Cape Eluanbi or Oluanpi, also known by
other names
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), ...
, is the southernmost point on the
island of Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is an island country located in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, formerly known in the Western political circles, News media, press and Western literature, literature as Formosa, makes up 99% of ...
. It is located in within the
Hengchun Township
Hengchun Township is a Township (Taiwan), township located on the southern tip of the Hengchun Peninsula in Pingtung County, Taiwan. It is the southernmost township in Taiwan. Hengchun is also the only urban township in the southern part of Ping ...
in
Pingtung County
Pingtung County is a county located in southern Taiwan. It has a warm tropical monsoon climate and is known for its agriculture and tourism. Kenting National Park, Taiwan's oldest national park, is located in the county. The county seat is Pin ...
.
Names
''Éluánbí'' is the
pinyin
Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...
romanization
Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...
of the
Mandarin
Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to:
Language
* Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country
** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China
** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...
pronunciation of its
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
name These characters literally mean "
Goose
A goose ( : geese) is a bird of any of several waterfowl species in the family Anatidae. This group comprises the genera ''Anser'' (the grey geese and white geese) and '' Branta'' (the black geese). Some other birds, mostly related to the ...
Bell Nose
A nose is a protuberance in vertebrates that houses the nostrils, or nares, which receive and expel air for respiration alongside the mouth. Behind the nose are the olfactory mucosa and the sinuses. Behind the nasal cavity, air next passes th ...
", but actually
transcribe
Transcription refers to the process of converting sounds (voice, music etc.) into letters or musical notes, or producing a copy of something in another medium, including:
Genetics
* Transcription (biology), the copying of DNA into RNA, the fir ...
the local
Hokkien
The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages in ...
pronunciation ''Gô-lôan'', used as a transliteration of the
Paiwan ' ("
sail
A sail is a tensile structure—which is made from fabric or other membrane materials—that uses wind power to propel sailing craft, including sailing ships, sailboats, windsurfers, ice boats, and even sail-powered land vehicles. Sails may ...
"). This may be a reference to nearby
Sail Rock
Sail Rock, or Parus Rock (russian: скала́ Па́рус, ''skala Parus''), is a natural sandstone monolith of late Cretaceous age located on the shore of the Black Sea, in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It resembles the outline of a ship's sail, hen ...
. The "nose" in the name is a dialectical term for a
cape, as in nearby
Cape Maobitou
Cape Maobitou is a cape in the township of Hengchun in Pingtung County, Taiwan. It lies within Kenting National Park and forms the western boundary of South Bay. It is one of the southernmost points on Taiwan Island, sits opposite to the Cape El ...
.
Under the Qing, it was sometimes known as "Linhaishan". Under
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
rule, the cape was known as or Garanbi
[ from the ]Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
pronunciation of characters in Eluanbi. It is also sometimes known as [ or Oluanpi;][ as Gaw-loan-phi, Ngoluanpi, or from its Hokkien pronunciation; or as from its position.
]
Geography
Eluanbi is the southernmost point of the Hengchun Peninsula
Hengchun Township is a township located on the southern tip of the Hengchun Peninsula in Pingtung County, Taiwan. It is the southernmost township in Taiwan. Hengchun is also the only urban township in the southern part of Pingtung County. Hengch ...
, making it the southernmost point on Formosa
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is an island country located in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, formerly known in the Western political circles, press and literature as Formosa, makes up 99% of the land area of the territorie ...
or Taiwan Island
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is an island country located in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, formerly known in the Western political circles, press and literature as Formosa, makes up 99% of the land area of the territorie ...
. The area's geologic formation
A geological formation, or simply formation, is a body of rock having a consistent set of physical characteristics ( lithology) that distinguishes it from adjacent bodies of rock, and which occupies a particular position in the layers of rock exp ...
is known as the (, ''céng''), a Pleistocene
The Pleistocene ( , often referred to as the ''Ice age'') is the geological Epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 2,580,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the Earth's most recent period of repeated glaciations. Before a change was fina ...
stratum
In geology and related fields, a stratum ( : strata) is a layer of rock or sediment characterized by certain lithologic properties or attributes that distinguish it from adjacent layers from which it is separated by visible surfaces known as ei ...
of yellow and brown sand
Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of s ...
, gravel
Gravel is a loose aggregation of rock fragments. Gravel occurs naturally throughout the world as a result of sedimentary and erosive geologic processes; it is also produced in large quantities commercially as crushed stone.
Gravel is classifi ...
, and clay
Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4).
Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
.[.] The nearby highlands are considered an extension of Taiwan's Central Mountain Range.
