68th parallel north
The 68th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 68 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane, in the Arctic. It crosses the Atlantic Ocean, Europe, Asia and North America.
At this latitude midnight sun lasts from about May 26th to July 16th, and civil polar twilight from about December 9th to January 3rd. At noon on the summer and winter solstices, the altitude of the sun is 45.45° and -0.7° respectively. At midnight on the summer solstice, the altitude of the sun is 1.76°.
This latitude is the boundary between the Southern and Arctic zones of Canada's National Topographic System, at which the longitude span of each map sheet doubles as one crosses this latitude going north.
Around the world
[edit]Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the parallel 68° north passes through: