85-560: The 49th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 49 ° north of Earth 's equator . It crosses Europe , Asia , the Pacific Ocean , North America , and the Atlantic Ocean . The city of Paris is about 15 km (9 mi) south of the 49th parallel and is the largest city between the 48th and 49th parallels. Its main airport, Charles de Gaulle Airport , lies on the parallel. Roughly 2,030 kilometres (1,260 mi) of
170-627: A boundary, but negotiations ultimately failed. Following the Louisiana Purchase by the United States in 1803, it was generally agreed that the boundary between the new territory and British North America was along the watershed between the Missouri River and Mississippi River basins on one side and the Hudson Bay basin on the other. However, it is often difficult to precisely determine
255-484: A code of laws known as the Organic Law . It included the creation of an executive committee of three, a judiciary, a militia, land laws, and four counties. There was vagueness and confusion over the nature of the 1843 Organic Law, in particular, whether it was constitutional or statutory . In 1844, a new legislative committee decided to consider it statutory. The 1845 Organic Law made additional changes, including allowing
340-495: A map, the circles of latitude may or may not be parallel, and their spacing may vary, depending on which projection is used to map the surface of the Earth onto a plane. On an equirectangular projection , centered on the equator, the circles of latitude are horizontal, parallel, and equally spaced. On other cylindrical and pseudocylindrical projections, the circles of latitude are horizontal and parallel, but may be spaced unevenly to give
425-537: A northern boundary for Spanish California, nor did it extinguish Spanish rights to the Pacific Northwest. Spain later relinquished any remaining claims to territory north of the 42nd parallel to the United States as part of the Adams-Onís Treaty of 1819. In the 1820s, Russia gave up its claims south of 54°40′ and east of the 141st meridian in separate treaties with the United States and Britain. Meanwhile,
510-575: A pole and a notice claiming the country for the United Kingdom and stating the intention of the North West Company to build a trading post on the site. Later in 1811, on the same expedition, he finished his survey of the entire Columbia, arriving at a partially constructed Fort Astoria two months after the departure of John Jacob Astor 's ill-fated Tonquin . The Oregon Country was originally claimed by Great Britain, France, Russia, and Spain;
595-587: A provisional government at Champoeg . Political pressure in the United States urged the occupation of all the Oregon Country. Expansionists in the American South wanted to annex Texas , while their counterparts in the northeast wanted to annex the Oregon Country. It was seen as significant that the expansions be parallel, as the relative proximity to other states and territories made it appear likely that Texas would be pro-slavery and Oregon against slavery. In
680-500: A thriving colony of mixed origin, including Scottish Canadians and Scots , English , French Canadians , Hawaiians , Algonkians , and Iroquois , as well as the offspring of company employees who had intermarried with various local native populations. Astor continued to compete for Oregon Country furs through his American Fur Company operations in the Rockies. In the 1820s, a few American explorers and traders visited this land beyond
765-463: A variety of other kinds of woods. Between these high lands lie what is called the valley of the Wallamitte [ sic ], the frequented haunts of innumerable herds of elk and deer ... In ascending the river, the surrounding country is most delightful, and the first barrier to be met with is about forty miles up from its mouth. Here the navigation is interrupted by a ledge of rocks, running across
850-485: Is an abstract east – west small circle connecting all locations around Earth (ignoring elevation ) at a given latitude coordinate line . Circles of latitude are often called parallels because they are parallel to each other; that is, planes that contain any of these circles never intersect each other. A location's position along a circle of latitude is given by its longitude . Circles of latitude are unlike circles of longitude, which are all great circles with
935-505: Is drawn as a "line on a map", which was made in massive scale during the 1884 Berlin Conference , regarding huge parts of the African continent. North American nations and states have also mostly been created by straight lines, which are often parts of circles of latitudes. For instance, the northern border of Colorado is at 41° N while the southern border is at 37° N . Roughly half
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#17328446340611020-516: Is equal to the Earth's axial tilt. By definition, the positions of the Tropic of Cancer , Tropic of Capricorn , Arctic Circle and Antarctic Circle all depend on the tilt of the Earth's axis relative to the plane of its orbit around the Sun (the "obliquity of the ecliptic"). If the Earth were "upright" (its axis at right angles to the orbital plane) there would be no Arctic, Antarctic, or Tropical circles: at
