# What's the longest distance between two cities **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [December 4, 2003, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-distance-between-two-cities/216859 "2003-12-04T03:24:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-distance-between-two-cities/216859/1 "2003-12-04T03:24:50Z")
I don’t think you would consider the research stations at the South Pole since they are run by various government agencies (are there any privately owned?). If would have to be a place the average Joe could visit. If you assume the circumference of the earth is about 25,000 miles, the maximum could be about 12,500 miles. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-distance-between-two-cities/216859/2 "2003-12-04T03:29:17Z")
And the question is…? ---
**Author:** ![Padeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@Padeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Padeye)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 3:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-distance-between-two-cities/216859/3 "2003-12-04T03:34:47Z")
You pretty much answered your own question. There are plenty of populated places on earth that are antipodal to each other. Little point in considering the south pole since the antipodal points are all near the north pole. ---
**Author:** ![Ale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@Ale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ale)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-distance-between-two-cities/216859/4 "2003-12-04T03:42:29Z")
But, getting really annoying at it; since the Earth is not a perfect sphere, there has to be a pair of cities that are farther away than any other pair, correct? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-distance-between-two-cities/216859/5 "2003-12-04T03:44:55Z")
Perth is a Canadian town of several thousand people on Highway 7 west of Ottawa. Its antipodal point is in the Indian Ocean. The nearest large city to this point is Perth, Australia. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-distance-between-two-cities/216859/6 "2003-12-04T03:47:39Z")
I think the longest distance between two major cities is from Buenos Aires to Beijing. It’s over 11,000 miles. ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-distance-between-two-cities/216859/7 "2003-12-04T04:08:26Z")
> [@](#): > > If you assume the circumference of the earth is about 25,000 miles, the maximum could be about 12,500 miles. Only if you limit yourself to taking a great circle route. A random walk algorithm for example, could easily allow you to log 125,000 miles on the route between Buenos Aires and Beijing. Of course that’d be a pretty stupid way to travel. ---
**Author:** ![Boo\_Boo\_Foo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@Boo\_Boo\_Foo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boo_Boo_Foo)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-distance-between-two-cities/216859/8 "2003-12-04T04:43:39Z")
I’m tipping Perth, West Australia (bottom left hand corner of the continent) to somewhere in the upper North East of North America - perhaps Newfoundland. Certainly, in terms of plane travel, a flight from New York to Perth is just about the longest haul that I know of. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-distance-between-two-cities/216859/9 "2003-12-04T04:52:55Z")
Yeah, but it’s about 3000 miles longer than the longest ranged commercial aircraft. Check this out: [http://www.indo.com/distance/](http://www.indo.com/distance/) Buenos Aires-Beijing is 11957 miles New York-Perth is 11606 Assuming their math is correct. ---
**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-distance-between-two-cities/216859/10 "2003-12-04T05:28:14Z")
[Here](http://www.peakbagger.com/geog/worldrev.htm) is a list of approximately antipodal cities. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 5:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-distance-between-two-cities/216859/11 "2003-12-04T05:53:21Z")
I would like lay claim to my city, Edmonton, being the closest to antipodal _nothing_ - the south Indian Ocean. You are more likely to bump into someone in Antarctica than in the SEO. ---
**Author:** ![E.T.Bass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9fc29f/32.png) [@E.T.Bass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.T.Bass)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 8:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-distance-between-two-cities/216859/12 "2003-12-04T08:22:42Z")
Singapore Airlines was advertising a contest for two free tickets to fly the longest route in the world, from Los Angeles to Singapore. I would only go if the seats were firt class with a lot of booze added. Urumqi, Xinjiang, China is the city furthest from an ocean. It is also closer to Ankara, Turkey than Beijing. ET ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-distance-between-two-cities/216859/13 "2003-12-04T12:22:06Z")
Hey, cool - In February this year I was in Auckland and in June in Seville… from one one antipode to the other (or should that be “pode to antipode”? 🙂 ) in four months, according to **Q.E.D.'s** site at least! Auckland: 36:53:00S 174:45:00E Seville: 37:25:01N 5:54:00W [This site](http://www.indo.com/distance/) gives the distance between the two as 12383 miles, or 19929 km, or 10761 nautical miles. ---
