Circle of latitude in the Northern Hemisphere
The60th parallel north is acircle of latitude that is 60degrees north ofEarth 'sequator . It crossesEurope ,Asia , thePacific Ocean ,North America , and theAtlantic Ocean .
Although it lies approximately twice as far away from the Equator as from theNorth Pole , the 60th parallel is half as long as the Equator line, due to thecosine of 60 degrees being 0.5. This is where the Earth bulges halfway as much as on the Equator.
At this latitude, theSun is visible for 18 hours, 52 minutes during theJune solstice and 5 hours, 52 minutes during theDecember solstice .[ 1] altitude of the Sun is 53.44° on 21 June and 6.56° on 21 December.The maximumaltitude of the Sun is > 15.00º in October and > 8.00º in November.[ 2]
The lowest latitude wherewhite nights can be observed is approximately on this parallel.
During the summer solstice, nighttime does not get beyondnautical twilight , a condition which lasts throughout the month of June. It is possible to view both astronomical dawn and dusk every day between August 22 and April 21.
Malachy Tallack wrote a book,Sixty Degrees North: Around the World in Search of Home , about his travels along the general line of the parallel, starting and finishing atShetland .[ 3] [ 4]
Starting at thePrime Meridian and heading eastwards, the parallel 60° north passes through:
Coordinates Country, territory or ocean Notes 60°0′N 0°0′E / 60.000°N 0.000°E /60.000; 0.000 (Prime Meridian ) Atlantic Ocean North Sea 60°0′N 5°3′E / 60.000°N 5.050°E /60.000; 5.050 (Norway ) Norway Islands ofStolmen andSelbjørn ,Hordaland 60°0′N 5°12′E / 60.000°N 5.200°E /60.000; 5.200 (Prime Meridian ) Atlantic Ocean Bekkjarviksundet,Selbjørnsfjorden ,North Sea 60°0′N 5°15′E / 60.000°N 5.250°E /60.000; 5.250 (Norway ) Norway Island ofHuftarøy ,Hordaland 60°0′N 5°17′E / 60.000°N 5.283°E /60.000; 5.283 (Prime Meridian ) Atlantic Ocean Langenuen ,North Sea 60°0′N 5°22′E / 60.000°N 5.367°E /60.000; 5.367 (Norway ) Norway Islands ofReksteren ,Tysnesøy and the mainlandHordaland 60°0′N 5°52′E / 60.000°N 5.867°E /60.000; 5.867 (Prime Meridian ) Atlantic Ocean Hardangerfjorden ,North Sea 60°0′N 5°59′E / 60.000°N 5.983°E /60.000; 5.983 (Norway ) Norway Mainland:Folgefonna glacier ,Telemark ,Buskerud ,Akershus ,Oslo ,Hedmark ,Østfold capital Oslo 60°0′N 12°23′E / 60.000°N 12.383°E /60.000; 12.383 (Sweden ) Sweden Passing throughFagersta Uppsala 60°0′N 18°53′E / 60.000°N 18.883°E /60.000; 18.883 (Baltic Sea ) Atlantic Ocean Baltic Sea 60°0′N 20°8′E / 60.000°N 20.133°E /60.000; 20.133 (Åland Islands ) Finland Högskär, Bäckö and several smaller islands,Åland Islands 60°0′N 20°58′E / 60.000°N 20.967°E /60.000; 20.967 (Baltic Sea ) Atlantic Ocean Baltic Sea 60°0′N 23°30′E / 60.000°N 23.500°E /60.000; 23.500 (Finland ) Finland Passing throughEkenäs 60°0′N 23°58′E / 60.000°N 23.967°E /60.000; 23.967 (Baltic Sea ) Atlantic Ocean Baltic Sea 60°0′N 24°26′E / 60.000°N 24.433°E /60.000; 24.433 (Finland ) Finland Porkkala peninsula60°0′N 24°30′E / 60.000°N 24.500°E /60.000; 24.500 (Baltic Sea ) Atlantic Ocean Baltic Sea ,Gulf of Finland Helsinki ,Finland and the island ofGogland ,Russia 60°0′N 27°48′E / 60.000°N 27.800°E /60.000; 27.800 (Russia ) Russia Moshchny Island 60°0′N 27°54′E / 60.000°N 27.900°E /60.000; 27.900 (Baltic Sea ) Atlantic Ocean Gulf of Finland ,Baltic Sea 60°0′N 29°44′E / 60.000°N 29.733°E /60.000; 29.733 (Russia ) Russia Island ofKotlin (city ofKronstadt ) 60°0′N 29°47′E / 60.000°N 29.783°E /60.000; 29.783 (Baltic Sea ) Atlantic Ocean Gulf of Finland ,Baltic Sea 60°0′N 30°5′E / 60.000°N 30.083°E /60.000; 30.083 (Russia ) Russia Passing throughSaint Petersburg ,Lake Ladoga 60°0′N 154°30′E / 60.000°N 154.500°E /60.000; 154.500 (Sea of Okhotsk ) Pacific Ocean Shelikhov Gulf ,Sea of Okhotsk 60°0′N 161°28′E / 60.000°N 161.467°E /60.000; 161.467 (Russia ) Russia Kamchatka Peninsula 60°0′N 165°14′E / 60.000°N 165.233°E /60.000; 165.233 (Bering Sea ) Pacific Ocean Bering Sea 60°0′N 166°10′E / 60.000°N 166.167°E /60.000; 166.167 (Russia ) Russia Pylgin Range 60°0′N 166°33′E / 60.000°N 166.550°E /60.000; 166.550 (Bering Sea ) Pacific Ocean Olyutor Gulf ,Bering Sea 60°0′N 170°9′E / 60.000°N 170.150°E /60.000; 170.150 (Russia ) Russia Olyutor Peninsula 60°0′N 170°26′E / 60.000°N 170.433°E /60.000; 170.433 (Bering Sea ) Pacific Ocean Bering Sea 60°0′N 167°8′W / 60.000°N 167.133°W /60.000; -167.133 (United States ) United States Alaska -Nunivak Island 60°0′N 165°39′W / 60.000°N 165.650°W /60.000; -165.650 (Etolin Strait ) Pacific Ocean Etolin Strait ,Bering Sea 60°0′N 164°9′W / 60.000°N 164.150°W /60.000; -164.150 (United States ) United States Alaska 60°0′N 152°38′W / 60.000°N 152.633°W /60.000; -152.633 (Cook Inlet ) Pacific Ocean Cook Inlet ,Gulf of Alaska 60°0′N 151°44′W / 60.000°N 151.733°W /60.000; -151.733 (United States ) United States Alaska -Kenai Peninsula ,Evans Island ,Elrington Island ,Latouche Island andMontague Island 60°0′N 147°24′W / 60.000°N 147.400°W /60.000; -147.400 (Pacific Ocean ) Pacific Ocean Gulf of Alaska 60°0′N 144°24′W / 60.000°N 144.400°W /60.000; -144.400 (United States ) United States Alaska -Wingham Island ,Kayak Island and a small section of mainland60°0′N 143°50′W / 60.000°N 143.833°W /60.000; -143.833 (Pacific Ocean ) Pacific Ocean Gulf of Alaska 60°0′N 141°53′W / 60.000°N 141.883°W /60.000; -141.883 (United States ) United States Alaska 60°0′N 139°3′W / 60.000°N 139.050°W /60.000; -139.050 (Canada ) Canada Yukon /British Columbia borderNorthwest Territories /British Columbia borderNorthwest Territories /Alberta border - passes throughWood Buffalo National Park and besideFort Smith, NT Northwest Territories /Saskatchewan borderNunavut /Manitoba border60°0′N 94°49′W / 60.000°N 94.817°W /60.000; -94.817 (Hudson Bay ) Arctic Ocean Hudson Bay Ottawa Islands ,Nunavut ,Canada 60°0′N 77°17′W / 60.000°N 77.283°W /60.000; -77.283 (Canada ) Canada Quebec Puvirnituq ,Quebec 60°0′N 69°46′W / 60.000°N 69.767°W /60.000; -69.767 (Ungava Bay ) Arctic Ocean Ungava Bay Kangirsuk ,Quebec ,Canada 60°0′N 65°7′W / 60.000°N 65.117°W /60.000; -65.117 (Canada ) Canada Quebec ,Newfoundland and Labrador 60°0′N 64°9′W / 60.000°N 64.150°W /60.000; -64.150 Atlantic Ocean Border between theDavis Strait (to the north) and theLabrador Sea (to the south)[ 5] 60°0′N 44°52′W / 60.000°N 44.867°W /60.000; -44.867 (Greenland ) Greenland Passing south ofNarsaq ; crossing mainland atNarsarmijit ; going throughCape Farewell Archipelago , passing just north ofItilleq Island 60°0′N 43°9′W / 60.000°N 43.150°W /60.000; -43.150 (Atlantic Ocean ) Atlantic Ocean 60°0′N 1°21′W / 60.000°N 1.350°W /60.000; -1.350 (United Kingdom ) United Kingdom Islands ofMainland andMousa ,Shetland Islands ,Scotland 60°0′N 1°11′W / 60.000°N 1.183°W /60.000; -1.183 (North Sea ) Atlantic Ocean North Sea
[ edit ] Whitehorse , Yukon, CanadaFort Smith , Northwest Territories, CanadaBergen , Vestland, NorwayOslo , NorwayHelsinki , Uusimaa, FinlandEspoo , Uusimaa, FinlandSaint Petersburg , RussiaThe 60th parallel north in Canada, marking the southern borders ofYukon ,Northwest Territories , and theNunavut mainland. InCanada , the 60th parallel forms the southern mainland boundary of thenorthern territories ofYukon ,Northwest Territories , andNunavut with thewestern provinces ofBritish Columbia ,Alberta ,Saskatchewan , andManitoba .
Accordingly, "north of 60" is an expression often used for the territories, although parts of Nunavut (the islands inHudson Bay andJames Bay ) are located south of the 60th parallel, and parts ofQuebec andNewfoundland and Labrador are located north, to the east of Hudson Bay. A 1990s TV show onCBC about life in theNorthwest Territories was calledNorth of 60
The60th Parallel Territorial Park is onMackenzie Highway betweenAlberta andNorthwest Territories and it has a visitor centre there in the homeland of theYellowknives Dene First Nation and theNorth Slave Métis Alliance .[ 6]
Canada's onlyfour corners are located at the intersection of the 60th parallel and the102nd meridian west , between the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.
Between 1776 and 1950, the 60th parallel formed the southern limit of theRoyal Greenland Trade Department 's exclusive monopoly on trade near theDano-Norwegian and laterDanish colonies ofGreenland (1776–1782) andSouth Greenland (1782–1950).[ 7]
.svg)