1105-513: Is the longest circle of latitude and is the only circle of latitude which also is a great circle. As such, it is perpendicular to all meridians. There are 89 integral (whole degree ) circles of latitude between the Equator and the poles in each hemisphere , but these can be divided into more precise measurements of latitude, and are often represented as a decimal degree (e.g. 34.637° N) or with minutes and seconds (e.g. 22°14'26" S). On
1190-649: The Ouisiconsink ( Wisconsin River ) was spelled Ouaricon-sint , broken on two lines with the -sint below, so that there appeared to be a river flowing to the west named Ouaricon . This theory was endorsed in Oregon Geographic Names as "the most plausible explanation". George Vancouver explored Puget Sound in 1792. Vancouver claimed it for Great Britain on June 4, 1792, naming it for one of his officers, Lieutenant Peter Puget . Alexander Mackenzie
1275-526: The Beaver had shown the growing value of coal economically and strategically. A general HBC shift toward Pacific shipping and away from the interior of the continent made Victoria Harbour much more suitable than Fort Vancouver's location on the Columbia River. The Columbia Bar at the river's mouth was dangerous and routinely meant weeks or months of waiting for ships to cross. The largest ships could not enter
1360-505: The 1844 U.S. Presidential election , the Democrats had called for expansion into both areas. After being elected president, however, James K. Polk supported the 49th parallel as a northern limit for U.S. annexation in Oregon Country. Polk's uncompromising support for expansion into Texas and relative silence on the Oregon boundary dispute led to the phrase "Fifty-Four Forty or Fight!" referring to
1445-792: The Canada–United States border was designated to follow the 49th parallel from British Columbia to Manitoba on the Canada side, and from Washington to Minnesota on the U.S. side, more specifically from the Strait of Georgia to the Lake of the Woods . This international border was specified in the Anglo-American Convention of 1818 and the Oregon Treaty of 1846, though survey markers placed in
1530-576: The Fraser River to its mouth in 1808, attempting to ascertain whether it was the Columbia, as had been theorized about its northern reaches through New Caledonia, where it was known by its Dakleh name as the "Tacoutche Tesse". Thompson was the first European to voyage down the entire length of the Columbia River. Along the way, his party camped at the junction with the Snake River on July 9, 1811. He erected
1615-537: The Kootenai River and Columbia River following the southern portion of the well-established York Factory Express trade route. The Canadian effort proved to be too little, too late. In what was dubbed " The Great Migration of 1843 " or the "Wagon Train of 1843", an estimated 700 to 1,000 American emigrants came to Oregon, decisively tipping the balance. In 1843, settlers in the Willamette Valley established
1700-641: The Mercator projection or on the Gall-Peters projection , a circle of latitude is perpendicular to all meridians . On the ellipsoid or on spherical projection, all circles of latitude are rhumb lines , except the Equator. The latitude of the circle is approximately the angle between the Equator and the circle, with the angle's vertex at Earth's centre. The Equator is at 0°, and the North Pole and South Pole are at 90° north and 90° south, respectively. The Equator
1785-614: The Mexican–American War . In 1805, the American Lewis and Clark Expedition marked the first official American exploration of the area, creating the first temporary settlement of Euro-Americans in the area near the mouth of the Columbia River at Fort Clatsop . Two years later, in 1807, David Thompson of the Montreal-based North West Company penetrated the Oregon Country from the north via Athabasca Pass , near
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#17328446340611870-579: The Oregon boundary dispute was settled diplomatically in the 1846 Oregon Treaty. This agreement divided the Oregon Country between British North America and the United States by extending the 49th parallel boundary to the west coast, ending in the Strait of Georgia ; it then circumvents Vancouver Island through Boundary Pass , Haro Strait , and the Strait of Juan de Fuca . This had the side effect of isolating Point Roberts, Washington . Although parts of Vancouver Island and parts of Eastern Canada are south of
1955-757: The Pacific Northwest of North America that was subject to a long dispute between the United Kingdom and the United States in the early 19th century. The area, which had been demarcated by the Treaty of 1818 , consisted of the land north of 42° N latitude , south of 54°40′ N latitude, and west of the Rocky Mountains down to the Pacific Ocean and east to the Continental Divide . Article III of
2040-630: The Ukase of 1821 , which was quickly challenged by the other powers and withdrawn to 54°40′N by separate treaties with the U.S. and Britain in 1824 and 1825, respectively. Spain gave up its claims of exclusivity via the Nootka Conventions of the 1790s. In the Nootka Conventions, which followed the Nootka Crisis , Spain granted Britain rights to the Pacific Northwest. However, it did not establish
