The 30th parallel north is a circle of latitude 30 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane standing one-third of the way between the equator and the North Pole. Most of the land located on this parallel is arid or semi-arid unless it is near a body of water and then it is likely tropical or sub-tropical.


There used to be a lot of information about the powerful and mysterious places built along this line around the world, but a recent search left me spending a lot of time trying to find even basic information.This blog is to collect articles and images along the way to preserve knowledge of the importance of this ring around the earth.


I previously lived within walking distance of it and it interests me to this day. I plan to revisit soon. People used to mark the road along A1A just north outside of St Augustine Florida where it was located so that when motorists passed over it they knew where they were. That unofficial practice doesn't occur anymore but it always gave me goosebumps to drive over or visit the beach next to the line.


It is also known as a horse latitude. It is called that, one story  goes, because frequent Spanish ship routes taking horses to the West Indies would often take longer than ships planned due to the winds dying out along the 30 degree parallel causing them to run out of water. The horses would be pushed overboard to conserve remaining rations. (Poor horses!)


This story is the inspiration behind the Doors' song, Horse Latitudes.


When the still sea conspires an armor
And her sullen and aborted
Currents breed tiny monsters,
True sailing is dead.
Awkward instant
And the first animal is jettisoned,
Legs furiously pumping
Their stiff green gallop,
And heads bob up
Poise
Delicate
Pause
Consent
In mute nostril agony
Carefully refined
And sealed over.




Another story goes, the name might be derived from the dead horse ritual practiced by seamen who would parade a straw horse effigy around the boat before throwing it overboard to mark the time period it took to earn the half of their pay that they had received up front for a long trip. This celebratory act was usually a month or two into the trip making European west bound ships near the subtropics at around that time which led the area to be associated with the activity.


So far I've found no picture of a map showing a clear specifically marked 30 degree parallel, but you can see it on this one as the thin blue line right above the thicker top red line. Diameter of Earth (across the 30th parallels) = 7,920 miles.




Notable places on or near the 30th parallel

The Canary Islands 29.26 N

Essaquira Morocco Ancient Phoenician city 31.2

Marrakech Morocco Ochre City fortified UNESCO World Heritage site 32.38 N

Draa Region Morocco 29.54 N Rock Paintings and Stone figures found lending to claims they are the earliest representations of human forms between 300 and 500,000 years ago.

Ghadames Libya Sahara Oasis town UNESCO world heritage site 30.8 N

Gulf of Sidra Libya Southernmost point of the Mediterranean Sea 31.3 N

Siwa Oasis Egypt home to oracle of Amon settled since at least 10 millennium BC and recent archaeological find of modern human anatomy footprint could go back 2 million years 29.11 N

Cairo Egypt has stood for more than 1,000 years, is the capitol of Egypt on the  banks of the Nile river is a UNESCO world heritage site located fifteen miles from the original ancient city of Memphis that existed 5,000 years ago 31.03 N

Alexandria Egypt a scientific center of the ancient world known for the largest library and lighthouse is one of the wonders of the ancient world. 31.11 N

The Great Pyramid of Giza Egypt one of the seven wonders of the world 29.16 N

Whale Valley Egypt UNESCO World Heritage site known for hundreds of fossils of whales 29.16 N


Gulf of Suez 28.59

Gulf of Aqaba 29.7

Mt of Olives Israel where many Christians believe the dove sent out by Noah found the olive branch it returned with. 31.0 N

Jerusalem Israel Ancient city and Sacred Place of three major religions 31.47 N

Qumran Israel is where the dead sea scrolls were found 31.44

Her Karkom Israel Mount of Saffron that some believe to be Mt Sinai is known for altars, cromlechs, menhirs and rock paintings. 30.17 N

Eilat Israel site of prehistoric tombs dating to the 7th millennium BC on the red sea near Dolphin reef. 29.33 N

Larsa Iraq is a prehistoric city founded during the Ubaind period between 6,000 and 4,000 BC is listed as one of the five cities in Mesopotamia before the flood and was later a part of the Babylonian Empire 31.28 N

Petra Jordan An ancient town - 30.19

Ur Iraq the Sumerian city of Abraham in ancient Mesopotamia was known as the naval of the world since 26th century BC contains ruins of Zigguraat including the shrine of Nanna the Assyrian Babylonian moon god 30.57 N