Current international agreement places the boundary between the East and South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean. It is bounded in the north by the shores of South China (hence the name), in the west by the Indochinese Peninsula, in the east by the islands of Taiwan and northwestern Phil ...
s at Cape Fugui, Taiwan's northernmost point, but Eluanbistill under its Japanese name forms part of the boundary between the East China and Philippine Sea
The Philippine Sea is a marginal sea of the Western Pacific Ocean east of the Philippine archipelago (hence the name), the largest in the world, occupying an estimated surface area of . The Philippine Sea Plate forms the floor of the sea. Its ...
s. The still-unapproved draft for a new edition of the IHO
The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) is an intergovernmental organisation representing hydrography. , the IHO comprised 98 Member States.
A principal aim of the IHO is to ensure that the world's seas, oceans and navigable waters a ...
's ''Limits of Oceans and Seas'' makes part of the northern boundary of the South China Sea the southern boundary of the Taiwan Strait
The Taiwan Strait is a -wide strait separating the island of Taiwan and continental Asia. The strait is part of the South China Sea and connects to the East China Sea to the north. The narrowest part is wide.
The Taiwan Strait is itself a s ...
, and part of the western border of the Philippine Sea.
Informally, Eluanbi may also be considered part of the Luzon Strait
The Luzon Strait (Tagalog: ''Kipot ng Luzon'', ) is the strait between Taiwan and Luzon island of the Philippines. The strait thereby connects the Philippine Sea to the South China Sea in the western Pacific Ocean.
This body of water is an im ...
and Bashi Channel between the territory of Taiwan and the Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
.
History
Prehistory
Archaeologists have found evidence of prehistoric habitation at Eluanbi dating to around 3100BC.[ The remains are similar to those of the ]Xiantao culture
Xiantao () is a sub-prefecture-level city in the east of Hubei province, China. Located at the Jianghan Plain in the middle of Hubei province and spanning 112°55' – 113°49' east longitude and 30°04' – 30°32' north latitude, Xiantao City c ...
found on the islands of Taitung County
Taitung County (; Mandarin pinyin: ''Táidōng Xiàn''; Hokkien POJ: ''Tâi-tang-koān''; Hakka PFS: ''Thòi-tûng-yen''; Paiwan: ''Valangaw'';lit:Eastern part of Taiwan) is the third largest county in Taiwan, located primarily on the island' ...
but known locally as "Oluanpi-I".[ ]Pottery
Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...
and weaving
Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudinal th ...
began to appear under the "Kenting" around 2500BC.[ Around 1500BC, the "Oluanpi-III" curtailed lowland farming and retreated to more defensive communities in the highlands; it developed into the "Oluanpi-IV" around 50BC.][ About the same time, the separate Hsiang-lin culture settled in the area's river valleys and lowlands; the Kueishan culture followed them around the 2nd century and the ]Ami
AMI or Ami may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
*AMI-tv, a Canadian TV channel
**AMI-télé, the French-language version
* AMI-audio, a Canadian audio broadcast TV service
*''Ami Magazine'', an Orthodox Jewish news magazine
Businesses ...
around the 5th.[ By that point, ]hunting
Hunting is the human activity, human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products (fur/hide (skin), hide, ...
had become a ritual act and pastime for its well-developed farming communities, rather than a means of survival.[ The Paiwan eventually replaced the local people in the highlands, expanding from the north.][ The Siraya, from a legendary origin on ]Xiaoliuqiu
Liuqiu, also known by several other names, is a coral island in the Taiwan Strait about southwest of the main island of Taiwan. It has an area of and approximately 13,000 residents, the vast majority of whom share only 10 surnames. It is ...
, settled into the area's lowlands from the 8th century and were the first to greatly sinify
Sinicization, sinofication, sinification, or sinonization (from the prefix , 'Chinese, relating to China') is the process by which non-Chinese societies come under the influence of Chinese culture, particularly the language, societal norms, cul ...
themselves.[
]
Qing Empire
Under the early Qing
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speaki ...
, the area around the cape continued to be held by Taiwanese aborigines
Taiwanese may refer to:
* Taiwanese language, another name for Taiwanese Hokkien
* Something from or related to Taiwan ( Formosa)
* Taiwanese aborigines, the indigenous people of Taiwan
* Han Taiwanese, the Han people of Taiwan
* Taiwanese people, ...
such as the Paiwan. The cape's strong currents and nearby Qixingyan reefs produced numerous shipwreck
A shipwreck is the wreckage of a ship that is located either beached on land or sunken to the bottom of a body of water. Shipwrecking may be intentional or unintentional. Angela Croome reported in January 1999 that there were approximately ...
s, provoking international incidents in the case of the ''Rover'' in 1867 and a Ryukyu convoy in 1871 that led to American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
and Japanese invasions of the island.
The American consul
Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...
at Xiamen
Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an, ...
