Antipode map
Tunnel straight through the centre of the Earth: where would you come out? Find the exact opposite point of any place.
40.4000°, -3.6834° · Europe/Madrid
176° 18′ 59.8″ E
How to calculate an antipode
Two rules: flip the latitude’s sign (40.4° N becomes 40.4° S) and move the longitude 180° (3.68° W becomes 176.32° E). If the longitude is west, add 180 and make it east; if east, subtract 180 and make it west.
Because the planet is about 71% water, most antipodes land in the ocean. The biggest land-to-land overlap is South America with East and South-East Asia: much of Argentina and Chile sits opposite China and Mongolia. Spain and Portugal sit opposite New Zealand.
Your antipode has the opposite season and, roughly, the opposite time of day: when it is noon at home it is close to midnight there.
Frequently asked questions
What is an antipode?
The point on the Earth’s surface diametrically opposite another: dig a straight line through the centre of the Earth and you come out at the antipode. It is found by flipping the sign of the latitude and moving the longitude by 180°.
If I dig through the Earth from the US, where do I end up?
For almost all of the contiguous United States, in the southern Indian Ocean, south-west of Australia. Only about 4% of land has land at its antipode.
Which cities are near-antipodes?
Well-known pairs include Madrid and Wellington (New Zealand), and Hong Kong and La Quiaca (Argentina). Christchurch and A Coruña, Spain, are famously close to antipodal.
How far away is the antipode?
About 20,000 km over the surface in any direction: half the Earth’s circumference. Straight through the centre it is about 12,742 km, the Earth’s diameter.