120th meridian west

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Line across the Earth
120°
120th meridian west
The 120th meridian defines part of the border between British Columbia and Alberta in Canada, and approximately defines part of the border between California and Nevada in the United States.

The meridian 120° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, North America, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole.

The 120th meridian west forms a great circle with the 60th meridian east.

In Canada much of the border between British Columbia and Alberta is defined by the meridian, and in the United States part of the border between California and Nevada approximately follows it.

The mean solar time at this meridian determines the time for the Pacific Time Zone (UTC−08:00) during standard time. Most of the year however, it is the meridian for Alaska Daylight Time, as daylight saving time is observed for nearly 2/3 of the year.

From Pole to Pole

Starting at the North Pole and heading south to the South Pole, the 120th meridian west passes through:

Co-ordinates Country, territory or sea Notes
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Arctic Ocean
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.  Canada Northwest TerritoriesPrince Patrick Island
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. M'Clure Strait
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.  Canada Northwest TerritoriesBanks Island
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Prince of Wales Strait
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Amundsen Gulf
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.  Canada Nunavut
Northwest Territories — passing through Great Bear Lake
British Columbia / Alberta border — from Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
British Columbia — from Intersection Mountain at Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.; at this point the meridian meets the Continental Divide, and the boundary with Alberta diverts southeast
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.  United States Washington
Oregon — from Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
California / Nevada border (approximate) — from Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
California — from Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Pacific Ocean Santa Barbara Channel
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.  United States CaliforniaSanta Rosa Island
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Pacific Ocean
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Southern Ocean
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Antarctica Unclaimed territory

See also