The
84th parallel north and the
85th parallel north are
circles of latitude that are, respectively, 84 and 85
degrees north of the
Earth's equatorial plane, in the
Arctic. No land lies on either the 84th or 85th parallel north; they only lie on the
Arctic Ocean; the 84th parallel is the first parallel by degree to do so. Regions north of the 84th parallel are excluded from
UTM Zones. The
northernmost land on earth,
Kaffeklubben Island,
Greenland, is roughly 40 kilometres south of the 84th parallel. At the 84th and 85th parallels, the
sun is visible for 24 hours, 0 minutes during the
summer solstice. During the
winter solstice, the 84th parallel is under
astronomical twilight, and the 85th parallel is under total nighttime during the entire day. The 85th parallel is the first parallel by degree to do this. The
Arctic Circle is the latitude where the center of the sun is visible at midnight during the
summer solstice, as opposed to the entire disk. ==See also==