72°

72nd parallel south

The 72nd parallel south is a circle of latitude that is 72 degrees south of the Earth's equatorial plane in the Antarctic. The parallel passes through the Southern Ocean and Antarctica.

This is the parallel where twilight/nighttime boundary on the equinoxes.

Around the world

Starting at the Prime Meridian and heading eastwards, the parallel 72° south passes through:

Co-ordinates	Continent or ocean	Notes
72°0′S 0°0′E / 72.000°S 0.000°E / -72.000; 0.000 (Prime Meridian)	Antarctica	Queen Maud Land, claimed by  Norway
72°0′S 45°0′E / 72.000°S 45.000°E / -72.000; 45.000		Western Australian Antarctic Territory, claimed by  Australia
72°0′S 136°0′E / 72.000°S 136.000°E / -72.000; 136.000		Adélie Land, claimed by  France
72°0′S 142°0′E / 72.000°S 142.000°E / -72.000; 142.000		Eastern Australian Antarctic Territory, claimed by  Australia
72°0′S 160°0′E / 72.000°S 160.000°E / -72.000; 160.000		Ross Dependency, claimed by  New Zealand
72°0′S 170°38′E / 72.000°S 170.633°E / -72.000; 170.633 (Southern Ocean)	Southern Ocean	Ross Sea, south of the Pacific Ocean
72°0′S 102°15′W / 72.000°S 102.250°W / -72.000; -102.250	Antarctica	Thurston Island, off coast Ellsworth Land, unclaimed territory
72°0′S 95°36′W / 72.000°S 95.600°W / -72.000; -95.600 (Southern Ocean)	Southern Ocean	Bellingshausen Sea, south of the Pacific Ocean
72°0′S 74°21′W / 72.000°S 74.350°W / -72.000; -74.350 (Antarctica)	Antarctica	Alexander Island and Antarctic Peninsula - claimed by  Argentina,  Chile and  United Kingdom (overlapping claims)
72°0′S 60°5′W / 72.000°S 60.083°W / -72.000; -60.083 (Southern Ocean)	Southern Ocean	Weddell Sea, south of the Atlantic Ocean
72°0′S 14°33′W / 72.000°S 14.550°W / -72.000; -14.550 (Antarctica)	Antarctica	Queen Maud Land, claimed by  Norway