45×90 points facts for kids
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The 45×90 points are the four points on Earth which are halfway between the geographical poles, the equator, the Prime Meridian, and the 180th meridian.
45°N, 90°W
The best-known and most frequently visited such point is 45°0′0″N 90°0′0″W / 45.00000°N 90.00000°W which is 410 m (1,345 ft) above sea level in the town of Rietbrock, Wisconsin near the unincorporated community of Poniatowski. A grand board and precise metal ground marker was placed by the Marathon County Park Commission, only to be relocated slightly and restored to visitor access since September 12, 2017.
The point has become something of a pop culture phenomenon thanks to Gesicki's Tavern in the tiny cluster of establishments in Poniatowski. They sold 45×90 T-shirts and registered visitors as members of the "45×90 Club". Since 2006, the Wausau/Central Wisconsin Convention & Visitors Bureau has been the holder of the official "45×90 Club" registration book. The book is on loan from the family. On becoming a member of the club, the Bureau gives a commemorative coin.
45°N, 90°E
The only other 45×90 point located on land is 45°0′0″N 90°0′0″E / 45.00000°N 90.00000°E, which is at an elevation of 1,009 m (3,311 ft) above sea level. This point is located in a desolate region of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China, near the Mongolian border, approximately 240 km (150 mi) northeast of Ürümqi. Administratively, it is on the border of Qitai and Qinggil Counties. Greg Michaels, an American, and Ru Rong Zhao, a taxi driver from the closest town of Qitai, itself 110 km to the south-southwest, visited this point on April 13, 2004 and documented the visit on the Degree Confluence Project. Their visit found no monument or any physical recognition of the status and documented that the nearest community to the site documented on maps, Jiangjunmiao, had long since been abandoned.
45°S, 90°E
In the southern Indian Ocean, 45°0′0″S 90°0′0″E / 45.00000°S 90.00000°E has an ocean floor depth of 3,197 m (10,489 ft) below sea level and is: 1,244 km (773 mi) southeast of the nearest (uninhabited) island of Île Saint-Paul; 1,480 km (920 mi) northeast of Elephant Spit, Heard Island; 1,569 km (975 mi) east northeast of the small village-like capital Port aux Français of the Kerguelen Islands; 2,425 km (1,507 mi) north of Antarctica; 2,448 km (1,521 mi) southwest of Augusta, Western Australia, 4,080 km (2,535 mi) southeast of Réunion Island, and 5,550 km (3,450 mi) southeast of Benguerra Island, Mozambique, and 5,800 km (3,600 mi) southeast of Mossel Bay, South Africa.
In March 2014, the point was in one of a few strips in a search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, after potential debris were spotted by satellite about there.
45°S, 90°W
Located in the southern Pacific Ocean, 1,297 km (806 mi) west south west of Guaitecas in Chile, and 3,070 km (1,910 mi) north of Antarctica, 45°0′0″S 90°0′0″W / 45.00000°S 90.00000°W has an ocean floor depth of 4,180 m (13,730 ft) below sea level.
Antipodes
Each 45×90 point is the antipode - the point on the opposite side of the each - of another 45×90 point.
The southern Indian Ocean location and the point in Wisconsin are antipodes of each other.
The southern Pacific Ocean location and the point in China are antipodes of each other.
Images for kids
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Image of the current 45Nx90W marker in Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States
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Image of the larger context for the 45Nx90W marker in Marathon County, Wisconsin, United States
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Image of 45Nx90W geographical marker informational display.
