The 45th parallel north is a circle of latitude that is 45 degrees north of Earth's equator. It crosses Europe, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, North America, and the Atlantic Ocean. The 45th parallel north is often called the halfway point between the equator and the North Pole, but the true halfway point is north of it (approximately between 45°08'36" and 45°08'37") because Earth is an oblate spheroid; that is, it bulges at the equator and is flattened at the poles. At this latitude, the sun is visible for 15 hours 37 minutes during the summer solstice, and 8 hours 46 minutes during the winter solstice. The midday Sun stands 21.6° above the southern horizon at the December solstice, 68.4° at the June solstice, and exactly 45.0° at either equinox. Around the world Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the parallel 45° north passes through: {| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="width: 67%;" ! scope="col" width="125" | Co-ordinates ! scope="col" | Country, territoryor sea ! scope="col" | Notes |-valign="top" | ! scope="row" | | Aquitaine Midi-Pyrénées Limousin Auvergne Rhône-Alpes – passing just south of Grenoble Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur |-valign="top" | ! scope="row" | | Piedmont – passing just south of Turin Lombardy - passing by Voghera Emilia-Romagna – passing just south of Piacenza Lombardy Veneto – passing just south of Rovigo |- | style="background:#b0e0e6;" | ! scope="row" style="background:#b0e0e6;" | Adriatic Sea | style="background:#b0e0e6;" | Gulf of Venice |-valign="top" | ! scope="row" | | Istrian Peninsula, islands of Cres and Krk, and the mainland again |- | ! scope="row" | | |- | ! scope="row" | | |-valign="top" | ! scope="row" | | Passing through the centre of Ruma and through northern part of Sremska MitrovicaPassing through the northern edge of Stara Pazova, 30 kilometres NW of Belgrade |- | ! scope="row" | | Passing just north of Ploiești and just south of Târgu Jiu and Râmnicu Vâlcea |- | style="background:#b0e0e6;" | ! scope="row" style="background:#b0e0e6;" | Black Sea | style="background:#b0e0e6;" | |-valign="top" | ! scope="row" | Crimea | Controlled by , claimed by – passing just north of Simferopol, and just south of Feodosiya |- | style="background:#b0e0e6;" | ! scope="row" style="background:#b0e0e6;" | Black Sea | style="background:#b0e0e6;" | |- | ! scope="row" | | Passing just south of Krasnodar, and just south of Stavropol |- | style="background:#b0e0e6;" | ! scope="row" style="background:#b0e0e6;" | Caspian Sea | style="background:#b0e0e6;" | |- | ! scope="row" | | Mangystau Province