Sunday, 6 August 2017

Latitude 35.8167 degrees North

Heading northeast, Rosedale Beach

Today we're heading to the other side of the equator to discover places where latitude 35.8167 deg N hits various coastlines. We'll visit the west and east coasts of United States, Morocco, Algeris, Tunisia, Malta, Greece, Syria, China, South Korea and Japan.

 Setting off in a northeasterly direction the first place we come to is the rugged coastline of

Monterey County, California between Gorda and Ragged Point

The coastline here is rugged, making the waterline inaccessible in places. It is part of a marine and fresh water protection zone.

http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/ocean/docs/asbs/asbs_areas/swqpa20.jpg






Heading across the United States, we reach the Atlantic coast in North Carolina

North Carolina coast: Alligator River National Wildlife Reserve and Cape Hatteras National Seashore

This area is one of the farthest most northerly homes for alligators. I'm glad there aren't any crocs at Rosedale.

The Alligator River National Wildlife Reserve is between the Alligator River and Croatan Sound. It was established in 1984 to protect and preserve a wetland habitat (the pocasin - bogs, water marshes and swamps) and its associated wildlife species - birds, raptors, American black bear, alligators. It is especially known for the red wolf.

Above: Cape Hatteras National Seashore: https://www.nags-head.com/images/uploads/place/65/beaches_hero_02.jpg?t=c



Cape Hatteras National Seashore https://ssl.c.photoshelter.com/img-get2/I0000bPZxjmSgvsM/fit=1000x750/New-Inlet-Aerial.jpg




Zooming across the Atlantic, the next landfall is at

Cap Malabata, Mnar, near Tangier in Morocco

Located a short distance east of Tangier, facing the Strait of Gibraltar, it features a lighthouse.


Cap Malabata near Tangier




There's only a few places in northern Africa where this latitude hits the coast.  Next is in Algeria.

Gdyel, near Oran, Oran Province and near Stidia, Mostaganem Province, Algeria



Coastline near Oran

Beach near Stidia

Oran and Stidia 

Near Oran







Heading further east, the next port of call is the eastern coast of Tunisia, on the Mediterranean Sea.

Sousse Tunisia

The Medina at Sousse is a UNESCO World Heritage site (http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/498)
For more information about this city: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sousse

The Medina at Sousse




Sadly, on 26 June 2015, an Islamist gunman killed 38 people and wounded 39 on a beach and in the hotel nearby, just north of  Sousse. In October 2013 a suicide bomber blew himself up in a botched attempt at an attack at another Sousse beach.

Lat 35.8167 is just to the left (south) of the port area

We're sailing off into the Mediterranean, and stopping at:

The Blue Grotto, Malta







Next stop in the Mediterranean is the northern tip of the Greek island Karpathos.

Northern Karpathos, Greece

This is a remote and sparsely populated area, which can be seen on the satellite photo.
The coastline is spectacularly rugged.

The coastline north of the Agios Ioannis Vrikountas church (see map)

Coastline in the area


Karpathos


Latitude marker and church

Satellite picture of area

Now, to the eastern Mediterranean, and the coast of Syria

Between Al Issawiyah and Ras al Basit, north of Latakia, Syria 

A narrow coastal plain stretches south from the Turkish border to Lebanon. It is flat, covered with sand dunes, broken by promontories running down from the mountains to the sea. The population is predominantly Turkmen.

Al Issawiyah is about 15 km south of the Turkish border.


Northern Syrian coast

Satellite pic shows the mountains coming down to the coast at the latitude.



Ras Al Bisat and coast




Latitude 35.8167 N now zooms inland across Iraq, Iran, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, then hits the coast in Shandong province, China.


Huangdo, near Qingdao, Shandong Province, China

This is the most bizarre site. Remember news reports of green algae covered beaches in China's coastal playground? Well, this is it!

This is what the beach usually looks like











Across the Yellow Sea now to South Korea

Near Gunsan  on the western side of South Korea

There are plans for the harbour area to be redeveloped with development of reclaimed.



Here's some pretty cool cliffs just to the south - Jeokbyeokgang Cliffs:


Over on the eastern side of South Korea:

Near Gyeongju National Park

The landscape is a little more prosaic on the other side of South Korea where the latitude hits the coast. However, there is a pretty impressive national park a little further south.


Let's move across the Sea of Japan to near

Minamiechizen in Fukui Province, Japan

Ezichen coast


The last stop on a land coast before we come full circle back to California is a little east of Tokyo

Hasaki Beach

There is a beach camping ground (and wind farm) along this part of the coast.

Hasaki Beach





























1 comment:

Jack said...

What an interesting post. I never thought about the places that share a latitude or longitude with me.