Basra Iraq was known as the Venice of the east was home to Sinbad the Sailor and is proposed to be the location of the Garden of Eden by many Christians 30.30 N

The Persian Gulf 29.0 N

Shiraz Iran was known as the medieval city of poets flowers and wine along with many leading cultural figures of the time 29.37

Persepolis Iran is known as the sacred City of Persians with many astounding architectural ensembles surviving to this day. 29.56 N

Multan Pakistan is one of the oldest cities in the word located along a major invasion route between South and Central Asia and known as the City of Sufis or the City of Saints 30.11 N

The Golden Temple in Amristar India is the spiritual and cultural center for the Sikh religion 31.28 N

Kurrukshetra India is known as the Holy City important for the Kurukshetra war of the Mahabharata fought in the land and the Bhagavad Gita was preached there during the war when Lord Krishna found Arjuna 29.58 N

Delhi India is one of the most important spiritual centers in one of the oldest cities in the world. 28.5 N

Badrinath India is a sacred city to Hindus known for the Badrinath Temple and considered to be where the Vedas were composed 30.44

Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers India located in the Himalayas known as one of the most wildest and picturesque places is on UNESCOs world Heritage List 30.25

Mt Kailash Tibet is a sacred mountain to four religions, the Hindus, Buddhists, Jainas and Bons has been called the naval of the earth and it's spiritual center. 31.4 N

Lhasa Tibet is called the roof of the world and is the historical residence of the Dalai Lama and one of the most revered sacred places in the world. 29.39

Sacred Mountains in  China including three Buddhist mountains, Emei Shan, Jiuhua Shan, Putuo Shan, and one sacred Taoist mountain, Qingcheng Shanin China 29.31 N

Leshian China Giant Buddah 29.32

Tinamen Mountain in China is called Heaven's Gate 29.4

Mount Sanquingshan National Park China with 48 peaks and 89 granite pillars including some that look like people and animal silhouettes is a UNESCO World Heritage site 28.54

Shanghai China is the most populated city in the world and one of China's largest religious centers 31.12

East China Sea 29.0

Yakushima Island Japan is a unique tropical forest featuring the oldest trees in the world including the Jomon Sugi estimated to be between 2,000 and 7,200 years old 30.21

Hawaii Islands USA Largest marine reserve in the world and sacred to indigenous people 28.5

Pacific Garbage Patch is the world's largest garbage dump larger than the USA 31.29

Los Angeles California USA World center for culture, technology known as city of Angels 34.03

NASA Space Center Houston Texas USA known for high technology, rocket science and space exploration 29.45 N

New Orleans Louisiana USA is the cradle of Jazz and a melting pot of cultures and religions known as The City that Care Forgot

The southernmost capitols of the USA, Tallahassee Florida, Baton Rouge Louisiana, and Austin Texas all lie oddly at 30.44 N

Tallahassee Florida USA Beacon Mounds are in a straight north south line including Lake Jackson 30.5 N, Letchworth Love mound 30.51 and Velda Mound 30.5 and a story goes that a wooden pyramid base was found south of Blounstown bridge 30.44 M

Death Row Prison Chain USA People have noted and speculated about the line up of death sentence prisons including Huntsville, Texas 30.71 N, Angola  Louisiana 30.56, N and Raiford Florida 30.05 N

St Augustine Florida USA is the nation's oldest city and considered to be America's oldest continuously occupied settlement of European and African American origins named after St Augustine by Don Pedro Menendez on Septemeber 8, 1565 and was engaged in early international territorial battles is also archaeologically known for it's rich pre-historic record and for it's religious foundings including the establishment of the Mission of Nombre de Dios in 1587. 29.9 N

Bahamas and Bermuda Triangle in the Atlantic is also known as the Devil's triangle and one of the most mysterious places in the world where some think  Atlantis existed in ancient times as was predicted by Edward Caycee 29.52

I'm not really done with this blog but I have to stop now! And I will be editing, fact checking and adding to it as time goes on.


The 30th parallel is pretty spectacular as parallels go lol.

Attachments
Captcha Challenge
Reload Image
Type in the verification code above
Back To Top
TOP