The
72nd parallel north is a
circle of latitude that is 72
degrees north of the
Earth's equatorial plane, in the
Arctic. It crosses the
Atlantic Ocean,
Europe,
Asia, the
Arctic Ocean and
North America. At this latitude, the
sun is visible for 24 hours, 0 minutes during the
summer solstice and Civil Twilight during the
winter solstice. This is the parallel where
twilight/
nighttime boundary on the
equinoxes. This is also the highest parallel that golden hour occurs even at
midnight sun, because the Sun is less than 6°00'00" above the horizon. Midnight Sun without golden hour occurs at latitudes greater than 72°33'38.58804", i.e., about 666.8 km (414.3 mi) north of the Arctic Circle in the case of the
June Solstice.
Around the world Starting at the
Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the parallel 72° north passes through: : ==73rd parallel north==