Degree Confluence Project
Encyclopedia
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 photograph
s and a narrative of each visit online. Intersections are defined on the horizontal datum WGS 84. The project describes itself as "an organized sampling
of the world
".
receivers, but visits can be achieved using only a map on the appropriate datum, or a map on another datum but with the appropriate correction applied. For a successful visit, the visitor must get within 100 metres of the confluence point, and post a narrative and several photographs to the project website. A visit, or attempted visit, which does not conform to these rules may still be recorded on the website as an incomplete visit. The project encourages visits to degree confluences which have been visited previously, and many confluence points in North America
and Europe
have been visited several times.
The total number of degree confluences is 64,442, of which 21,543 are on land, 38,409 on water, and 4,490 on the Antarctic
and Arctic
ice caps. The project categorizes degree confluences as either primary or secondary. A confluence is primary only if it is on land or within sight of land. In addition, at higher latitude
s only some points are designated primary, because confluences crowd together near the poles. Both primary and secondary confluences may be visited and recorded.
As of October 30, 2009, the project reported that the world has 16,324 indexed primary degree confluence points and 5,749 of them, in 181 countries, have been visited at least once. This means that 35.19% of the world's primary confluences have been completed. In addition, 540 unique visits have been made to secondary degree confluences. There have been a total of 10,900 degree confluence visits made by 11,368 visitors. 84,105 degree confluence photographs have been posted. The project is currently hosted by ibiblio
.
72°00'00"W
. What would be there? Would other people have recognized this as a unique spot?"
.
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
-based all-volunteer project which aims to have people visit each of the integer
Integer
The integers are formed by the natural numbers together with the negatives of the non-zero natural numbers .They are known as Positive and Negative Integers respectively...
degree
Degree (angle)
A degree , usually denoted by ° , is a measurement of plane angle, representing 1⁄360 of a full rotation; one degree is equivalent to π/180 radians...
intersections of latitude
Latitude
In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...
and longitude
Longitude
Longitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east-west position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds, and denoted by the Greek letter lambda ....
on Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
, posting photograph
Photograph
A photograph is an image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are created using a camera, which uses a lens to focus the scene's visible wavelengths of light into a reproduction of...
s and a narrative of each visit online. Intersections are defined on the horizontal datum WGS 84. The project describes itself as "an organized sampling
Sampling (statistics)
In statistics and survey methodology, sampling is concerned with the selection of a subset of individuals from within a population to estimate characteristics of the whole population....
of the world
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
".
Description
Visitors to degree confluences almost always make use of GPSGlobal Positioning System
The Global Positioning System is a space-based global navigation satellite system that provides location and time information in all weather, anywhere on or near the Earth, where there is an unobstructed line of sight to four or more GPS satellites...
receivers, but visits can be achieved using only a map on the appropriate datum, or a map on another datum but with the appropriate correction applied. For a successful visit, the visitor must get within 100 metres of the confluence point, and post a narrative and several photographs to the project website. A visit, or attempted visit, which does not conform to these rules may still be recorded on the website as an incomplete visit. The project encourages visits to degree confluences which have been visited previously, and many confluence points in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
have been visited several times.
The total number of degree confluences is 64,442, of which 21,543 are on land, 38,409 on water, and 4,490 on the Antarctic
Antarctic
The Antarctic is the region around the Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica and the ice shelves, waters and island territories in the Southern Ocean situated south of the Antarctic Convergence...
and Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
ice caps. The project categorizes degree confluences as either primary or secondary. A confluence is primary only if it is on land or within sight of land. In addition, at higher latitude
Latitude
In geography, the latitude of a location on the Earth is the angular distance of that location south or north of the Equator. The latitude is an angle, and is usually measured in degrees . The equator has a latitude of 0°, the North pole has a latitude of 90° north , and the South pole has a...
s only some points are designated primary, because confluences crowd together near the poles. Both primary and secondary confluences may be visited and recorded.
As of October 30, 2009, the project reported that the world has 16,324 indexed primary degree confluence points and 5,749 of them, in 181 countries, have been visited at least once. This means that 35.19% of the world's primary confluences have been completed. In addition, 540 unique visits have been made to secondary degree confluences. There have been a total of 10,900 degree confluence visits made by 11,368 visitors. 84,105 degree confluence photographs have been posted. The project is currently hosted by ibiblio
Ibiblio
ibiblio is a "collection of collections," and hosts a diverse range of publicly available information and open source software, including software, music, literature, art, history, science, politics, and cultural studies. As an "Internet librarianship," ibiblio is a digital library and archive...
.
History
The project was started by Alex Jarrett in February 1996 because he "liked the idea of visiting a location represented by a round number such as 43°00'00"N43rd parallel north
The 43rd parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 43 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean....
72°00'00"W
72nd meridian west
The meridian 72° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, North America, the Atlantic Ocean, the Caribbean Sea, South America, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
. What would be there? Would other people have recognized this as a unique spot?"
.
Milestones
- First degree confluence visit posted to the website: 43°N 72°W in New Hampshire, USA by Alex Jarrett (project founder) and Peter Cline on February 20, 1996.
- Highest Confluence: 33°N 80°E in Kuba, Tibet, China at 19,143 feet (5,835 m), first visited by Greg Michaels and Robert Whitfield on May 29, 2005.
- Lowest Confluence: 30°N 27°E in Matrūh, Egypt at -255 feet (-78 m), first visited by Dave Morrison, Steve Price and Tony Carlisle on December 4, 2004.