2125-530: The Yukon River , managed and represented British interests in the region. After the dispute became an election issue in the 1844 U.S. presidential election , the United Kingdom and the United States agreed to settle the problem with the Oregon Treaty in 1846. It established the British-American boundary at the 49th parallel (except Vancouver Island ). With the end of joint occupancy, the region south of
2210-409: The lingua franca between Indians and the small European population during and after the 1818-46 period. This was the last period in which the Oregon Country's Indian nations retained a sizeable majority in their land, prior to the rapid and devastating arrival of European diseases in the 1860s , and were able to maintain relative economic independence thanks to the necessity of their hunting skills in
2295-521: The 1818 treaty gave joint control to both nations for ten years, allowed land to be claimed, and guaranteed free navigation to all mercantile trade. However, both countries disputed the terms of the international treaty. Oregon Country was the American name, while the British used Columbia District for the region . British and French Canadian fur traders had entered Oregon Country prior to 1810 before
2380-412: The 19th century cause the border to deviate from the 49th parallel by up to 810 metres (2,660 ft). From a point on the ground at this latitude, the sun is above the horizon for 16 hours, 12 minutes during the summer solstice and 8 hours, 14 minutes during the winter solstice . This latitude also roughly corresponds to the minimum latitude in which astronomical twilight can last all night near
2465-467: The 49th and other parallels with it; see polar motion . The Northwest Angle is the only part of the contiguous 48 states that goes north of the 49th parallel as surveyed. The Treaty of Paris called for the boundary between the US and British territory to pass through the most northwesterly point of Lake of the Woods, and this was retained even after an 1818 treaty set the boundary west of that point to follow
2550-508: The 49th parallel became Oregon Territory in the United States while the northern portion became part of the British colonies of British Columbia and Vancouver Island . The area, which once encompassed Oregon Country, now lies within the present-day borders of the Canadian province of British Columbia and the entirety of the U.S. states of Oregon , Washington , and Idaho , as well as parts of Montana and Wyoming . Throughout this period,
2635-452: The 49th parallel, and parts of the United States ( Alaska , Northwest Angle ) are north of it, the term 49th parallel is sometimes used metonymically to refer to the entire Canada–U.S. border. Actually, many of Canada's most populated regions (and about 72% of the population) are south of the 49th parallel, including the two largest cities Toronto (43°42′ north) and Montreal (45°30′ north). The federal capital Ottawa (45°25′ north), and
49th parallel north - Misplaced Pages Continue
2720-459: The 49th parallel, excluding Vancouver Island. Despite McLoughlin's stalling, the HBC had begun the process of shifting away from Fort Vancouver and toward Vancouver Island and the northern coast in the 1830s. The increasing number of American settlers arriving in the Willamette Valley after 1840 served to make the need more pressing. In 1848, the U.S. portion of the Oregon Country was formally organized as
2805-477: The 49th parallel. At the time that the United States and Great Britain agreed on the 49th parallel as the boundary, much of the North American continent had not yet been mapped. After the boundary was established, British surveyors discovered that Point Roberts lay south of the 49th parallel. The British requested that the United States cede the territory to Great Britain, but no action was ever taken. In 1909
2890-501: The Columbia River by David Thompson and on prior discovery and exploration along the coast. Spain's claim was based on the Inter caetera and Treaty of Tordesillas of 1493–94, as well as explorations of the Pacific coast in the late 18th century. Russia based its claim on its explorations and trading activities in the region. It asserted its ownership of the region north of the 51st parallel by
2975-550: The Columbia River. Despite the posturing, neither country wanted to fight what would have been the third war in 70 years against the other. The two countries eventually reached a peaceful agreement in the 1846 Oregon Treaty that divided the territory west of the Continental Divide along the 49th parallel to Georgia Strait , with Vancouver Island remaining under British control. Today, this border divides British Columbia from neighboring Washington, Idaho, and Montana. In 1843,
3060-475: The Earth's shape from a simple ellipsoid , or the deflection of the plumb-bob by differences in terrestrial mass. The surveys were subject to the limitations of early to mid-19th century technology; consequently, in some places the surveyed border is several hundred feet from the geographical 49th parallel for the currently adopted datum , the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83). The Digital Chart of
3145-563: The Earth's surface is north of the 49th parallel. Download coordinates as: Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the parallel 49° north passes through: In 1714, the Hudson's Bay Company proposed the 49th parallel as the western portion of the boundary between the company's land and French territory. At the time, Britain and France had agreed, in the Peace of Utrecht , to negotiate
