AuntiE wrote:
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/antipodes-tunnel-through-earth
Dig a Tunnel Through the Center of the Earth toโฆ Where?
If you, hypothetically, ignore the molten lava core.
You're more likely to end up in the ocean than another country.
You're more likely to end up in the ocean than another country. Citynoise/CC BY-SA 2.5
Imagine that you could drill a hole straight through the Earth. Suspend your disbelief for a moment, ignoring the molten core that would fry you. Where would you end up?
In geographical coordinates, the answer is quite simple: If the coordinates (longitude and latitude) of a point on the Earthโs surface are (x, y), then the coordinates of the antipodal point can be written as (x ยฑ 180ยฐ, โy). So the latitudes are numerically equal, but one is north and the other south. And the longitudes differ from each other by 180 degrees. Plus or minus: it doesnโt really matter in which direction you count those 180 degrees, as either way will lead you to the same point (a circle having a circumference of 360 degrees).
This map of antipodes overlays countries from the other side of the globe to see where the crossover would be.
This map of antipodes overlays countries from the other side of the globe to see where the crossover would be. Citynoise/CC BY-SA 2.5
An example: If you start out at, say, 46.95 degrees longitude west and 39.00 degrees latitude north, after youโve dug through the Earthโs core, youโll end up at longitude 133.05 degrees east (133.05 being the result of 180.00 minus 46.95) and latitude 39.00 degrees south.
Only, for most people, the place where youโll end up wonโt be land, but water. The oceans cover about 70 percent of our planetโs surface. Your antipodes (a Greek word translatable as: โthose whose feet are on the other sideโ) mostly donโt have feet, but fins. If you could โsandwichโ the Earth, the overlap of land would be surprisingly small.
Earth's antipodes, seen from the western hemisphere.
Earthโs antipodes, seen from the western hemisphere. Citynoise/CC BY-SA 2.5
The title of the 1970s movie The China Syndrome refers to the idea that if you dig a hole through the Earth starting in the U.S., you end up in China. This map shows it ainโt so. In fact, only a little bit of China overlapsโand with the southern part of South America. Funnily enough, the good people of Argentina seem to have taken this into account when naming the city of Formosa, which is the antipode of Taiwan, the island off the Chinese coast formerly known asโฆ Formosa. Thereโs almost no overlap in North America, none in Africa, and just a bit in Europe (the Iberian peninsula with New Zealandโs North Island).
The website Antipodes Map allows for interactive searching for antipodal locations. Which will probably end up in some ocean or other. Anybody know the Greek word for fin?
The Download files are thรฉ three maps within the article in the order they are referred to.
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/antipodes-tu... (
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Thank you dear Lady, I feel so much better knowing that the Chinese canโt dig a hole through the center of the earth and attack me from under my feet!๐๐คฃ๐๐๐