ENCYCLOPEDIC ENTRY
ENCYCLOPEDIC ENTRY
date line
date line
Encyclopedic entry. The date line, also called the International Date Line, is a boundary from which each calendar day starts. Areas to the west of the date line are one calendar day ahead of areas to the east.
Grades
5 - 12+
Subjects
Geography, Physical Geography
Loading ...
The date line, also called the International Date Line, is a boundary from which each calendar day starts. Areas to the west of the date line are one calendar day ahead of areas to the east.
The date line runs from the North Pole to the South Pole through the Pacific Ocean. It is not a straight line, however. The date line curves around several landmasses. For example, it curves around the islands that make up the nation of Kiribati, so that all regions of the country remain on the same day. The date line makes a big detour between Asia and North America in the Bering Strait. Cape Dezhnev, Russia, is always a day ahead of Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska, even though the landmasses are less than 80 kilometers (50 miles) apart.
The date line, which roughly follows the 180-degree meridian, is about halfway around the globe from the prime meridian, which measures 0-degrees longitude.
Fast Fact
Hawai'i and Kiribati
The islands of the U.S. state of Hawai'i lie almost directly north of the islands of the nation of Kiribati in the Pacific Ocean. They fall within the same lines of longitude.
However, because of a curve the date line makes around Kiribati, they are a day apart.
Credits
Media Credits
The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited.
Writers
Illustrators
Editors
Educator Reviewer
Producer
other
Last Updated
October 19, 2023
User Permissions
For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. They will best know the preferred format. When you reach out to them, you will need the page title, URL, and the date you accessed the resource.
Media
If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer. If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media.
Text
Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service.
Interactives
Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. You cannot download interactives.