40th parallel north

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The 40th parallel north is an imaginary line of latitude that circles through the Northern Hemisphere. The 40th parallel passes through the continents of North America, Europe, and Asia. In Europe, it first passes through Portugal and Spain, then it travels across the western Mediterranian Sea and bisects the Italian Peninsula south of Rome. It then crosses through Greece and Turkey, and then makes its way through Central Asian republics of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan. It then crosses through China, North Korea, and Japan before heading out into the vast Pacific Ocean.

In North America, it enters the United States in northern California. It then passes through Nevada, Utah, and Colorado. The city of Boulder Colorado lies on top of the 40th parallel. It then makes up the border between Nebraska and Kansas, then crosses northern Missouri, central Illinois where it passes through the Indiana and Ohio, a small strech of the northern West Virginia Panhandle, then through Pennsylvania and New Jersey before heading out into the Atlantic Ocean. The city of Philadelphia lies on top of the 40th parallel.

The 40th parallel was the line originally chosen for the Mason-Dixon Line, but the line was moved several miles south to avoid bisecting the city of Philadelphia.

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