60th parallel north

60°

60th parallel north

The 60th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 60 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean.

Although it lies approximately twice as far away from the Equator as from the North Pole, the 60th parallel is half as long as the Equator line. This is where the Earth bulges halfway as much as on the Equator.

At this latitude the sun is visible for 18 hours, 52 minutes during the summer solstice and 5 hours, 52 minutes during the winter solstice. On 21 June, the maximum altitude of the sun is 53.83 degrees and 6.17 degrees on 21 December.

Around the world

Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the parallel 60° north passes through:

Co-ordinates	Country, territory or sea	Notes
	North Sea
	Norway	Islands of Møkster, Selbjørn, Huftarøy, Reksteren and Tysnesøy, and the mainland Passing just north of Oslo
	Sweden	Passing through Fagersta Passing just north of Uppsala
	Baltic Sea
	Åland Islands
	Baltic Sea
	Finland
	Baltic Sea	Passing just south of Helsinki, Finland
	Finland	Porkkala peninsula
	Baltic Sea	Gulf of Finland - passing just south of the island of Gogland, Russia
	Russia	Island of Moshchnyy
	Baltic Sea	Gulf of Finland
	Russia	Island of Kotlin (city of Kronstadt)
	Baltic Sea	Gulf of Finland
	Russia	Passing through Saint Petersburg Passing through Lake Ladoga
	Sea of Okhotsk	Shelikhov Gulf
	Russia	Kamchatka Peninsula
	Bering Sea
	Russia
	Bering Sea	Olyutorsky Gulf
	Russia
	Bering Sea
	United States	Alaska - Nunivak Island
	Etolin Strait
	United States	Alaska
	Cook Inlet
	United States	Alaska - Kenai Peninsula, Evans Island, Elrington Island, Latouche Island and Montague Island
	Pacific Ocean	Gulf of Alaska
	United States	Alaska - Wingham Island, Kayak Island and a small section of mainland
	Pacific Ocean	Gulf of Alaska
	United States	Alaska
	Canada	Yukon / British Columbia border Northwest Territories / British Columbia border Northwest Territories / Alberta border Northwest Territories / Saskatchewan border Northwest Territories / Manitoba border - for about 400m Nunavut / Manitoba border
	Hudson Bay	Passing just north of the Ottawa Islands, Nunavut, Canada
	Canada	Quebec
	Ungava Bay
	Canada	Quebec Newfoundland and Labrador
	Atlantic Ocean	Border between the Davis Strait (to the north) and the Labrador Sea (to the south)
	Greenland
	Atlantic Ocean
	United Kingdom	Scotland - Islands of Mainland and Mousa, Shetland Islands
	North Sea

Canada

The 60th parallel north in Canada, marking the southern borders of Yukon, Northwest Territories, and the Nunavut mainland.

In Canada, the 60th parallel constitutes the mainland boundary between the northern territories of Yukon, Northwest Territories, and Nunavut to the north, and the western provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba to the south.

Accordingly, "north of 60" is an expression often used for the territories, although parts of Nunavut (the islands in Hudson Bay and James Bay) are located south of the 60th parallel, and parts of Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador are located north, to the east of Hudson Bay. A 1990s TV show on CBC about life in the Northwest Territories was called North of 60.

Canada's only four corners are located at the intersection of the 60th parallel and the 102nd meridian west, between the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. However, this is not a true quadripoint as the measurement of the Saskatchewan/Manitoba border in the 1880s placed it approximately 400 metres (440 yd) west of the 102nd meridian, which defines part of the Northwest Territories/Nunavut border.

Greenland

Between 1776 and 1950, the 60th parallel formed the southern limit of the Royal Greenland Trade Department's exclusive monopoly on trade near the Dano-Norwegian and later Danish colonies of Greenland (1776–1782) and South Greenland (1782–1950).

See also

• 59th parallel north
• 61st parallel north