Editing Extremes on Earth (section)

====Along any geodesic====
These are the longest [[geodesic|straight lines]]{{efn|A geodesic is defined as the shortest route between any two points on the surface of the Earth, as measured along the surface of the Earth (rather than through the Earth's interior); they are "straight lines" only in the sense that they are plotted on an idealized two-dimensional surface of the three-dimensional Earth, neglecting changes in surface elevation. On an idealized spherical model of the Earth, geodesics are equivalent to [[great-circle distance]]s measured along the arcs of [[great circle]]s.}} that can be drawn between any two points on the surface of the Earth and remain exclusively over land or water; the points need not lie on the same line of latitude or longitude.
* The '''longest continuous straight-line ([[great circle]]) path over land''' is {{cvt|13588|km}} long and spans between the West African coast near [[Greenville, Liberia|Greenville]], [[Liberia]] ({{Coord|5|2|51.59|N|9|7|23.26|W}}) and a peninsula about {{cvt|100|km|mi|sigfig=1}} northeast of [[Wenzhou]], China ({{Coord|28|17|7.68|N|121|38|17.31|E}}), passing over the [[Suez Canal]].<ref>[http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=5%B02%26%238242%3B51.59%26%238243%3BN+9%B07%26%238242%3B23.26%26%238243%3BW+-+28%B017%26%238242%3B7.68%26%238243%3BN+121%B038%26%238242%3B17.31%26%238243%3BE%0D%0A&MS=bm&DU=mi (Map from gcmap)]</ref>
** The longest continuous straight-line land distance solely within continental [[Africa]] is {{cvt|8,402|km}}, along a line that begins just east of [[Tangier]], [[Morocco]], and ends {{cvt|100|km|mi|sigfig=1}} east of [[Port Elizabeth]], [[South Africa]]. This line passes through Morocco, [[Algeria]], [[Mali]], [[Niger]], [[Nigeria]], [[Cameroon]], [[Equatorial Guinea]], [[Gabon]], [[Republic of the Congo]], [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]], [[Angola]], [[Namibia]], [[Botswana]], and South Africa.{{citation needed|date=June 2019}}
** The longest continuous straight-line land distance solely within continental [[Asia]] is {{cvt|10,152|km}}, along a line that begins on the [[India]]n coast near [[Kanyakumari]] and ends at the [[Bering Sea]] coast of the [[Chukchi Peninsula]] in [[Russia]]. This line passes through India, [[Nepal]], [[China]], [[Mongolia]], and Russia.{{citation needed|date=June 2019}}
** The longest continuous straight-line land distance solely within continental [[Europe]] (defining the [[Ural Mountains]] as the border between Europe and Asia) is {{cvt|5,325|km}}, along a line that begins at [[Cape St. Vincent]], [[Portugal]], and ends at the Urals, near the town of [[Perm, Russia]]. This line passes through Portugal, [[Spain]], [[France]], [[Germany]], [[Poland]], [[Lithuania]], [[Belarus]], and Russia.{{citation needed|date=June 2019}}
** The longest continuous straight-line land distance solely within continental [[North America]] is {{cvt|7,602|km}}, along a line that begins at [[Point Hope, Alaska]], [[United States]], and ends {{cvt|34|km}} southwest of the town of [[Salina Cruz]], [[Mexico]]. This line passes through [[Alaska]], [[Canada]], [[Contiguous United States|the contiguous United States]], and Mexico.{{citation needed|date=June 2019}}
** The longest continuous straight-line land distance solely within continental [[South America]] is {{cvt|7,248|km}}, along a line that begins {{cvt|10|km}} northeast of [[Puerto Cumarebo]], [[Venezuela]], and ends {{cvt|80|km}} south of the town of [[Punta Arenas]], [[Chile]]. This line passes through Venezuela, [[Colombia]], [[Brazil]], [[Peru]], Chile, and [[Argentina]].