Antarctic Circle Map
See the Antarctic Circle on a map at its exact latitude for this year, where it crosses the Antarctic continent and how far any place is from it.
Antarctic Circle
66.5641° S (66° 33′ 50.8″ S)
1 country or territory on land · about 1,587 km (986 mi) of the line runs over land · position for 2026; it moves about 15 m a year
Click the map or search below to see how far a place is from the line.
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| # | Country or territory | From – to (longitude) | Line over land |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | (status in Natural Earth: indeterminate) | 65.72° W – 138.98° Ein 18 separate stretches | 1,587 km (986 mi) |
Crossings computed for this site from Natural Earth 1:10m countries: the line is intersected with every country outline and the land stretches are measured on the WGS84 ellipsoid. Small islands and lakes can add or remove short stretches; country status follows Natural Earth. The tropics and polar circles sit at the Earth's axial tilt (and 90° minus it): the IAU 2006 mean obliquity for 2026-01-01, 23.4359° (Capitaine et al. 2003), which shrinks by about 0.47″ a year, moving these lines about 15 m a year (the polar circles toward the poles, the tropics toward the equator).
How to use the Antarctic Circle map
- See the line. Drawn at 90° minus the Earth's tilt south of the Equator, about 66.56° S.
- Find the land crossing. The table shows where it crosses Antarctica.
- Check a place. See how far any place is from the circle.
Why the Antarctic Circle matters
Expedition cruises
Crossing the circle is a highlight of Antarctic voyages.
Midnight sun
South of it the sun stays up at the December solstice.
Polar night
At the June solstice the sun does not rise south of it.
Science
Many research stations lie near it.
Geography lessons
The only line crossing a single continent.
Where the line is and why it moves
The Antarctic Circle lies at 90° minus the Earth's axial tilt, south of the Equator. With the IAU 2006 mean obliquity for the start of 2026 (about 23.4359°), it sits near 66.5641° S, moving south by roughly 15 metres a year as the tilt decreases.
Its intersections with Antarctica were computed from Natural Earth's 1:10 million outlines (which include ice shelves) and measured on the WGS84 ellipsoid. The web map stops at about 85° latitude, so the far south is not shown.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Antarctic Circle cross any country?
It crosses only Antarctica, whose territorial claims are suspended under the Antarctic Treaty.
How much of it is over land?
Most of it is over the Southern Ocean; the table gives the stretches over the continent and its ice shelves.
Does it move?
Yes, southward by about 15 m a year.
When is there midnight sun?
Around the December solstice.
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