3230-535: The Equator, mark the divisions between the five principal geographical zones . The equator is the circle that is equidistant from the North Pole and South Pole . It divides the Earth into the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere . Of the parallels or circles of latitude, it is the longest, and the only ' great circle ' (a circle on the surface of the Earth, centered on Earth's center). All
3315-403: The HBC shifted its Columbia Department headquarters from Fort Vancouver to Fort Victoria on Vancouver Island. The plan to move to more northern locations dates back to the 1820s. George Simpson was the main force behind the move north; John McLoughlin became the main hindrance. McLoughlin had devoted his life's work to the Columbia business, and his personal interests were increasingly linked to
3400-618: The Indians. Jason Lee , a Methodist minister from New York , was the first Oregon missionary . He built a mission school for Indians in the Willamette Valley in 1834. American settlers began to arrive from the east via the Oregon Trail starting in the early 1840s and came in increasing numbers each subsequent year. Increased tension led to the Oregon boundary dispute . Both sides realized that settlers would ultimately decide who controlled
3485-568: The Oregon Country because of the Hudson's Bay Company policy of creating a "fur desert": deliberate over-hunting of the area's frontiers so that American trades would find nothing there. The mountain men, like the Metis employees of the Canadian fur companies, adopted Indian ways, and many of them married Native American women. Reports of Oregon Country eventually circulated in the eastern United States . Some churches decided to send missionaries to convert
49th parallel north - Misplaced Pages Continue
3570-497: The Oregon Country was inhabited by numerous independent American Indian peoples, who received no recognition by the British or American governments in the eventual disposition of the territory. Indian traders nevertheless played a critical role in the ongoing fur trade that still formed the Oregon Country's primary economic activity until mid-century, and the language of the Chinook nation of the lower Columbia river ( Chinook jargon ) formed
3655-647: The Oregon Territory. In 1849, Vancouver Island became a British Crown colony —the Colony of Vancouver Island —with the mainland being organized into the Colony of British Columbia in 1858. Shortly after the establishment of Oregon Territory, there was an effort to split off the region north of the Columbia River. As a result of the Monticello Convention , Congress approved the creation of Washington Territory in early 1853. President Millard Fillmore approved
3740-565: The Rocky Mountains. Long after the Lewis and Clark Expedition and also after the consolidation of the fur trade in the region by the Canadian fur companies, American mountain men such as Jedediah Smith and Jim Beckwourth came roaming into and across the Rocky Mountains, following Indian trails through the Rockies to California and Oregon. They sought beaver pelts and other furs, which were obtained by trapping . These were difficult to obtain in
3825-470: The Spanish claim was later taken up by the United States. The extent of the region being claimed was vague at first, evolving over decades into the specific borders specified in the U.S.-British treaty of 1818 . The United States based its claim in part on Robert Gray's entry of the Columbia River in 1792 and the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Great Britain based its claim in part on British overland explorations of
3910-599: The Tropical Circles are drifting towards the equator (and the Polar Circles towards the poles) by 15 m per year, and the area of the Tropics , defined astronomically, is decreasing by 1,100 km (420 sq mi) per year. (However, the tropical belt as defined based on atmospheric conditions is expanding due to global warming . ) The Earth's axial tilt has additional shorter-term variations due to nutation , of which
3995-495: The Tropics and Polar Circles and also on the Equator. Short-term fluctuations over a matter of days do not directly affect the location of the extreme latitudes at which the Sun may appear directly overhead, or at which 24-hour day or night is possible, except when they actually occur at the time of the solstices. Rather, they cause a theoretical shifting of the parallels, that would occur if the given axis tilt were maintained throughout
4080-606: The United States and Britain negotiated the Anglo-American Convention of 1818, which extended the boundary between their territories west along the 49th parallel to the Rocky Mountains. The two countries agreed to "joint occupancy" of the land west of the Rockies to the Pacific Ocean. In 1843, settlers established their government, called the Provisional Government of Oregon . A legislative committee drafted
4165-519: The United States gained more than it lost, in particular securing title to the Red River Basin . This treaty established the boundary only between the line of longitude of the northwesternmost point of Lake of the Woods , on the east, and the Rocky Mountains , on the west. West of the Rockies, the treaty established joint occupation of the Oregon Country by both parties; east of Lake of the Woods,
