Degree Confluence Visits

Degree Confluence Project

Degree confluence
A confluence is a flowing together; a meeting place (often of rivers). A degree confluence is the exact spot on the surface of the earth where an integer degree of latitude and an integer degree of longitude intersect.

Organised sampling of the earth
The goal of the Degree Confluence Project is to visit each of these invisible lines of latitude and longitude integer degree intersections throughout the world and to take photos at each location. The project can be regarded as an organised sampling of the world. There is a degree confluence within 79km of you if you are on the surface of the Earth. There are 16,298 degree confluences to visit after you discount all the confluences in the oceans and some near the poles.

Globe

Globe after Charton, 1988.

On the transparent globe above you see an example of a degree confluence at 40° north 60° west.

Definitions
  • Latitude (shown as horizontal lines on a map or globe) is the angular distance, in degrees, minutes, and seconds of a point north or south of the Equator. Lines of latitude are referred to as parallels.
  • Longitude (shown as vertical lines) is the angular distance, in degrees, minutes, and seconds of a point east or west of the Prime (Greenwich) Meridian. Lines of longitude are referred to as meridians.
  • An integer is a whole number, i.e. a number that does not have a fractional part.

Degree confluences in Myanmar
In Myanmar are sixty-five degree confluences of which many are on almost inaccessible spots. Until now I have visited only ten degree confluences in Myanmar. Click on any link in the first column of the table below to view the photos at that particular location.
Location Place Date of visit DCP website Google Earth
17° north 96° east Yangon December 5, 2005
19° north 95° east Pyay December 12, 2007
20° north 95° east Magway December 28, 2005
20° north 96° east
 Nay Pyi Taw December 4, 2008
20° north 97° east Inle Lake Deep South December 8, 2008
21° north 95° east Nyaung U January 3, 2005
21° north 96° east Meiktila December 16, 2005
21° north 97° east Taunggyi December 21, 2006
22° north 95° east Monywa January 5, 2006
22° north 96° east Mandalay December 24, 2006
On the DCP website you can read a short narrative about each visit
Google Earth
To see the degree confluences in Google Earth you have to download and install Google Earth first. Once downloaded and installed, your computer has become a window to anywhere on the planet, allowing you to view high-resolution aerial and satellite imagery and elevation terrain. After clicking on the Google Earth degree confluence links above, you will "fly" in the Google Earth 3D interface to the so called placemarks on the surface of the earth.

Interview with Radio Netherlands
Maurice Laparlière, a reporter from Radio Netherlands (the Dutch world broadcaster) would like to make a report about degree confluence hunting. He had discovered my degree confluence visit 21° north 95° east on this website and contacted me by e-mail asking if I was interested to be interviewed while searching for a degree confluence somewhere in The Netherlands.
We made an appointment and went with a tape recorder on the 3rd of May, 2005 to make a degree confluence visit at 52° north and 6° east near the city of Arnhem in The Netherlands.
The interview was broadcasted worldwide on the 24th of May, 2005.

Listen here to the interview (mp3 in Dutch)
Copyright © 2005, Radio Nederland Wereldomroep

Wereldwijde speurtocht naar iets onzichtbaars (Dutch)
Republished with the kind permission of Radio Nederland Wereldomroep

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