The point on the exact opposite side of the Earth from a given location. Draw a straight line from your location through the centre of the Earth, and where it exits the surface is the antipode.

How do I calculate an antipode?

Flip the sign of the latitude and add or subtract 180° from the longitude, wrapping the result into the -180 to 180 range. A latitude of 51.5°N becomes 51.5°S.

Why are most antipodes in the ocean?

Because about 71% of the planet is ocean. The land is unevenly distributed, so most landmasses face water on the other side of the globe.

Is the antipode of a place always habitable land?

No, and usually it is not land at all. Most antipodes fall in the Pacific, Atlantic, or Indian Ocean.

How far away is my antipode?

About 20,015 km along the surface, in any direction. It is the farthest point on Earth from where you are, which is why a great-circle route to it can leave in any direction.

Can I tunnel to my antipode?

Only in theory. The line passes through the mantle and core, where temperatures exceed 5,000°C, so no material could survive the trip.

Does the antipode change over time?

No. Antipodes are fixed by geometry and do not move. Tectonic drift changes coordinates over millions of years, but nothing you would notice.

What is the antipode of the North Pole?

The South Pole. The poles are antipodal to each other, which is the one pair where the answer is obvious without calculating.

Why does the map draw a curved line between the two points?

Because a straight line through the Earth cannot be drawn on a flat map. The curve shows the great-circle path along the surface, which is what a traveller would actually follow.

Is this the same as the farthest point from me?

Yes. The antipode is by definition the farthest point on the surface from your location.

Antipode Finder

Quick answer: Click any point on the map and this tool shows its antipode — the place on the exact opposite side of the Earth. Both points are marked, with the distance between them.

How to use antipode finder

Find a city, enter latitude, longitude, or try Auckland.
The blue point is your location; the orange point is its antipode.
Copy the coordinate result or download GeoJSON to use both points in a GIS workflow.

Worked example

Input: Auckland: 36.8485°S, 174.7633°E
Expected result: Antipode: 36.8485°N, 5.2367°W, in southern Spain.

Negate latitude; shift longitude by 180° and wrap it to −180°…180°. Negating longitude alone produces a different location.

Calculation method and accuracy

The antipode transformation is latitude₂ = −latitude₁ and longitude₂ = wrap(longitude₁ + 180°). With mean Earth radius 6,371.0088 km, the surface distance is πR ≈ 20,015.1 km; the straight distance through the center is 2R ≈ 12,742.0 km. The drawn arc is one of infinitely many equally short surface paths.

Common mistakes and edge cases

The surface distance is half the circumference, not half of the great-circle distance returned by a distance function.
An exact antipodal pair has no unique initial bearing or unique surface midpoint.
An ocean result is normal. The mathematical point is not necessarily an accessible destination.

Sources and verification

Reviewed by GeoDataViewer · 2026-09-22. Examples are rounded; the interactive result uses your selected inputs.

What an antipode is

Every point on Earth has exactly one antipode: the point diametrically opposite it. To find it, flip the latitude's sign and shift the longitude by 180°. A point at 40°N 74°W has its antipode at 40°S 106°E.

The longitude shift is the part people get wrong. Simply negating the longitude lands you on the mirror image across the prime meridian, which is a different place entirely — often on the same continent.

Why most antipodes are in the ocean

Roughly 71% of the Earth's surface is water, so most land has an antipode in the sea. The useful consequence is that very few pairs of inhabited places are antipodal to each other.

The best-known land-to-land antipodes are pairs like Spain and New Zealand, or Argentina and China. If you are looking for a place exactly opposite your own and it comes back as open ocean, that is the normal result, not an error.

Going straight down

A line drawn from a point to its antipode passes through the centre of the Earth. Its length is the Earth's diameter — about 12,742 km through the centre, or 20,015 km if you travel along the surface.

Limitations to keep in mind

The opposite coordinate is obtained by symmetry. Surface-distance estimates use a mean-radius sphere; ellipsoidal distances differ slightly. The displayed connecting arc is illustrative because antipodes have no unique shortest surface route.

Related tools

Crow-flies distanceStraight-line distance between any two points.
Bearing calculatorCompass bearing from one point to another.
Halfway pointThe great-circle midpoint between two places.
Horizon distanceHow far you can see from a given height.
Geographic centreThe centre of several points you pick.

Frequently asked questions

What is an antipode?: The point on the exact opposite side of the Earth from a given location. Draw a straight line from your location through the centre of the Earth, and where it exits the surface is the antipode.
How do I calculate an antipode?: Flip the sign of the latitude and add or subtract 180° from the longitude, wrapping the result into the -180 to 180 range. A latitude of 51.5°N becomes 51.5°S.
Why are most antipodes in the ocean?: Because about 71% of the planet is ocean. The land is unevenly distributed, so most landmasses face water on the other side of the globe.
Is the antipode of a place always habitable land?: No, and usually it is not land at all. Most antipodes fall in the Pacific, Atlantic, or Indian Ocean.
How far away is my antipode?: About 20,015 km along the surface, in any direction. It is the farthest point on Earth from where you are, which is why a great-circle route to it can leave in any direction.
Can I tunnel to my antipode?: Only in theory. The line passes through the mantle and core, where temperatures exceed 5,000°C, so no material could survive the trip.
Does the antipode change over time?: No. Antipodes are fixed by geometry and do not move. Tectonic drift changes coordinates over millions of years, but nothing you would notice.
What is the antipode of the North Pole?: The South Pole. The poles are antipodal to each other, which is the one pair where the answer is obvious without calculating.
Why does the map draw a curved line between the two points?: Because a straight line through the Earth cannot be drawn on a flat map. The curve shows the great-circle path along the surface, which is what a traveller would actually follow.
Is this the same as the farthest point from me?: Yes. The antipode is by definition the farthest point on the surface from your location.