The 36th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 36 degrees north of the Earth's equatorial plane. It crosses Africa, the Mediterranean Sea, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America and the Atlantic Ocean. In the ancient Mediterranean world, its role for navigation and geography was similar to that played by the Equator today. From 7 April 1991 to 31 December 1996, the parallel defined the limit of the northern no-fly zone in Iraq. At this latitude the sun is visible for 14 hours, 36 minutes during the summer solstice and 9 hours, 43 minutes during the winter solstice. Around the world Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the parallel 36° north passes through: {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" ! scope="col" width="125" | Co-ordinates ! scope="col" | Country, territory or sea ! scope="col" | Notes |- | style="background:#b0e0e6;" | ! scope="row" style="background:#b0e0e6;" | Mediterranean Sea | style="background:#b0e0e6;" | |- | ! scope="row" | | Passing through Mostaganem |- | ! scope="row" | | |-valign="top" | style="background:#b0e0e6;" | ! scope="row" style="background:#b0e0e6;" | Mediterranean Sea | style="background:#b0e0e6;" | Passing just north of the island of Linosa, Passing between the islands of Comino and Malta, |-valign="top" | style="background:#b0e0e6;" | ! scope="row" style="background:#b0e0e6;" | Aegean Sea | style="background:#b0e0e6;" | Passing between the islands of Kythira and Antikythera, Passing just north of Saria Island, |- | ! scope="row" | | Island of Rhodes |- | style="background:#b0e0e6;" | ! scope="row" style="background:#b0e0e6;" | Mediterranean Sea | style="background:#b0e0e6;" | |- | ! scope="row" | | Hatay Province |- | ! scope="row" | | Passing just north of Raqqa |- | ! scope="row" | | |- | ! scope="row" | | |- | ! scope="row" | | |- | ! scope="row" | | |-valign="top" | ! scope="row" | | Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Gilgit-Baltistan - claimed by |- | ! scope="row" | Shaksgam Valley | Area administered by , claimed by |-valign="top" | ! scope="row" | | Xinjiang Tibet Qinghai Gansu — passing just south of Lanzhou Ningxia Gansu Shaanxi Shanxi Henan Shandong Henan (for about ) Shandong — passing just south of Qingdao |- | style="background:#b0e0e6;" | ! scope="row" style="background:#b0e0e6;" | Yellow Sea | style="background:#b0e0e6;" | |- | ! scope="row" | |South Chungcheong Province - North Jeolla Province Border, Passing just north of Gunsan, Iksan North Jeolla Province-North Chungcheong Province-North Gyeongsang Province BorderNorth Gyeongsang Province - Passing just south of Gumipassing just north of Daegu-Palgong Mountain North Gyeongsang Province-