The meridian 129° east of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, Australia, the Indian Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole.
The 129th meridian east forms a great circle with the 51st meridian west.
In Australia, the meridian nominally defines the eastern border of Western Australia, and the western borders of the Northern Territory and South Australia.[1] However, the border of Western Australia actually meets the Northern Territory border and South Australian border at the 26th parallel south, at what is known as Surveyor Generals Corner.[2]
Starting at the North Pole and heading south to the South Pole, the 129th meridian east passes through:
Co-ordinates | Country, territory or sea | Notes |
---|---|---|
90°0′N 129°0′E / 90.000°N 129.000°E | Arctic Ocean | |
77°21′N 129°0′E / 77.350°N 129.000°E | Laptev Sea | |
73°6′N 129°0′E / 73.100°N 129.000°E | Russia | Sakha Republic — islands of the Lena Delta and the mainland Amur Oblast — from 55°30′N 129°0′E / 55.500°N 129.000°E |
49°27′N 129°0′E / 49.450°N 129.000°E | People's Republic of China | Heilongjiang Jilin — from 43°31′N 129°0′E / 43.517°N 129.000°E |
42°6′N 129°0′E / 42.100°N 129.000°E | North Korea | |
40°28′N 129°0′E / 40.467°N 129.000°E | Sea of Japan | |
37°43′N 129°0′E / 37.717°N 129.000°E | South Korea | Passing just west of Busan |
35°4′N 129°0′E / 35.067°N 129.000°E | East China Sea | Korea Strait — passing just west of the island of Tsushima Island, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan (at 34°8′N 129°10′E / 34.133°N 129.167°E) |
32°58′N 129°0′E / 32.967°N 129.000°E | Japan | Nagasaki Prefecture — islands of Nakadorijima, Wakamatsujima and Kabajima, Gotō Islands |
32°44′N 129°0′E / 32.733°N 129.000°E | East China Sea | |
28°50′N 129°0′E / 28.833°N 129.000°E | Japan | Kagoshima Prefecture — islands of Kaminonejima and Yokoatejima, Tokara Islands |
28°47′N 129°0′E / 28.783°N 129.000°E | East China Sea | |
27°48′N 129°0′E / 27.800°N 129.000°E | Japan | Kagoshima Prefecture — island of Tokunoshima |
27°41′N 129°0′E / 27.683°N 129.000°E | Pacific Ocean | Passing just east of the island of Halmahera, Indonesia (at 0°13′N 128°54′E / 0.217°N 128.900°E) |
1°55′N 129°0′E / 1.917°N 129.000°E | Halmahera Sea | |
1°20′S 129°0′E / 1.333°S 129.000°E | Ceram Sea | |
2°49′S 129°0′E / 2.817°S 129.000°E | Indonesia | Island of Seram |
3°21′S 129°0′E / 3.350°S 129.000°E | Banda Sea | |
8°12′S 129°0′E / 8.200°S 129.000°E | Indonesia | Island of Sermata |
8°16′S 129°0′E / 8.267°S 129.000°E | Timor Sea | |
14°52′S 129°0′E / 14.867°S 129.000°E | Australia | Western Australia / Northern Territory border Western Australia / South Australia border — from 26°0′S 129°0′E / 26.000°S 129.000°E |
31°41′S 129°0′E / 31.683°S 129.000°E | Indian Ocean | Australian authorities consider this to be part of the Southern Ocean[3][4] |
60°0′S 129°0′E / 60.000°S 129.000°E | Southern Ocean | |
66°59′S 129°0′E / 66.983°S 129.000°E | Antarctica | Australian Antarctic Territory, claimed by Australia |
A glance at most maps of Australia will tell you something that isn't quite true. The border which runs along the eastern edge of Western Australia is not actually one continuous straight line. [...] The [1922] agreement set out the border as being a line determined by the 129th meridian east longitude. However, the agreement required that the boundary be defined by lines running north and south [...] and in June 1968 two monuments approximately 127 metres apart were erected at the junction of the boundaries.