Parallel 36°30′ north

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.

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.

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 / 36.500°N 0.000°E / 36.500; 0.000 (Prime Meridian) Mediterranean Sea
36°30′N 1°8′E / 36.500°N 1.133°E / 36.500; 1.133 (Algeria)   Algeria
36°30′N 8°9′E / 36.500°N 8.150°E / 36.500; 8.150 (Tunisia)   Tunisia
36°30′N 10°50′E / 36.500°N 10.833°E / 36.500; 10.833 (Mediterranean Sea) Mediterranean Sea Passing just south of the island of Sicily,   Italy
36°30′N 22°21′E / 36.500°N 22.350°E / 36.500; 22.350 (Greece)   Greece Mani Peninsula, island of Elafonisos and Cape Malea
36°30′N 23°8′E / 36.500°N 23.133°E / 36.500; 23.133 (Aegean Sea) 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 / 36.500°N 26.967°E / 36.500; 26.967 (Greece)   Greece Island of Kandelioussa
36°30′N 26°59′E / 36.500°N 26.983°E / 36.500; 26.983 (Aegean Sea) 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 / 36.500°N 29.133°E / 36.500; 29.133 (Turkey)   Turkey
36°30′N 30°32′E / 36.500°N 30.533°E / 36.500; 30.533 (Mediterranean Sea) Mediterranean Sea Gulf of Antalya
36°30′N 32°5′E / 36.500°N 32.083°E / 36.500; 32.083 (Turkey)   Turkey
36°30′N 34°11′E / 36.500°N 34.183°E / 36.500; 34.183 (Mediterranean Sea) Mediterranean Sea Gulf of İskenderun
36°30′N 36°0′E / 36.500°N 36.000°E / 36.500; 36.000 (Turkey)   Turkey
36°30′N 36°33′E / 36.500°N 36.550°E / 36.500; 36.550 (Syria)   Syria
36°30′N 41°23′E / 36.500°N 41.383°E / 36.500; 41.383 (Iraq)  
36°30′N 45°3′E / 36.500°N 45.050°E / 36.500; 45.050 (Iran)   Iran
36°30′N 61°9′E / 36.500°N 61.150°E / 36.500; 61.150 (Turkmenistan)   Turkmenistan
36°30′N 64°37′E / 36.500°N 64.617°E / 36.500; 64.617 (Afghanistan)   Afghanistan
36°30′N 71°49′E / 36.500°N 71.817°E / 36.500; 71.817 (Pakistan)   Pakistan Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
Gilgit-Baltistan – claimed by   India
36°30′N 75°58′E / 36.500°N 75.967°E / 36.500; 75.967 (China)   China Xinjiang
Qinghai – passing just south of Xining
Gansu
Ningxia
Gansu
Shaanxi
Shanxi
Hebei
Shandong
36°30′N 120°57′E / 36.500°N 120.950°E / 36.500; 120.950 (Yellow Sea) Yellow Sea Passing through Anmyeon Island,   South Korea
Passing through Cheonsu Bay
36°30′N 126°20′E / 36.500°N 126.333°E / 36.500; 126.333 (South Korea)   South Korea South Chungcheong Province
North Chungcheong Province - Passing through Mount Songni
North Gyeongsang Province
36°30′N 129°27′E / 36.500°N 129.450°E / 36.500; 129.450 (Sea of Japan) Sea of Japan Passing just north of the island of Dōgo,   Japan
36°30′N 136°30′E / 36.500°N 136.500°E / 36.500; 136.500 (Japan)   Japan Island of Honshū:
Ishikawa Prefecture
Toyama Prefecture
Nagano Prefecture
Gunma Prefecture
Tochigi Prefecture
Ibaraki Prefecture
36°30′N 140°38′E / 36.500°N 140.633°E / 36.500; 140.633 (Pacific Ocean) Pacific Ocean
36°30′N 121°56′W / 36.500°N 121.933°W / 36.500; -121.933 (United States)   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 / 36.500°N 75.867°W / 36.500; -75.867 (Atlantic Ocean) Atlantic Ocean
36°30′N 6°16′W / 36.500°N 6.267°W / 36.500; -6.267 (Spain)   Spain Passing through Cádiz and Marbella
36°30′N 4°41′W / 36.500°N 4.683°W / 36.500; -4.683 (Mediterranean Sea) Mediterranean Sea