Degree Confluence
visit each of the latitude and longitude integer degree intersections in the world

Confluence enthusiast Tim Vasquez explains the project: "Confluences are interesting to me because they represent randomness that emerges from strict order. It goes far beyond a silly quest for invisible man-made boundaries. The confluence latticework is an open defiance of the order our culture imposes on us, which frowns on tourists who abandon the travelled roads, the sanitized vistas, and the stops designed to conjure up dollars for empty memories. Confluences are in curious places that embrace you in their history, character, and ecology, surrounded by people who are locals in every sense of the word. You simply haven't experienced a region unless you've tried seeking out its confluences"

Mauritania : Trarza (Africa) - 18°N 16°W -- 08-Dec-2001 -- In my planning for a trip to Mauritania, I found that the country is the size of Texas and California combined, more than two-thirds of which is desert. Checking the Confluence Project web site I found as expected that out of 93 confluence points in Mauritania none had been visited, and that 18 north, 16 west was located a mere 10 kilometers south of the capital city of Nouakchott. more

Brazil : Espirito Santo - 20°S 29°W -- (this is from the captain of a cargo ship who routinely reports on confluences) There are various offshore island groups, seamounts and banks which lie in the Atlantic Ocean to the East of South America. Some of these lie in the path of some of the major ocean routes leading from Europe and Africa to South American ports.... The islands are volcanic in origin, generally steep and rocky with shoals and isolated submerged rocks surrounding them... Ilha da Trindade is a rugged, arid mass of volcanic rock which has several remarkable peaks, of which the highest is Pico Desejado with an elevation of 600 m (1,965 ft). more

Krabi, Thailand - 8°N 99°E -- About 250 m from the confluence we got to our first 'No Trespassing' sign in Thailand. While contemplating our options we saw a man walk towards us. He had seen us drive around and came to see what we wanted. We told him that we were participating in a 'game' and wanted to go to a particular spot on the map, which appeared to be located somewhere behind the fence. We asked whether we could walk onto the property. He had no problem with it and opened the gate to let us drive in. The farmer explained that this was a shrimp farm and we saw 6 very big tanks. About 180m from the confluence we had to leave the car and continue on foot. Out of the 6 tanks only one was filled with water, obviously it had to be the one with the confluence! more

New Zealand : South Island - 46°S 168°E -- Winter mud and puddles kept my two sons Jordan (11) and Kyle (9) hopping and leaping to find high ground. The course became more challenging as we entered the cow pasture, adding electric fences, fresh cow pies and large lowing bovines to the mix. As we traversed the steep pastures up to the power lines we were treated to Mr. Collie’s dry wit and colorful story telling. As he held down an electric fence for us to cross, he told my wife Alice about how the new vicar, coming to visit the neighbors and introduce himself, had inadvertently grasped one of the electric fences while leaning by a gate. "The good news", the neighbors later related, "is that he can swear as well as the rest of us!" more

Russia : Kaliningradskaya oblast' - 55°N 22°E -- Standing on this point I thought back the many many years I am now already frequently travelling to the Soviet Union and later Russia, especially I remembered the communist times, when nothing was possible, all was forbidden, Militsiya and KGB and all the other organs were real nasty people and could cause you so much trouble. Until the early 90-ies such an excursion could never have taken place. Driving around with a camera, making photos of "military secrets", as roads, railway tracks, bridges, radio masts and farmhouses would have led to immediate incarceration and quite unpleasant treatment and questions. If they found you with a GPS, you could prepare yourself to not seeing again your home and your beloved ones for the next 20 years in the most favorable case, - or if ever - what was more likely, when you ended up in a lead mine in Siberia with forced labor. An invitation to all confluence hunters: Make a crash course in Russian language, train to drink vodka in abundant quantities and then go to Russia in your next holidays! more

United Arab Emirate - 24°N 55°E -- We soon came to a point where the roads and tracks had ended and the GPS was pointing straight ahead. It was time to off road. We deflated our tyres to 17 psi to provide more ‘bite’ in the sand and set off into the dunes. After a few hundred yards it quickly became apparent that the dunes where very mountainous and the sand was not ideal. Whilst pondering our next move disaster struck! Ahmet become stuck in the soft sand and a hefty tug from Noel was required to move the stranded car. Then no sooner had we removed the first car, than the second car also became stuck! The first had been fairly easy to remove, as the car was located on a slope. However the second car was in a far worse position, in the centre of a very shallow but soft bowl. A great deal of digging, pushing and towing was needed to free the second car, and we all became quite tired in the sun. more

Germany : Sachsen - 51°N 14°E -- First confluence by wheelchair. Is confluence hunting suitable to handicapped people? Sure, if you have somebody who carries or pushes you also through the biggest bush... We went by car to Lohmen - the village closest to the confluence. But we couldn't come as near to the point as we wanted to because some redirections and working areas blocked the way through the village. more

Zhengdian, Shanghai, China - 31°N - 121°E --21-Dec-2001 -- As my friend Sam and I toured across China from Sichuan to Shanghai along the Yangtse River, we thought of perhaps finding a few confluences along the way. The actual conditions for confluence hunting were, in reality, quite difficult. China in particular is quite sensitive towards foreigners walking across their country with detailed maps and GPS equipment. Since geographic data is considered to some degree low-level classified information in China, maps were the first obstacle... Although the confluence was technically in Shanghai, it was very close to the border of the next province. Even though Shanghai encompasses a dense and modern metropolitan area, the other parts are still farmland, canals, and industrial zones. Our confluence was in the heart of farmlands crisscrossed by wide and deep irrigation canals... more