179th meridian west

Line across the Earth
179°
179th meridian west ()

The meridian 179° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude[1] that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole.

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

From Pole to Pole

Starting at the North Pole and heading south to the South Pole, the 179th meridian west passes through:

Co-ordinates Country, territory or sea Notes
90°0′N 179°0′W / 90.000°N 179.000°W / 90.000; -179.000 (Arctic Ocean) Arctic Ocean
71°36′N 179°0′W / 71.600°N 179.000°W / 71.600; -179.000 (Russia)  Russia Chukotka Autonomous Okrug — Wrangel Island
70°55′N 179°0′W / 70.917°N 179.000°W / 70.917; -179.000 (Chukchi Sea) Chukchi Sea
68°47′N 179°0′W / 68.783°N 179.000°W / 68.783; -179.000 (Russia)  Russia Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
66°10′N 179°0′W / 66.167°N 179.000°W / 66.167; -179.000 (Bering Sea) Bering Sea Passing just west of Gareloi Island, Alaska,  United States (at 51°47′N 178°52′W / 51.783°N 178.867°W / 51.783; -178.867 (Gareloi Island))
Passing just east of Unalga Island, Alaska,  United States (at 51°35′N 179°1′W / 51.583°N 179.017°W / 51.583; -179.017 (Unalga Island))
Passing just west of Kavalga Island, Alaska,  United States (at 51°34′N 178°51′W / 51.567°N 178.850°W / 51.567; -178.850 (Kavalga Island))
Passing just west of Ulak Island, Alaska,  United States (at 51°22′N 178°59′W / 51.367°N 178.983°W / 51.367; -178.983 (Ulak Island))
Passing just east of Amatignak Island, Alaska,  United States (at 51°15′N 179°3′W / 51.250°N 179.050°W / 51.250; -179.050 (Unalga Island))
51°17′N 179°0′W / 51.283°N 179.000°W / 51.283; -179.000 (Pacific Ocean) Pacific Ocean Passing just east of the island of Qelelevu,  Fiji (at 16°5′S 179°9′W / 16.083°S 179.150°W / -16.083; -179.150 (Qelelevu))
17°10′S 179°0′W / 17.167°S 179.000°W / -17.167; -179.000 (Fiji)  Fiji Island of Vanua Balavu
17°12′S 179°0′W / 17.200°S 179.000°W / -17.200; -179.000 (Pacific Ocean) Pacific Ocean Passing just east of the island of Mago,  Fiji (at 17°27′S 179°8′W / 17.450°S 179.133°W / -17.450; -179.133 (Mago))
Passing just west of the island of Tuvuca,  Fiji (at 17°40′S 178°50′W / 17.667°S 178.833°W / -17.667; -178.833 (Tuvuca))
Passing just east of the island of Nayau,  Fiji (at 18°0′S 179°2′W / 18.000°S 179.033°W / -18.000; -179.033 (Nayau))
Passing just west of the island of Lakeba,  Fiji (at 18°12′S 178°50′W / 18.200°S 178.833°W / -18.200; -178.833 (Lakeba))
Passing just west of the island of Vuaqava,  Fiji (at 18°53′S 178°55′W / 18.883°S 178.917°W / -18.883; -178.917 (Vuaqava))
Passing just west of the island of Kabara,  Fiji (at 18°57′S 178°59′W / 18.950°S 178.983°W / -18.950; -178.983 (Kabara))
Passing just west of the island of Ono-i-Lau,  Fiji (at 20°39′S 178°44′W / 20.650°S 178.733°W / -20.650; -178.733 (Kabara))
60°0′S 179°0′W / 60.000°S 179.000°W / -60.000; -179.000 (Southern Ocean) Southern Ocean
78°19′S 179°0′W / 78.317°S 179.000°W / -78.317; -179.000 (Antarctica) Antarctica Ross Dependency, claimed by  New Zealand

See also

References

  1. ^ "What is longitude?". oceanservice.noaa.gov. Retrieved 1 July 2025.