4250-483: The United States, United Kingdom , and Canada signed and ratified a treaty confirming the original survey lines as the official and permanent international border. Nevertheless, in 2002 the difference of the survey from the geographical 49th parallel was argued in front of the Washington Supreme Court in the case of State of Washington v. Norman , under the premise that Washington did not properly incorporate
4335-539: The World (DCW), which uses the Clarke 1866 ellipsoid, reports the border on average at latitude 48° 59′ 51″ north, roughly 270 metres (886 ft) south of the modern 49th parallel. It ranges between 48° 59′ 25″ and 49° 0′ 10″ north, 810 metres (2,657 ft) and 590 metres (1,936 ft) on either side of the average. In any case, the Earth's North Pole moves around slightly, notionally moving
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#17328446340614420-481: The area in 1811. This settlement later became the nucleus of present-day Astoria, Oregon . During the construction of Fort Astoria, Thompson traveled down the Columbia River, noting the partially constructed American Fort Astoria only two months after the departure of the supply ship Tonquin . Along the way, Thompson had set foot on and claimed for the British Crown the lands near the future Fort Nez Percés site at
4505-570: The arrival of American settlers from the mid-1830s onwards, which led to the foundation of the Provisional Government of Oregon . Its coastal areas north of the Columbia River were frequented by ships from all nations engaged in the maritime fur trade , with many vessels between the 1790s and 1810s coming from Boston . The Hudson's Bay Company , whose Columbia Department comprised most of the Oregon Country and north into New Caledonia and beyond 54°40′ N, with operations reaching tributaries of
4590-411: The boundary established in the Treaty of Paris would be retained. Although the Convention of 1818 settled the boundary, neither country was immediately able to take control over the territories on its side of the line; effective control still rested with local First Nations peoples, mainly the Métis , Assiniboine , Lakota , and Blackfoot . Their power was gradually ceded by conquest and treaty during
4675-473: The centre of Earth in the middle, as the circles of latitude get smaller as the distance from the Equator increases. Their length can be calculated by a common sine or cosine function. For example, the 60th parallel north or south is half as long as the Equator (disregarding Earth's minor flattening by 0.335%), stemming from cos ( 60 ∘ ) = 0.5 {\displaystyle \cos(60^{\circ })=0.5} . On
4760-428: The confluence of the Columbia and Snake rivers. This claim initiated a very brief era of competition between American and British fur traders. During the War of 1812 , Fort Astoria was captured by the British and sold to the North West Company. Under British control, Fort Astoria was renamed Fort George. In 1821, when the North West Company was merged with the Hudson's Bay Company, the British Parliament moved to impose
4845-415: The fur trade. The eventual partition of the Oregon Country into national domains by the two colonial powers, increasing settlement, and the drastic decline of the fur trade due to diminishing supply all contributed to catastrophic decline in Indian population after 1846, and the arbitrary seizure of their land over the following two decades in the interests of newly arrived settlers. The earliest evidence of
4930-487: The growing settlements in the Willamette Valley. He fought Simpson's proposals to move north in vain. By the time Simpson decided in 1842 to move the headquarters to Vancouver Island, he had many reasons for doing so. There was a dramatic decline in the fur trade across North America. In contrast, the HBC saw increasing profits with coastal exports of salmon and lumber to Pacific markets such as Hawaii . Coal deposits on Vancouver Island had been discovered, and steamships such as
5015-426: The headwaters of the Columbia River. From there he navigated nearly the full length of the river through to the Pacific Ocean. In 1810, John Jacob Astor commissioned and began the construction of the American Pacific Fur Company fur-trading post at Fort Astoria, just 5 miles (8 kilometers) from the site of Lewis and Clark's former Fort Clatsop, completing construction of the first permanent Euro-American settlement in
5100-406: The horizon for 24 hours (at the December and June Solstices respectively). The latitude of the polar circles is equal to 90° minus the Earth's axial tilt . The Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn mark the northernmost and southernmost latitudes at which the Sun may be seen directly overhead at the June solstice and December solstice respectively. The latitude of the tropical circles
5185-399: The laws of Upper Canada upon British subjects in Columbia District and Rupert's Land and issued the authority to enforce those laws to the Hudson's Bay Company. Chief Factor John McLoughlin was appointed manager of the district's operations in 1824. He moved the regional company headquarters to Fort Vancouver (modern Vancouver, Washington ) in 1824. Fort Vancouver became the centre of
