The 39th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 39 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Europe, the Mediterranean Sea, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean.
At this latitude the sun is visible for 14 hours, 54 minutes during the summer solstice and 9 hours, 26 minutes during the winter solstice.
Daylight along the 39th parallel north falls under 10 hours a day starting on 18 November and returns to over ten hours a day beginning 24 January. Crops and other plant growth is considerably slowed during this period of reduced sunlight.
In the United States, the eastern boundary of the state of California was defined as following the 120th meridian west south from the 42nd parallel north to its intersection with the 39th parallel north, beyond which it follows a diagonal line to where the Colorado River crosses the 35th parallel north.
Read more about 39th Parallel North: Around The World
Famous quotes containing the words parallel and/or north:
“There isn’t a Parallel of Latitude but thinks it would have been the Equator if it had had its rights.”
—Mark Twain [Samuel Langhorne Clemens] (1835–1910)
“Civilization does not engross all the virtues of humanity: she has not even her full share of them. They flourish in greater abundance and attain greater strength among many barbarous people. The hospitality of the wild Arab, the courage of the North American Indian, and the faithful friendships of some of the Polynesian nations, far surpass any thing of a similar kind among the polished communities of Europe.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)