Halfway between San Francisco and Tokyo
The midpoint of the shortest route between San Francisco and Tokyo is over the North Pacific Ocean.
- Midpoint coordinates
- 48.638° N 172.260° W
- Great-circle distance
- 8,272km
- 5,140 mi
- Approx. flight time
- 10h 14min
- at 850 km/h, plus 30 min
- Initial heading
- 303°
- from San Francisco, true north
- Nearest large city
- Anchorage
- United States · 1,981 km
- Shortest route (great circle)
- Straight line on a flat map
- True midpoint
- Where the flat map puts it
Flat-map illusion
Flat-map error
1,326km
On a Mercator map, the middle of the straight line between these cities is 1,326 km away from the true midpoint. The shortest route curves toward the pole.
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