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#17328446340615270-471: The length of the border between the United States and Canada follows 49° N . There are five major circles of latitude, listed below from north to south. The position of the Equator is fixed (90 degrees from Earth's axis of rotation) but the latitudes of the other circles depend on the tilt of this axis relative to the plane of Earth's orbit, and so are not perfectly fixed. The values below are for 22 November 2024: These circles of latitude, excluding
5355-418: The location of a watershed in a region of level plains, such as in central North America . The British and American committees that met after the War of 1812 to resolve boundary disputes recognized there would be much animosity in surveying the watershed boundary, and agreed on a simpler border solution in the Treaty of 1818 : the 49th parallel. Both sides gained and lost some territory by this convention, but
5440-399: The main term, with a period of 18.6 years, has an amplitude of 9.2″ (corresponding to almost 300 m north and south). There are many smaller terms, resulting in varying daily shifts of some metres in any direction. Finally, the Earth's rotational axis is not exactly fixed in the Earth, but undergoes small fluctuations (on the order of 15 m) called polar motion , which have a small effect on
5525-627: The map useful characteristics. For instance, on a Mercator projection the circles of latitude are more widely spaced near the poles to preserve local scales and shapes, while on a Gall–Peters projection the circles of latitude are spaced more closely near the poles so that comparisons of area will be accurate. On most non-cylindrical and non-pseudocylindrical projections, the circles of latitude are neither straight nor parallel. Arcs of circles of latitude are sometimes used as boundaries between countries or regions where distinctive natural borders are lacking (such as in deserts), or when an artificial border
5610-433: The mean value of the tilt was 23° 26′ 21.406″ (according to IAU 2006, theory P03), the corresponding value being 23° 26′ 10.633" at noon of January 1st 2023 AD. The main long-term cycle causes the axial tilt to fluctuate between about 22.1° and 24.5° with a period of 41,000 years. Currently, the average value of the tilt is decreasing by about 0.468″ per year. As a result (approximately, and on average),
5695-406: The mutation of the letter g instead of j . Another theory is that French Canadian fur company employees called the Columbia River "hurricane river" le fleuve d'ouragan , because of the strong winds of the Columbia Gorge . George R. Stewart argues in a 1944 article in American Speech that the name came from an engraver's error in a French map published in the early 18th century, on which
5780-452: The name Oregon has Spanish origins. The term orejón comes from the historical chronicle Relación de la Alta y Baja California (1598) which was written by the New Spaniard Rodrigo Motezuma and which made reference to the Columbia River when the Spanish explorers penetrated into the North American territory that became part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain . This chronicle is the first topographical and linguistic source with respect to
5865-430: The new territory on March 2, 1853. Alexander Ross , an early Scottish Canadian fur trader, describes the lower reaches of the Willamette River, in the south of the Oregon Country (known to him as the Columbia District): The banks of the river throughout are low and skirted in the distance by a chain of moderately high lands on each side, interspersed here and there with clumps of wide spreading oaks, groves of pine, and
5950-454: The northern border of the region and often erroneously attributed to Polk's campaign. The goal of the slogan was to rally Southern expansionists (some of whom wanted to annex only Texas in an effort to tip the balance of slave/free states and territories in favor of slavery) to support the effort to annex Oregon Country, appealing to the popular belief in manifest destiny . The British government, meanwhile, sought control of all territory north of
6035-429: The northern hemisphere because astronomic latitude can be roughly measured (to within a few tens of metres) by sighting the North Star . Normally the circles of latitude are defined at zero elevation . Elevation has an effect on a location with respect to the plane formed by a circle of latitude. Since (in the geodetic system ) altitude and depth are determined by the normal to the Earth's surface, locations sharing
6120-654: The other parallels are smaller and centered only on Earth's axis. The Arctic Circle is the southernmost latitude in the Northern Hemisphere at which the Sun can remain continuously above or below the horizon for 24 hours (at the June and December solstices respectively). Similarly, the Antarctic Circle marks the northernmost latitude in the Southern Hemisphere at which the Sun can remain continuously above or below
6205-498: The participation of British subjects in the government. Although the Oregon Treaty of 1846 settled the boundaries of U.S. jurisdiction, the provisional government continued to function until 1849, when the first governor of Oregon Territory arrived. A faction of Oregon politicians hoped to continue Oregon's political evolution into an independent nation, but the pressure to join the United States prevailed by 1848, four months after