(then known as "Amoy") Charles Le Gendre
Charles William or Guillaum Joseph Émile Le Gendre (August 26, 1830– September 1, 1899) was a French-born American officer and diplomat who served as advisor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Empire of Japan from 1872 to 1875 and as advi ...
advised the Viceroy of Liangjiang
The Viceroy of Liangjiang or Viceroy of the Two Jiangs, fully referred to in Chinese as the Governor-General of the Two Yangtze Provinces and Surrounding Areas Overseeing Military Affairs, Provisions and Funds, Manager of Waterways, Director of ...
Shen Baozhen
Shen Baozhen (1820–1879), formerly romanized , was an official during the Qing dynasty.
Biography
Born in Minhou in Fujian province, he obtained the highest degree in the imperial examinations in 1847 and was soon appointed to the Hanl ...
of the risk to Chinese control of Taiwan posed by its official disavowal of control over native-held lands on the island. Shen reformed the civil and military administrations on Taiwan, launched assaults against restive tribes, and began a public works program on the southern coast including a lighthouse at Eluanbi.[.] Construction of the lighthouse fell under the purview of the British diplomat Robert Hart, who served as inspector general of the Imperial Maritime Customs Service
The Chinese Maritime Customs Service was a Chinese governmental tax collection agency and information service from its founding in 1854 until it split in 1949 into services operating in the Republic of China on Taiwan, and in the People's Republ ...
. He sent agents to purchase the southern cape from the leaders of the () in 1875. This gesture did not keep the Paiwan and other tribes from raids and assaults against the Chinese construction projects, which necessitated garrison
A garrison (from the French ''garnison'', itself from the verb ''garnir'', "to equip") is any body of troops stationed in a particular location, originally to guard it. The term now often applies to certain facilities that constitute a mil ...
ing and fortifying Eluanbi. The lighthouse itself was finally raised between 1881 and 1883, entering service on 1883.[. ]
The lighthouse, its staff, and its garrison were initially overseen by British customs
Customs is an authority or agency in a country responsible for collecting tariffs and for controlling the flow of goods, including animals, transports, personal effects, and hazardous items, into and out of a country. Traditionally, customs ...
officers and German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
**Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ger ...
military officers. The site was protected by 18-pound cannons, Gatling gun
The Gatling gun is a rapid-firing multiple-barrel firearm invented in 1861 by Richard Jordan Gatling. It is an early machine gun and a forerunner of the modern electric motor-driven rotary cannon.
The Gatling gun's operation centered on a cyc ...
s, and a mortar. Provisions were kept for three weeks in the event of a siege.
Imperial Japan
The Qing structure was heavily damaged during the First Sino-Japanese War
The First Sino-Japanese War (25 July 1894 – 17 April 1895) was a conflict between China and Japan primarily over influence in Korea. After more than six months of unbroken successes by Japanese land and naval forces and the loss of the po ...
, with the retreating Qing attempting to demolish it themselves. It was repaired in 1898 following the Japanese occupation of the island. It was under Japanese occupation that the cape was recognized as the southernmost point on the island, and the lighthouse was popularized by the Japanese as one of the Eight Views of Taiwan
The Eight Views of Taiwan () have been variously defined throughout Taiwan's history.
Qing Dynasty
Under Japanese occupation
In 1927 (during the Taiwan under Japanese occupation, Japanese occupation of Taiwan), the newspaper elected the Eigh ...
.
The cape was a major station
Station may refer to:
Agriculture
* Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production
* Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle
** Cattle statio ...
for the Japanese whaling industry, targeting humpback whale
The humpback whale (''Megaptera novaeangliae'') is a species of baleen whale. It is a rorqual (a member of the family Balaenopteridae) and is the only species in the genus ''Megaptera''. Adults range in length from and weigh up to . The hump ...
s in Banana
A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...
and South Bays. The site's importance to the whaling industry was underscored by the design of its Shinto shrine
A is a structure whose main purpose is to house ("enshrine") one or more ''kami'', the deities of the Shinto religion.
Overview
Structurally, a Shinto shrine typically comprises several buildings.
The '' honden''Also called (本殿, meani ...
, one of only five in the world to use baleen whale
Baleen whales (systematic name Mysticeti), also known as whalebone whales, are a parvorder of carnivorous marine mammals of the infraorder Cetacea (whales, dolphins and porpoises) which use keratinaceous baleen plates (or "whalebone") in their ...
s' jawbone
In anatomy, the mandible, lower jaw or jawbone is the largest, strongest and lowest bone in the human facial skeleton. It forms the lower jaw and holds the lower teeth in place. The mandible sits beneath the maxilla. It is the only movable bone ...
s to form their torii
A is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the mundane to the sacred.
The presence of a ''torii'' at the entrance is usually the simplest ...
gates.