**Author:** ![Scarlett67](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scarlett67/32/7387_2.png) [@Scarlett67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scarlett67)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-distance-between-two-cities/216859/14 "2003-12-04T13:06:49Z")
See now, I interpreted the OP a little differently. I thought he was asking about remote areas where you are FORCED to travel a long distance to get from a city to some/any other city, because there is nothing in between. The question reminded me of our trip into Canada a few years ago, where we had stretches where we had to make sure to use the bathroom, stock up on water/snacks, gas, etc. because it was going to be several hours before we reached facilities and civilization again. ---
**Author:** ![Hampshire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hampshire/32/4887_2.png) [@Hampshire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hampshire)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-distance-between-two-cities/216859/15 "2003-12-04T14:45:06Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by K364 \* > \*\*I would like lay claim to my city, Edmonton, being the closest to antipodal _nothing_ - the south Indian Ocean. > > You are more likely to bump into someone in Antarctica than in the SEO. \*\* In that case please DO NOT allow your children to dig in the back yard. If they happen to dig right through the earth they may drown themselves. And that would be tragic. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-distance-between-two-cities/216859/16 "2003-12-04T18:46:28Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by r\_k \* > \*\*Hey, cool - In February this year I was in Auckland and in June in Seville… from one one antipode to the other (or should that be “pode to antipode”? 🙂 ) in four months, according to **Q.E.D.'s** site at least! > > Auckland: 36:53:00S 174:45:00E > > Seville: 37:25:01N 5:54:00W > > [This site](http://www.indo.com/distance/) gives the distance between the two as 12383 miles, or 19929 km, or 10761 nautical miles. \*\* This is what I had in mind. Is there a longer one? ---
**Author:** ![SeekingTruth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/34f0e0/32.png) [@SeekingTruth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeekingTruth)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-distance-between-two-cities/216859/17 "2003-12-04T19:53:49Z")
I have to give the smart-ass response. If I walk out my front door and start walking west (assuming I’m a frigging awesome endurance swimmer) then my city is the farthest from my city. God I’m sorry, but it had to be done. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-distance-between-two-cities/216859/18 "2003-12-04T20:24:32Z")
OK, let’s see, combining the list in **Q.E.D.**'s link with the distance finder I linked to… Furthest distance first: 1. Asuncion, Paraguay, to Taipei, Taiwan: 12390 miles 2. Seville, Spain, to Auckland, New Zealand: 12383 miles 3. Bermuda to Perth, Australia: 12376 miles 4. Santiago, Chile, to Xian, China: 12374 miles 5. Timbuktu, Mali, to Nadi, Fiji: 12357 miles 6. León, Spain, to Wellington, New Zealand: 12336 miles 7. Cordoba, Argentina, to Wuhan, China: 12335 miles 8. Bahia Blanca, Argentian, to Beijing, China: 12326 miles 9. Bogota, Colombia, to Jakarta, Indonesia: 12311 miles 10. Lima, Peru, to Bangkok, Thailand: 12231 miles 11. La Coruña, Spain to Christchurch, New Zealand: 12219 miles 12. Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Shanghai, China: 12216 miles Just for reference, typing in exact antipodean co-ordinates, eg, 51:00:00N 0:00:00W and 51:00:00S 180:00:00E gives a distance of … er, -307846 miles. Think I may have stumbled on a bug there! Let’s try 51:00:00N 1:00:00W and 51:00:00S 179:00:00E… nope, still get -307846. But if you adjust one of the figures by 1 second of arc, you get an antipodal distance of 12438 miles… so there is still scope for improvement! My own guess would be somewhere in southern Spain twinned with somewhere in the North Island of New Zealand. ---
**Author:** ![Colophon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f05b48/32.png) [@Colophon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colophon)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-distance-between-two-cities/216859/19 "2003-12-04T20:42:14Z")
Leafing through my atlas I reckon I’ve found a just about exact match… let’s see: Córdoba, Spain, (37:53N 4:46W) to Hamilton, New Zealand (37:48S 175:16E) = 12420 miles Other good ones include: Jaén, Spain, (37:46N 3:47W) to Rotorua, New Zealand (38:09S 176:14E) = 12403 miles And, getting into small-town territory: Málaga, Spain, (36:43N 4:25W) to Coromandel, New Zealand (36:46S 175:30E) = 12418 miles Who says I have too much time on my hands? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2003, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-distance-between-two-cities/216859/20 "2003-12-04T22:38:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by r\_k \* > \*\*Who says I have too much time on my hands? \*\* …and I appreciate it! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-longest-distance-between-two-cities/216859.md?page=2)