Extremes on Earth

Latitude and longitude

Northernmost

• The northernmost point of land is the northern tip of Kaffeklubben Island, north of Greenland, which lies slightly north of Cape Morris Jesup, Greenland. Various shifting gravel bars lie farther north, the most famous being Oodaaq. There have been other islands more northern such as 83-42 and ATOW1996 but they have not been confirmed as permanent.

  Southernmost

• The southernmost continental point of land outside Antarctica is in South America at Cape Froward, Magallanes Region, Chile.
• The southernmost point of water is a bay on the Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf along the coast of Antarctica, about south of Berkner Island.
• * The southernmost point of ocean is located on the Gould Coast.
• * The southernmost point of open ocean is in the Bay of Whales, also part of the Ross Sea, at 78°30'S, at the edge of the Ross Ice Shelf.
• ** The southernmost island is considered to be Deverall Island, near the Shackleton Coast, surrounded by the Ross Ice Shelf although there is an island in Lake Vostok but it is currently under ice.

  Easternmost and westernmost

• The easternmost and westernmost points on Earth, based on the east–west standard for describing longitude, can be found anywhere along the 180th meridian, which passes through the Arctic, Pacific, and Southern Oceans, as well as parts of Siberia, Antarctica, and three islands of Fiji.
• * Using instead the path of the International Date Line, i.e. define "easternmost" as "the first to see a new day" and define "westernmost" as "the last to see a new day", the westernmost point on land is Attu Island, Alaska, and the easternmost point on land is Caroline Island, Kiribati.

  Longest grid lines

Along constant latitude

• The longest continuous east–west distance on land is along the latitude 48°24'53"N, from the west coast of France through Central Europe, Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and China, to a point on the east coast of Russia.
• The longest continuous east–west distance at sea is along the latitude 55°59'S, south of Cape Horn, South America.
• * The longest continuous east–west distance at sea between two continents is along the latitude 18°39'12"N, from the coast of Hainan, China across the Pacific Ocean to the coast of Michoacán, Mexico.

  Along constant longitude

• The longest continuous north–south distance on land is along the meridian 99°1'30"E, from the northern tip of Siberia in the Russian Federation, through Mongolia, China, and Myanmar, to a point on the south coast of Thailand.
• * The longest in Africa is along the meridian 20°12'E, from the north coast of Libya, through Chad, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Namibia, and Botswana, to the south coast of South Africa.
• * The longest in South America is the length along the meridian 70°2'W, from the north coast of Venezuela, through Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Chile, to the southern tip of Argentina.
• * The longest in North America is along the meridian 97°52'30"W, from northern Canada, through the United States, to southern Mexico.
• The longest continuous north–south distance at sea is along the meridian 34°45'45"W, from the coast of Eastern Greenland across the Atlantic Ocean to the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf, on the coast of Antarctica. The longest in the Pacific Ocean is along the meridian 172°8'30"W, from the coast of Siberia to the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica.
• The meridian that crosses the greatest total distance on land is still to be determined. It is likely located in the vicinity of 22°E, which is the longest integer meridian that fits that criterion, crossing a total of of land through Europe, Africa, and Antarctica. More than 65% of this meridian's length is located on land. The next six longest integer meridians by total distance over land are, in order:
• * 23°E: through Europe, Africa, and Antarctica
• * 27°E: through Europe, Asia, Africa, and Antarctica
• * 25°E: through Europe, Africa, and Antarctica
• * 26°E: through Europe, Africa, and Antarctica
• * 24°E: through Europe, Africa, and Antarctica
• * 28°E: through Europe, Asia, and Africa

