45X90 points
Encyclopedia
Geographical pole
A geographical pole is either of the two points—the north pole and the south pole—on the surface of a rotating planet where the axis of rotation meets the surface of the body...
s, the equator
Equator
An equator is the intersection of a sphere's surface with the plane perpendicular to the sphere's axis of rotation and containing the sphere's center of mass....
, the Prime Meridian
Prime Meridian
The Prime Meridian is the meridian at which the longitude is defined to be 0°.The Prime Meridian and its opposite the 180th meridian , which the International Date Line generally follows, form a great circle that divides the Earth into the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.An international...
, and the 180th meridian
180th meridian
The 180th meridian or antimeridian is the meridian which is 180° east or west of the Prime Meridian passing through the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. It is common to both east longitude and west longitude. It is used as the basis for the International Date Line because it for the most part passes...
. They are some of the earth's significant coordinate intersections.
The most well-known and frequently visited such point is 45°0′0"N 90°0′0"W in the town of Rietbrock, Wisconsin
Rietbrock, Wisconsin
Rietbrock is a town in Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the Wausau, WI Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 927 at the 2000 census...
near the unincorporated community of Poniatowski
Poniatowski, Wisconsin
Poniatowski is an unincorporated community in Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States, within the town of Rietbrock. The community is likely named in the honor of the noble Polish family of the same name....
. A geographic marker has been placed there by the Marathon County
Marathon County, Wisconsin
Marathon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is part of the Wausau, WI, Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of 2010, the population was 134,063. Its county seat is Wausau.-Geography:...
Park Commission. With the increase in use of personal GPS devices, the sign was amended to clarify that the actual 45x90 point is actually approximately 1063 feet (324 m) away in a field behind the sign; the location of the marker was chosen because of its proximity to the road.
The point has become a bit of a pop culture phenomenon thanks to Gisecki's Tavern in the tiny cluster of establishments in Poniatowski. They once sold 45X90 T-shirt
T-shirt
A T-shirt is a style of shirt. A T-shirt is buttonless and collarless, with short sleeves and frequently a round neck line....
s and registered visitors as members of the 45X90 Club. Since 2006, the Wausau/Central Wisconsin Convention & Visitors Bureau has been the holder of the official "45X90 Club" registration book. The book is on loan from the Gisecki family. Upon becoming a member of the "45X90 Club", the Wausau/Central Wisconsin Convention & Visitors Bureau will give new members a commemorative coin. The point has a web page devoted to it.
The only other 45X90 point on land is 45°0′0"N 90°0′0"E in a desolate region of northwestern China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region near the Mongolia
Mongolia
Mongolia is a landlocked country in East and Central Asia. It is bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south, east and west. Although Mongolia does not share a border with Kazakhstan, its western-most point is only from Kazakhstan's eastern tip. Ulan Bator, the capital and largest...
n border, some 240 km northeast of Ürümqi
Ürümqi
Ürümqi , formerly Tihwa , is the capital of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, in the northwest of the country....
. Greg Michaels, an American, and Ru Rong Zhao, a taxi driver from the closest town of Qitai, itself 110 km to the south-southwest, visited this point on April 13, 2004 and documented the visit on the Degree Confluence Project
Degree Confluence Project
The Degree Confluence Project is a World Wide Web-based all-volunteer project which aims to have people visit each of the integer degree intersections of latitude and longitude on Earth, posting photographs and a narrative of each visit online. Intersections are defined on the horizontal datum WGS...
. Their visit shows that there is no monument or any physical sign that recognition has been given to this location.
The two southern hemisphere 45X90 points, 45°0′0"S 90°0′0"W and 45°0′0"S 90°0′0"E are in the southern Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
and Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
, respectively.
See also
- Degree Confluence ProjectDegree Confluence ProjectThe Degree Confluence Project is a World Wide Web-based all-volunteer project which aims to have people visit each of the integer degree intersections of latitude and longitude on Earth, posting photographs and a narrative of each visit online. Intersections are defined on the horizontal datum WGS...
(DCP) - 45th parallel north
- 45th parallel south45th parallel southThe 45th parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 45 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane. It is the line that marks the theoretical halfway point between the equator and the South Pole...
- 90th meridian east90th meridian eastThe meridian 90° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole.The Ninety East Ridge is named after the meridian....
- 90th meridian west90th meridian westThe meridian 90° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, North America, the Gulf of Mexico, Central America, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....