What is the International Date Line and why is it not straight?
It goes zig-zag. In order to avoid the confusion of having different dates in the same country, the International Date Line bends and goes zig zag at the Bering Strait between Siberia and Alaska, Fiji, Tonga and in some other islands.
What does a date line mean?
1 : a line in a written document or a printed publication giving the date and place of composition or issue. 2 usually Date line or date line : international date line. Other Words from dateline Example Sentences Learn More About dateline.
What is the International Date Line and why is it called that?
The International Date Line is located halfway around the world from the prime meridian (0° longitude) or about 180° east (or west) of Greenwich, London, UK, the reference point of time zones. It is also known as the line of demarcation.
Why is the International Date Line so important?
The International Date Line prevents the date from being uncoordinated with the real calendar . If you cross the IDL during travel while you’re moving in an easterly direction, you must subtract a day, but if you cross the date line moving in the opposite direction – west – then you must add a day.
Does the International Date Line make you gain a day?
Thus, the 180-degree line of longitude, exactly one-half way around the planet from Greenwich, England (at 0 degrees longitude ), is approximately where the international date line is located. Cross the line from the east to the west, and you gain a day . Cross from west to the east, and you lose a day .
What happens once you pass the International Date Line?
When you cross the International Date Line from west to east, you subtract a day , and if you cross the line from east to west, you add a day . Depending on which time zone the country follows, the time difference on either side of the line is not always 24 hours.