The Degree Confluence Project is a

World Wide Web The World Wide Web (WWW), commonly known as the Web, is an information system enabling documents and other web resources to be accessed over the Internet. Documents and downloadable media are made available to the network through web se ...

-based, all-volunteer project which aims to have people visit each of the

integer An integer is the number zero (), a positive natural number (, , , etc.) or a negative integer with a minus sign (−1, −2, −3, etc.). The negative numbers are the additive inverses of the corresponding positive numbers. In the language ...

degree Degree may refer to: As a unit of measurement * Degree (angle), a unit of angle measurement ** Degree of geographical latitude ** Degree of geographical longitude * Degree symbol (°), a notation used in science, engineering, and mathematics ...

intersections of

latitude In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...

and

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east–west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek letter l ...

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

, posting

photograph A photograph (also known as a photo, image, or picture) is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are now create ...

s and a narrative of each visit online. The project describes itself as "an organized sampling of the

world In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

Requirements

The precise location of each degree confluence uses the

WGS 84 The World Geodetic System (WGS) is a standard used in cartography, geodesy, and satellite navigation including GPS. The current version, WGS 84, defines an Earth-centered, Earth-fixed coordinate system and a geodetic datum, and also descri ...

horizontal datum, and visitors to degree confluences almost always make use of

GNSS A satellite navigation or satnav system is a system that uses satellites to provide autonomous geo-spatial positioning. It allows satellite navigation devices to determine their location (longitude, latitude, and altitude/elevation) to high pre ...

receivers. For a ''successful visit'', the visitor must get within 100 metres of the confluence point, and post a narrative and several photographs to the project website. A visit, or attempted visit, which does not conform to these rules may still be recorded on the website as an ''incomplete visit''. The project encourages visits to degree confluences which have been visited previously, and many confluence points - especially in non-remote regions of developed nations - have been visited several times. The total number of degree confluences is 64,442, of which 21,543 are on land, 38,409 on water, and 4,490 on the

Antarctic The Antarctic ( or , American English also or ; commonly ) is a polar region around Earth's South Pole, opposite the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica, the Kerguelen Plateau and other ...

and

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

ice caps. The project categorizes degree confluences as either ''primary'' or ''secondary''. A confluence is primary only if it is on land or within sight of land. In addition, at

s greater than 48^o only some points are designated primary because confluences crowd together near the

poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, who share a common history, culture, the Polish language and are identified with the country of Poland in Ce ...

. Both primary and secondary confluences may be visited and recorded. In addition the visits of certain special geographical locations can also be reported (special visits) - for example: * Middle of the World monument ( 0°, 78°27'08"W ) * centers of continents * Royal Greenwich Observatory

History

The project was started by Alex Jarrett in February 1996 because he "liked the idea of visiting a location represented by a round number such as 43°00'00"N 72°00'00"W. What would be there? Would other people have recognized this as a unique spot?" As of February 2022, 6593 (40.33%) of 16,349 primary confluences have been visited, covering 195 countries and territories.

Milestones

* First degree confluence visit posted to the website: in New Hampshire, USA by Alex Jarrett (project founder) and Peter Cline on February 20, 1996. (Note that some degree confluence visits that pre-date this visit have since been posted on the project's website.) * Highest confluence: in Kuba, Tibet, China at 19,143 feet (5,835 m), first visited by Greg Michaels and Robert Whitfield on May 29, 2005. * Lowest confluence: in Matrūh, Egypt at −255 feet (−78 m), first visited by Dave Morrison, Steve Price and Tony Carlisle on December 4, 2004.

Notes

External links

Degree Confluence Project website

Grist article on project 2 Oct. 2012Westminster, Massachusetts Confluence Project
{{geographical coordinates Photography websites Global Positioning System Outdoor locating games Cartography organizations

Requirements

History

Milestones

See also

Notes

External links