40th parallel north

The 40th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 40 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane.

Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the parallel 40° north passes through:

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United States

The parallel 40° north forms the boundary between the State of Kansas and State of Nebraska. On May 30, 1854, the Kansas-Nebraska Act created the Territory of Kansas and the Territory of Nebraska divided by the parallel 40° north. Both territories were required to determine for themselves whether to permit slavery. Open conflict between free-state and pro-slavery forces in the Kansas Territory led to the American Civil War.

The parallel 40° north formed the original northern boundary of the British Colony of Maryland. A subsequent royal grant gave the Colony of Pennsylvania land north of the parallel 39° north. The Mason-Dixon Line was drawn between 1763 and 1767 as the compromise boundary between the overlapping claims of these two colonies.

The parallel 40° north passes through the cities of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Columbus, Ohio; as well as northern suburbs of Indianapolis, Indiana and Denver, Colorado. The parallel goes directly through the Port Columbus International Airport, with runway 10L-28R lying immediately north of the line, runway 10R-28L lying slightly south of it, and the line going through the northernmost edges of the terminal.

Baseline Road in Boulder, Colorado traces the parallel 40° north.

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