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Where is the International Date Line?

GeographyTime

Quick Answer

It runs roughly along the 180 degree meridian in the Pacific Ocean, zigzagging around islands and countries so they share one date.

The Full Story

The International Date Line is the place where the calendar changes by one day. Crossing it heading west adds a day, while crossing it heading east takes one away. It mostly follows 180 degrees longitude, halfway around the world from Greenwich, but bends to avoid splitting nations such as Kiribati, Fiji and parts of Russia and the US. In 1995 Kiribati moved the line east so the whole country would share the same date, and in 2011 Samoa jumped to the other side, skipping 30 December entirely. The line is not set by any treaty; it is simply an agreed convention.

Key Facts

1.Kiribati’s Line Islands are among the first places on Earth to see each new day.
2.Samoa and American Samoa are neighbours in the same island chain but sit a day apart in time.
3.Big Diomede (Russia) and Little Diomede (US) are under 4 kilometres apart but about 21 hours apart on the clock.

YouTube Angle

Suggested video title for this topic:

"Where Tomorrow Begins — The Strange Zigzag of the Date Line"