6290-531: The place name Oregon . There are also two other sources with Spanish origins, such as the name Oregano , which grows in the southern part of the region. It is most probable that the American territory was named by the Spaniards, as there are some populations in Spain such as Arroyo del Oregón , which is in the province of Ciudad Real , also considering that the individualization in Spanish language el Orejón with
6375-485: The poles the Sun would always circle along the horizon, and at the equator the Sun would always rise due east, pass directly overhead, and set due west. The positions of the Tropical and Polar Circles are not fixed because the axial tilt changes slowly – a complex motion determined by the superimposition of many different cycles (some of which are described below) with short to very long periods. At noon of January 1st 2000 AD,
6460-553: The portions of land north of the geographical 49th parallel, as laid out by detailed GPS surveying. The court decided against the premise, ruling that the internationally surveyed boundary also served as the state boundary, regardless of its actual position. The British national grid reference system uses the point 49° N, 2° W as its true origin. 49°00′00″N 2°00′00″W / 49.0000°N 2.0000°W / 49.0000; -2.0000 Circle of latitude A circle of latitude or line of latitude on Earth
6545-500: The provincial capital of seven provinces (Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador, and British Columbia) are south of the 49th parallel. Three provinces, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia, are each entirely south of the parallel, but the vast majority of Canadian territory lies north of it. Parts of the 49th parallel were originally surveyed using astronomical techniques that did not take into account slight departures of
6630-599: The region. The Hudson's Bay Company, which had previously discouraged settlement as it conflicted with the lucrative fur trade, belatedly reversed its position. In 1841, on orders from Sir George Simpson , James Sinclair guided more than 100 settlers from the Red River Colony to settle on HBC farms near Fort Vancouver. The Sinclair expedition crossed the Rockies into the Columbia Valley , near present-day Radium Hot Springs , British Columbia, then traveled southwest down
6715-414: The river at all. The growing numbers of American settlers along the lower Columbia gave Simpson reason to question the long-term security of Fort Vancouver. He worried, rightfully so, that the final border resolution would not follow the Columbia River. By 1842, he thought it more likely that the United States would at least demand Puget Sound , and the British government would accept a border as far north as
6800-458: The river from side to side in the form of an irregular horseshoe, over which the whole body of water falls at one leap down a precipice of about forty feet, called the Falls . After living in Oregon from 1843 to 1848, Peter H. Burnett wrote: [Oregonians] were all honest, because there was nothing to steal; they were all sober, because there was no liquor to drink; there were no misers, because there
6885-403: The same latitude—but having different elevations (i.e., lying along this normal)—no longer lie within this plane. Rather, all points sharing the same latitude—but of varying elevation and longitude—occupy the surface of a truncated cone formed by the rotation of this normal around the Earth's axis of rotation. Oregon Country Oregon Country was a large region of
6970-583: The several decades that followed. Among these peoples, the 49th parallel was nicknamed the Medicine Line because of its seemingly magical ability to prevent U.S. soldiers from crossing it. In the 1844 U.S. presidential election , the Democratic Party asserted that the northern border of the Oregon Territory should be 54°40′, later reflected in the 1846 slogan " Fifty-Four Forty or Fight !" However,
7055-466: The summer solstice. All-night astronomical twilight lasts from about June 9th to July 2nd . "49°00'N, 45°00'E — Sunrise, Sunset, and Daylength, June 2024" . "49°00'N, 45°00'E — Sunrise, Sunset, and Daylength, July 2024" . At midnight on the summer solstice, the altitude of the sun is about −17.56°. "Planets Visible in the Night Sky in 49°00'N, 45°00'E" . Slightly less than one-eighth of
7140-445: The year. These circles of latitude can be defined on other planets with axial inclinations relative to their orbital planes. Objects such as Pluto with tilt angles greater than 45 degrees will have the tropic circles closer to the poles and the polar circles closer to the equator. A number of sub-national and international borders were intended to be defined by, or are approximated by, parallels. Parallels make convenient borders in
7225-577: Was the first European to cross North America by land north of New Spain, arriving at Bella Coola on what is now the central coast of British Columbia in 1793. From 1805 to 1806, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark explored the territory of the United States on the Lewis and Clark Expedition . David Thompson , working for the Montreal -based North West Company , explored much of the region beginning in 1807 with his friend and colleague Simon Fraser , following
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