# 100th meridian west

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The meridian 100° west of the Prime Meridian of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, North America, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole. The 100th meridian west forms a great circle with the 80th meridian east.
In the United States, this meridian roughly marks the boundary between the semi-arid climate in the west and the humid continental and humid subtropical climates in the east and is used as shorthand to refer to that arid-humid boundary.
The meridian coincides with the approximate center of the continental United States, and is featured prominently on the cover of the Charter of the United Nations.

## From Pole to Pole

Starting at the North Pole and heading south to the South Pole, the 100th meridian west passes through:
    Co-ordinates Country, territory or sea Notes 90°0′N 100°0′W﻿ / ﻿90.000°N 100.000°W﻿ / 90.000; -100.000﻿ (Arctic Ocean) Arctic Ocean 80°6′N 100°0′W﻿ / ﻿80.100°N 100.000°W﻿ / 80.100; -100.000﻿ (Canada)  Canada Nunavut — Meighen Island 79°52′N 100°0′W﻿ / ﻿79.867°N 100.000°W﻿ / 79.867; -100.000﻿ (Peary Channel) Peary Channel 78°44′N 100°0′W﻿ / ﻿78.733°N 100.000°W﻿ / 78.733; -100.000﻿ (Canada)  Canada Nunavut — Ellef Ringnes Island 77°48′N 100°0′W﻿ / ﻿77.800°N 100.000°W﻿ / 77.800; -100.000 Unnamed waterbody 76°45′N 100°0′W﻿ / ﻿76.750°N 100.000°W﻿ / 76.750; -100.000﻿ (Canada)  Canada Nunavut — Berkeley Islands and Bathurst Island 74°59′N 100°0′W﻿ / ﻿74.983°N 100.000°W﻿ / 74.983; -100.000﻿ (Parry Channel) Parry Channel 73°57′N 100°0′W﻿ / ﻿73.950°N 100.000°W﻿ / 73.950; -100.000﻿ (Canada)  Canada Nunavut — Prince of Wales Island 71°52′N 100°0′W﻿ / ﻿71.867°N 100.000°W﻿ / 71.867; -100.000﻿ (M'Clintock Channel) M'Clintock Channel 70°35′N 100°0′W﻿ / ﻿70.583°N 100.000°W﻿ / 70.583; -100.000﻿ (Larsen Sound) Larsen Sound Passing just east of Gateshead Island, Nunavut, Canada (at 70°35′N 100°9′W﻿ / ﻿70.583°N 100.150°W﻿ / 70.583; -100.150﻿ (Gateshead Island)) 69°58′N 100°0′W﻿ / ﻿69.967°N 100.000°W﻿ / 69.967; -100.000﻿ (Victoria Strait) Victoria Strait 69°3′N 100°0′W﻿ / ﻿69.050°N 100.000°W﻿ / 69.050; -100.000﻿ (Canada)  Canada Nunavut — Royal Geographical Society Islands 68°57′N 100°0′W﻿ / ﻿68.950°N 100.000°W﻿ / 68.950; -100.000﻿ (Queen Maud Gulf) Queen Maud Gulf Passing just east of Hat Island, Nunavut, Canada (at 68°18′N 100°2′W﻿ / ﻿68.300°N 100.033°W﻿ / 68.300; -100.033﻿ (Hat Island)) 67°50′N 100°0′W﻿ / ﻿67.833°N 100.000°W﻿ / 67.833; -100.000﻿ (Canada)  Canada Nunavut Manitoba — from 60°0′N 100°0′W﻿ / ﻿60.000°N 100.000°W﻿ / 60.000; -100.000﻿ (Manitoba), passing just west of Brandon 49°0′N 100°0′W﻿ / ﻿49.000°N 100.000°W﻿ / 49.000; -100.000﻿ (United States (North Dakota))  United States North Dakota South Dakota — from 45°56′N 100°0′W﻿ / ﻿45.933°N 100.000°W﻿ / 45.933; -100.000﻿ (South Dakota) Nebraska — from 43°0′N 100°0′W﻿ / ﻿43.000°N 100.000°W﻿ / 43.000; -100.000﻿ (Nebraska) Kansas — from 40°0′N 100°0′W﻿ / ﻿40.000°N 100.000°W﻿ / 40.000; -100.000﻿ (Kansas) Oklahoma — from 37°0′N 100°0′W﻿ / ﻿37.000°N 100.000°W﻿ / 37.000; -100.000﻿ (Oklahoma) Texas / Oklahoma border — from 36°30′N 100°0′W﻿ / ﻿36.500°N 100.000°W﻿ / 36.500; -100.000﻿ (Texas / Oklahoma border) Texas — from 34°34′N 100°0′W﻿ / ﻿34.567°N 100.000°W﻿ / 34.567; -100.000﻿ (Texas) 28°0′N 100°0′W﻿ / ﻿28.000°N 100.000°W﻿ / 28.000; -100.000﻿ (Mexico)  Mexico Coahuila Nuevo León — from 27°37′N 100°0′W﻿ / ﻿27.617°N 100.000°W﻿ / 27.617; -100.000﻿ (Nuevo León) Tamaulipas — from 23°24′N 100°0′W﻿ / ﻿23.400°N 100.000°W﻿ / 23.400; -100.000﻿ (Tamaulipas) San Luis Potosí — from 23°10′N 100°0′W﻿ / ﻿23.167°N 100.000°W﻿ / 23.167; -100.000﻿ (San Luis Potosí) Tamaulipas — from 22°54′N 100°0′W﻿ / ﻿22.900°N 100.000°W﻿ / 22.900; -100.000﻿ (Tamaulipas) San Luis Potosí — from 22°50′N 100°0′W﻿ / ﻿22.833°N 100.000°W﻿ / 22.833; -100.000﻿ (San Luis Potosí) Guanajuato — from 21°30′N 100°0′W﻿ / ﻿21.500°N 100.000°W﻿ / 21.500; -100.000﻿ (Guanajuato) Querétaro — from 21°12′N 100°0′W﻿ / ﻿21.200°N 100.000°W﻿ / 21.200; -100.000﻿ (Querétaro) State of Mexico — from 20°6′N 100°0′W﻿ / ﻿20.100°N 100.000°W﻿ / 20.100; -100.000﻿ (State of Mexico) Guerrero — from 18°35′N 100°0′W﻿ / ﻿18.583°N 100.000°W﻿ / 18.583; -100.000﻿ (Guerro), passing just west of Acapulco 16°54′N 100°0′W﻿ / ﻿16.900°N 100.000°W﻿ / 16.900; -100.000﻿ (Pacific Ocean) Pacific Ocean 60°0′S 100°0′W﻿ / ﻿60.000°S 100.000°W﻿ / -60.000; -100.000﻿ (Southern Ocean) Southern Ocean 71°55′S 100°0′W﻿ / ﻿71.917°S 100.000°W﻿ / -71.917; -100.000﻿ (Antarctica) Antarctica Unclaimed territory

