Where Is The Prime Meridian Located On A World Map
1682 map of east asia by giacomo cantelli with cape verde as its prime meridian.
Where is the prime meridian located on a world map. Other helpful pages on worldatlas what countries are in the west indies. Any line of longitude a meridian can serve as the 0 longitude line. The greenwich prime meridian starts from the north pole in the arctic ocean and runs southwards to the south pole in antarctica. The prime meridian is the line of 0 longitude the starting point for measuring distance both east and west around the earth.
1571 africa map by abraham ortelius with cape verde as its prime meridian. By 1884 over two thirds of all ships and tonnage used it as the reference meridian on their charts and maps. Along its stretch the greenwich prime meridian passes through nine countries which are spain uk france mali togo burkina faso algeria ghana and queen maud land a norwegian territory in antarctica. The observatory renamed the royal greenwich observatory was moved to hailsham east sussex during the 1950s but the original site continues to serve as the location for 0 longitude.
Because both the equator and the prime meridian are imaginary lines they were both established by. The future prime meridian based at the royal observatory greenwich in london england was established by sir george airy in 1851. The prime meridian is arbitrary meaning it could be chosen to be anywhere. Japan is thus located around 180 e.