45X90 points
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
45X90 points are the Earth's four points that are halfway between the poles, the equator, the Prime Meridian and the International Date Line. They are one of the Earth's significant coordinate intersections including the poles and intersections between the three prime lines.
The most well-known and frequently visited such point is in Poniatowski, Wisconsin. A Geographic Marker sign has been placed there by the Marathon County Park Commission, though it says the point is in the town of Rietbrock.
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 sell 45X90 t-shirts and will register visitors as members of the 45X90 Club. The point even has a web page devoted to it.
The only other 45X90 point on land is in a desolate region of northwestern China in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region near the Mongolian border. The only known visitors to this point were Greg Michaels, an American, and Ru Rong Zhao, a taxi driver from the closest town of Qitai. They visited this point on April 13, 2004 and documented the visit on the Degree Confluence Project (DCP). 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 are in the Indian Ocean and Southern Pacific Ocean.
[edit] External links
- The 45X90 Club
- Visit to the 45X90 point in Wisconsin (DCP)
- Visit to the 45X90 point in northwestern China (DCP)
- Degree Confluence Project