The meridian 156° west 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 156th meridian west forms a great circle with the 24th meridian east.
From Pole to Pole
editStarting at the North Pole and heading south to the South Pole, the 156th meridian west passes through:
Co-ordinates Country, territory or sea Notes 90°0′N 156°0′W / 90.000°N 156.000°W Arctic Ocean 71°11′N 156°0′W / 71.183°N 156.000°W United States Alaska 57°33′N 156°0′W / 57.550°N 156.000°W Pacific Ocean Passing just west of Chirikof Island, Alaska, United States (at 55°54′N 155°33′W / 55.900°N 155.550°W) 20°48′N 156°0′W / 20.800°N 156.000°W United States Hawaii — Maui island 20°42′N 156°0′W / 20.700°N 156.000°W Pacific Ocean ʻAlenuihāhā Channel 19°49′N 156°0′W / 19.817°N 156.000°W United States Hawaii — Hawaii island 19°38′N 156°0′W / 19.633°N 156.000°W Pacific Ocean Passing just west of Starbuck Island, Kiribati (at 5°37′S 155°56′W / 5.617°S 155.933°W)
The meridian defines the eastern maritime boundary of the Cook Islands from 8°0′S 156°0′W / 8.000°S 156.000°W to 23°0′S 156°0′W / 23.000°S 156.000°W60°0′S 156°0′W / 60.000°S 156.000°W Southern Ocean 77°7′S 156°0′W / 77.117°S 156.000°W Antarctica Ross Dependency, claimed by New Zealand