mi) southeast ofBenguerra Island, Mozambique, and 5,800 km (3,600 mi) southeast ofMossel Bay,South Africa.
In March 2014, the point was in one of a few strips in a search for the missingMalaysia Airlines Flight 370, after potential debris was spotted by satellite about there.[6][7]
Located in the southernPacific Ocean, 1,297 km (806 mi) west south west ofGuaitecas inChile, and 3,070 km (1,910 mi) north of Antarctica,45°0′0″S90°0′0″W / 45.00000°S 90.00000°W /-45.00000; -90.00000 has an ocean floor depth of 4,180 m (13,730 ft) below sea level.
Each 45×90 point is theantipode – the point on the opposite side of Earth – of another 45×90 point.
The southern Indian Ocean location and the point in Wisconsin are antipodes of each other. The southern Pacific Ocean location and the point in China are antipodes of each other.
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