The fortified lighthouse was seriously damaged again during World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
by Allied bombing; the shrine was destroyed at the same time.
Republic of China
The Nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
government rebuilt the lighthouse in 1947.[ The accidental exposure of several stone coffins near the lighthouse in 1956 prompted investigation of the area by the archaeologists Sung Wen-tung and ]Lin Chao-chi
Lin or LIN may refer to:
People
*Lin (surname) (normally ), a Chinese surname
*Lin (surname) (normally 蔺), a Chinese surname
* Lin (''The King of Fighters''), Chinese assassin character
*Lin Chow Bang, character in Fat Pizza
Places
*Lin, Iran, ...
that year and again in 1966.[.] The lighthouse grounds were turned into a national park
A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...
in 1982. During the construction of paths and walkways prior to its opening, further prehistoric relics were found in 1981 and excavated over the next two years by teams under Li Kuang-chou
Li, li, or LI may refer to:
Businesses and organizations
* Landscape Institute, a British professional body for landscape architects
* Leadership Institute, a non-profit organization located in Arlington, Virginia, US, that teaches "political tec ...
.[
In 1992 ]Eluanbi Lighthouse
Eluanbi Lighthouse is a lighthouse located on Cape Eluanbi, the southernmost point of Taiwan, which separates Taiwan's South Bay from Banana Bay and the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea from the Philippine Sea. It is near Eluan Village ...
was among the first lighthouses on Taiwan to be opened to the general public, and its popularity motivated the Maritime and Port Bureau
The Maritime and Port Bureau (MPB; ) is the port authority under the Ministry of Transportation and Communications of the Republic of China (Taiwan) responsible for building a quality environment for the maritime industry, reinforce maritime cap ...
to open others elsewhere.[.] By 2014, it was receiving more than 300,000 visitors a year, many of them tourists from Mainland China
"Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...
.[
]
Park
The cape is located within the part of the larger Kenting National Park
Kenting National Park (), commonly known as Kenting (), is a national park located on the Hengchun Peninsula of Pingtung County, Taiwan, covering Hengchun, Checheng, and Manzhou Townships. Established on 1 January 1984, it is Taiwan's oldest a ...
that covers the southern end of the Hengchun Peninsula.
A viewing platform with a rock marker at the island's southernmost point has become a tourist attraction.
Fishing
Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from stocked bodies of water such as ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. Fishing techniques inclu ...
and marine sports
Water sports or aquatic sports are sport activities conducted on waterbodies, and can be categorized according to the degree of immersion by the participants.
On the water
* Boat racing, the use of powerboats to participate in races
* Boatin ...
are popular in the area, but it also includes some nature reserves such as the (). Located around Banana Bay, Longkeng preserves coral reef
A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups.
Co ...
s and an old-growth forest
An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featur ...
. The seas around Eluanbi are no longer home to any native whales, but it remains abundantly stocked with smaller cetacean
Cetacea (; , ) is an infraorder of aquatic mammals that includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Key characteristics are their fully aquatic lifestyle, streamlined body shape, often large size and exclusively carnivorous diet. They propel them ...
s such as dolphin
A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the ...
s, with sea turtle
Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead, ...
s, and bull sharks. In particular, the 26 species of terrestrial crab
A number of lineages of crabs have evolved to live predominantly on land. Examples of terrestrial crabs are found in the families Gecarcinidae and Gecarcinucidae, as well as in selected genera from other families, such as ''Sesarma'', althoug ...
s that inhabit the cape make it the most biologically diverse location for land crabs in the world.[. ]
See also
* Geography of Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is an island country located in East Asia. The main island of Taiwan, formerly known in the Western political circles, press and literature as Formosa, makes up 99% of the land area of the territori ...
* Cape Fugui, the northernmost point on Taiwan
* Geographic Center of Taiwan
Geographic center of Taiwan is the center point of Taiwan Island. It is located at ''Hutoushan'', "Tiger Head Mountain") in the township of Puli in Nantou County, Taiwan.
History
The first Geographic Center of Taiwan monument was construct ...
* List of countries by southernmost point
This is a list of countries by southernmost point on land. Where borders are contested, the southernmost point under the control of a nation is listed, excluding points within Antarctica and its outlying islands south of 60°S. Non-UN political en ...
* List of Taiwanese superlatives
This is a list of Taiwanese superlatives.
Geography
Ecology
Demography
Structures
References
{{Asia in topic, Extreme points of, collapsed=yes
Taiwanese
Superlatives
Comparison is a feature in the morphology or synt ...
References
Citations
Bibliography
* .
* .
* .
* .
* .
* .
* .
* .
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* .
{{Authority control
Eluanbi
Landforms of Pingtung County
Extreme points of Earth