The International Date Line is an imaginary line lying roughly opposite to the Prime Meridian; the time difference on both sides of the date line is 24 hours. The line corresponds with 1800 longitude lying roughly in the middle of the Pacific Ocean; if one travels from the western side of the line to the eastern side, one gains an entire day and accordingly if one travels from the eastern side to the western one loses 24 hours.
A number of countries lie along the date line with the majority being groups of islands; the International Date Line in order to avoid the confusion of a different time zone spanning a whole day in the same country bypasses any landforms that may fall in its path. In the northern part the line deviates slightly from its path to avoid the State of Alaska to its east and Russia to its west, the Kiribati group of islands lie in the path of the line and it makes a significant detour in this part, Samoa lies to its east while Tonga lies to its west; New Zealand lies to the West of the date line.
A number of countries lie along the date line with the majority being groups of islands; the International Date Line in order to avoid the confusion of a different time zone spanning a whole day in the same country bypasses any landforms that may fall in its path. In the northern part the line deviates slightly from its path to avoid the State of Alaska to its east and Russia to its west, the Kiribati group of islands lie in the path of the line and it makes a significant detour in this part, Samoa lies to its east while Tonga lies to its west; New Zealand lies to the West of the date line.
