Parallel 36°30′ north

The parallel 36°30′ north is a circle of latitude that is 36 and one-half degrees north of the equator of the Earth. This parallel of latitude is very important in the history of the United States. This is because it was the line of the Missouri Compromise, which was used to divide the slave and free states west of the Mississippi River, with the exception of Missouri, which is mostly north of this parallel.

Map of the United States c. 1849 (modern state borders), with the parallel 36°30′ north – slave states in red, free states in blue

This 1856 map shows slave states (gray), free states (pink), U.S. territories (green), and Kansas in center (white) with parallel 36°30′ north prominently indicated.

Around the world

Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the parallel 36°30′ north passes through:

Co-ordinates	Country, territory or sea	Notes
36°30′N 0°0′E	Mediterranean Sea
36°30′N 1°8′E	Algeria
36°30′N 8°9′E	Tunisia
36°30′N 10°50′E	Mediterranean Sea	Passing just south of the island of Sicily,  Italy
36°30′N 22°21′E	Greece	Mani Peninsula, island of Elafonisos and Cape Malea
36°30′N 23°8′E	Aegean Sea	Passing just south of the island of Folegandros,  Greece Passing just north of the island of Santorini,  Greece Passing just south of the island of Astypalaia,  Greece
36°30′N 26°58′E	Greece	Island of Kandelioussa
36°30′N 26°59′E	Aegean Sea	Passing just south of the island of Nisyros,  Greece Passing just north of the island of Tilos,  Greece Passing just south of the island of Symi,  Greece Passing just north of the island of Rhodes,  Greece
36°30′N 29°8′E	Turkey
36°30′N 30°32′E	Mediterranean Sea	Gulf of Antalya
36°30′N 32°5′E	Turkey
36°30′N 34°11′E	Mediterranean Sea	Gulf of İskenderun
36°30′N 36°0′E	Turkey
36°30′N 36°33′E	Syria
36°30′N 41°23′E	Iraq
36°30′N 45°3′E	Iran
36°30′N 61°9′E	Turkmenistan
36°30′N 64°37′E	Afghanistan
36°30′N 71°49′E	Pakistan	Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Gilgit-Baltistan – claimed by  India
36°30′N 75°58′E	China	Xinjiang Qinghai – passing just south of Xining Gansu Ningxia Gansu Shaanxi Shanxi Hebei Shandong
36°30′N 120°57′E	Yellow Sea	Passing through Anmyeon Island,  South Korea Passing through Cheonsu Bay
36°30′N 126°20′E	South Korea	South Chungcheong Province North Chungcheong Province - Passing through Mount Songni North Gyeongsang Province
36°30′N 129°27′E	Sea of Japan	Passing just north of the island of Dōgo,  Japan
36°30′N 136°30′E	Japan	Island of Honshū: – Ishikawa Prefecture – Toyama Prefecture – Nagano Prefecture – Gunma Prefecture – Tochigi Prefecture – Ibaraki Prefecture
36°30′N 140°38′E	Pacific Ocean
36°30′N 121°56′W	United States	California Nevada Arizona New Mexico Oklahoma / Texas border Oklahoma Missouri / Arkansas border Missouri Kentucky (Kentucky Bend) / Tennessee border (for about 5 km) Missouri (for about 5 km) Kentucky / Tennessee border Tennessee North Carolina
36°30′N 75°52′W	Atlantic Ocean
36°30′N 6°16′W	Spain	Passing through Cádiz and Marbella
36°30′N 4°41′W	Mediterranean Sea