title: 172nd meridian west
text: # 172nd meridian west
  
  The meridian 172° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, Asia, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole.
  
  The 172nd meridian west forms a great circle with the 8th meridian east.
  
  ## From Pole to Pole
  
  Starting at the North Pole and heading south to the South Pole, the 172nd meridian west passes through:
  
      Co-ordinates Country, territory or sea Notes 90°0′N 172°0′W﻿ / ﻿90.000°N 172.000°W﻿ / 90.000; -172.000﻿ (Arctic Ocean) Arctic Ocean 71°49′N 172°0′W﻿ / ﻿71.817°N 172.000°W﻿ / 71.817; -172.000﻿ (Chukchi Sea) Chukchi Sea 66°57′N 172°0′W﻿ / ﻿66.950°N 172.000°W﻿ / 66.950; -172.000﻿ (Russia)  Russia Chukotka Autonomous Okrug — Chukchi Peninsula 65°28′N 172°0′W﻿ / ﻿65.467°N 172.000°W﻿ / 65.467; -172.000﻿ (Bering Sea) Bering Sea Passing just east of Arakamchechen Island, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia (at 64°45′N 172°3′W﻿ / ﻿64.750°N 172.050°W﻿ / 64.750; -172.050﻿ (Arakamchechen Island)) Passing just east of Cape Chaplino, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia (at 64°24′N 172°13′W﻿ / ﻿64.400°N 172.217°W﻿ / 64.400; -172.217﻿ (Cape Chaplino)) Passing just west of St. Lawrence Island, Alaska, United States (at 63°29′N 171°51′W﻿ / ﻿63.483°N 171.850°W﻿ / 63.483; -171.850﻿ (St. Lawrence Island)) Passing just east of St. Matthew Island, Alaska, United States (at 60°19′N 172°12′W﻿ / ﻿60.317°N 172.200°W﻿ / 60.317; -172.200﻿ (St. Matthew Island)) Passing just east of Seguam Island, Alaska, United States (at 52°20′N 172°17′W﻿ / ﻿52.333°N 172.283°W﻿ / 52.333; -172.283﻿ (Seguam Island)) 52°22′N 172°0′W﻿ / ﻿52.367°N 172.000°W﻿ / 52.367; -172.000﻿ (Pacific Ocean) Pacific Ocean Passing just west of the island of Laysan, Hawaii, United States (at 25°46′N 171°43′W﻿ / ﻿25.767°N 171.717°W﻿ / 25.767; -171.717﻿ (Laysan)) Passing just west of Kanton Island, Kiribati (at 2°46′S 171°43′W﻿ / ﻿2.767°S 171.717°W﻿ / -2.767; -171.717﻿ (Kanton Island)) Passing just east of Orona atoll, Kiribati (at 4°30′S 172°8′W﻿ / ﻿4.500°S 172.133°W﻿ / -4.500; -172.133﻿ (Orona)) Passing just west of Nukunonu atoll, Tokelau (at 9°7′S 171°52′W﻿ / ﻿9.117°S 171.867°W﻿ / -9.117; -171.867﻿ (Nukunonu)) Passing just east of the island of Savai'i, Samoa (at 13°39′S 172°10′W﻿ / ﻿13.650°S 172.167°W﻿ / -13.650; -172.167﻿ (Savai'i)) 13°49′S 172°0′W﻿ / ﻿13.817°S 172.000°W﻿ / -13.817; -172.000﻿ (Samoa)  Samoa Island of Upolu 13°55′S 172°0′W﻿ / ﻿13.917°S 172.000°W﻿ / -13.917; -172.000﻿ (Pacific Ocean) Pacific Ocean 60°0′S 172°0′W﻿ / ﻿60.000°S 172.000°W﻿ / -60.000; -172.000﻿ (Southern Ocean) Southern Ocean 78°28′S 172°0′W﻿ / ﻿78.467°S 172.000°W﻿ / -78.467; -172.000﻿ (Antarctica) Antarctica Ross Dependency, claimed by New Zealand
  