## United States

In the United States the meridian 100° west of Greenwich forms the eastern border of the Texas panhandle with Oklahoma (which traces its origin to the Adams-Onís Treaty in 1819 which settled the border between New Spain and the United States between the Red River and Arkansas River). Dodge City, Kansas lies exactly at the intersection of the Arkansas River and the 100th meridian.
As first noted by John Wesley Powell in the 1870s, there is a big difference in rainfall by the different sides of the meridian. In the central Great Plains, it roughly marks the western boundary of the normal reach of moist air from the Gulf of Mexico, and the approximate boundary (although some areas do push the boundary slightly farther east) between the semi-arid climate to the west and the humid continental (north of about 37°N) and humid subtropical (south of about 37°N) climates to the east. West of the meridian, raising livestock is much more economically important than east of it, and what agriculture does exist relies heavily on irrigation. Historically, the meridian has often been taken as a rough boundary between the eastern and western United States. White settlement, spreading westward after the American Civil War, settled the area around this meridian during the 1870s.
A sign across U.S. Highway 30 in Cozad, Nebraska, marks the place where the 100th meridian intersects with the routes of the Oregon Trail, Pony Express, transcontinental railroad, and the Lincoln Highway.

## In popular culture

The song "At the Hundredth Meridian" by The Tragically Hip is about the 100th meridian west, specifically in Canada, and how it has traditionally been considered "where the Great Plains begin."
| Next westward: 101st meridian west | 100th meridian west forms a great circle with 80th meridian east | Next eastward: 99th meridian west |