  Along any geodesic

• The longest continuous straight-line path over land is long and spans between the West African coast near Greenville, Liberia and a peninsula about northeast of Wenzhou, China, passing over the Suez Canal.
• * The longest continuous straight-line land distance solely within continental Africa is, along a line that begins just east of Tangier, Morocco, and ends east of Port Elizabeth, South Africa. This line passes through Morocco, Algeria, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, Namibia, Botswana, and South Africa.
• * The longest continuous straight-line land distance solely within continental Asia is, along a line that begins on the Indian coast near Kanyakumari and ends at the Bering Sea coast of the Chukchi Peninsula in Russia. This line passes through India, Nepal, China, Mongolia, and Russia.
• * The longest continuous straight-line land distance solely within continental Europe is, along a line that begins at Cape St. Vincent, Portugal, and ends at the Urals, near the town of Perm, Russia. This line passes through Portugal, Spain, France, Germany, Poland, Lithuania, Belarus, and Russia.
• * The longest continuous straight-line land distance solely within continental North America is, along a line that begins at Point Hope, Alaska, United States, and ends southwest of the town of Salina Cruz, Mexico. This line passes through Alaska, Canada, the contiguous United States, and Mexico.
• * The longest continuous straight-line land distance solely within continental South America is, along a line that begins northeast of Puerto Cumarebo, Venezuela, and ends south of the town of Punta Arenas, Chile. This line passes through Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and Argentina.
• * The longest continuous straight-line land distance solely within continental Australia is, along a line that begins at the southern end of Cape Range National Park in Western Australia and ends at the town of Byron Bay in New South Wales.
• There are several possible candidates for the longest continuous straight-line distance in any direction at sea, as there are many possible ways to travel along a great circle for more than the antipodic length of. Some examples of such routes would be:
• * From the south coast of Balochistan province somewhere near Port of Karachi, Pakistan across the Arabian Sea, southwest through the Indian Ocean, near Comoros, passing Namaete Canyon, near the South African coast, across the South Atlantic Ocean, then west across Cape Horn, then northwest across the Pacific Ocean, near Easter Island, passing the antipodal point near Emlilia island, through the South Bering Sea and ending somewhere on the northeast coast of Kamchatka, near Ossora. This route is long. This route was confirmed to be the longest given map data at a level of resolution.
• * From the south coast of Hormozgan province, Iran across the Gulf of Oman, southeast across the Arabian Sea, passing south of Australia and New Zealand, near the Antarctic coast, then northeast across the South Pacific Ocean, passing the antipodal point and ending on the southwest coast of Mexico somewhere near Ciudad Lázaro Cárdenas. This route is long.
• * From Invercargill, New Zealand across Cape Horn, then off the coast of Brazil close to Recife, passing north of Cape Verde, passing the antipodal point and ending somewhere on the southwest coast of Ireland. This route is long.

  Along any diameter (straight line passing through the centre of the Earth)

Elevation

Highest points

• The highest point on Earth's surface measured from sea level is the summit of Mount Everest, on the border of Nepal and China. While measurements of its height vary slightly, the elevation of its peak was most recently established in 2020 by the Nepali and Chinese authorities as above sea level. The summit was first reached probably by Sir Edmund Hillary of New Zealand and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa of Nepal in 1953.
• The point farthest from Earth's centre is the summit of Chimborazo in Ecuador, at from Earth's centre; the peak's elevation relative to sea level is. Because Earth is an oblate spheroid rather than a perfect sphere, it is wider at the equator and narrower toward each pole. Therefore, the summit of Chimborazo, which is near the Equator, is farther away from Earth's centre than the summit of Mount Everest is; the latter is closer, at from Earth's centre. Peru's Huascarán contends closely with Chimborazo, though the former is a mere closer to the Earth's centre.
• The fastest point on Earth or, in other words, the point farthest from Earth's rotational axis is the summit of Cayambe in Ecuador, which rotates around Earth's axis at a speed of and is from the axis. Like Chimborazo, which is the fourth-fastest peak at, Cayambe is close to the Equator and takes advantage of the oblate spheroid figure of Earth. More important, however, Cayambe's proximity to the Equator means that the majority of its distance from the Earth's centre contributes to Cayambe's distance from the Earth's axis.