{{citation needed|date=June 2019}}
** The longest continuous straight-line land distance solely within continental [[Australia (continent)|Australia]] is {{cvt|4,026|km}}, along a line that begins at the southern end of [[Cape Range National Park]] in [[Western Australia]] and ends at the town of [[Byron Bay]] in [[New South Wales]].<ref>[https://geodesyapps.ga.gov.au/distance (Geoscience Australia)]</ref> 
* There are several possible candidates for the '''longest continuous straight-line distance in any direction at sea''', as there are many possible ways to travel along a great circle for more than the [[antipodes|antipodic]] length of {{cvt|19840|km}}. Some examples of such routes would be:
** From the south coast of [[Balochistan, Pakistan|Balochistan]] province somewhere near Port of [[Karachi, Pakistan|Karachi]], [[Pakistan]] ({{Coord|25|25|N|66|25|E}}) across the [[Arabian Sea]], southwest through the Indian Ocean, near [[Comoros]], passing Namaete Canyon, near the South African coast, across the South Atlantic Ocean, then west across [[Cape Horn]], then northwest across the Pacific Ocean, near [[Easter Island]], passing the [[Antipodes|antipodal point]] near [[Emlilia]] island, through the South [[Bering Sea]] and ending somewhere on the northeast coast of [[Kamchatka]], near [[Ossora]] ({{Coord|59 |38 |N|163|24|E}}). This route is {{cvt|32040|km}} long.<ref>[http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=25%B025%27N+66%B025%27E+-+59%B038%27S+16%B036%27W+-+25%B025%27S+113%B035%27W+-+59%B038%27N+163%B024%27E%0D%0A (Map from gcmap)]</ref> This route was confirmed to be the longest (at about {{cvt|32090|km|mi|disp=or}}) given map data at a {{cvt|1.8|km|mi}} level of resolution.<ref name="ChabukswarMukherjee">{{cite arXiv| last1 = Chabukswar | first1 = Rohan| last2 = Mukherjee| first2 = Kushal| title = Longest Straight Line Paths on Water or Land on the Earth| date = 9 April 2018|class= math.HO| eprint=1804.07389}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url= https://www.science.org/content/article/ocean-path-will-take-you-longest-straight-line-journey-earth |title=This ocean path will take you on the longest straight-line journey on Earth|author=David Shultz |date= 30 April 2018|publisher=Science Magazine}}</ref>{{efn|The "longest continuous straight-line distance in any direction at sea" from Karachi to Kamchatka was [[Special:Contributions/Muh1974|originally added to Wikipedia by user Muh1974 on 21 January 2010]] and then confirmed by Chabukswar and Mukherjee in 2018.<ref name="ChabukswarMukherjee"/> The source of this discovery before 2010 is unknown {{as of|2022 |8 |lc= y}}.}}
** From the south coast of [[Hormozgan]] province, [[Iran]] ({{Coord|25|35|N|58|22|E}}) across the [[Gulf of Oman]], southeast across the Arabian Sea, passing south of [[Australia]] and [[New Zealand]], near the Antarctic coast, then northeast across the South Pacific Ocean, passing the [[Antipodes|antipodal point]] and ending on the southwest coast of [[Mexico]] somewhere near [[Ciudad Lázaro Cárdenas]] ({{Coord|17|57|N|101|57|W}}). This route is {{cvt|25267|km}} long.<ref>[http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=25%B035%27N+58%B022%27E+-+17%B057%27S+78%B003%27E+-+25%B035%27S+121%B038%27W+-+17%B057%27N+101%B057%27W (Map from gcmap)]</ref>
** From [[Invercargill]], New Zealand ({{Coord|46|37|S|168|59|E}}) across [[Cape Horn]], then off the coast of [[Brazil]] close to [[Recife]], passing north of [[Cape Verde]], passing the [[antipodes|antipodal point]] and ending somewhere on the southwest coast of [[Ireland]] ({{Coord|52|09|N|6|34|W}}). This route is {{cvt|20701|km}} long.<ref>[http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=46%B037%27S+168%B059%27E+-+52%B009%27S+173%B026%27E+-+46%B037%27N+11%B001%27W+-+52%B009%27N+6%B034%27W%0D%0A (Map from gcmap)]</ref>