Hacker News

Favorites Setup
Comment by OscarCunningham | original | Longest Straight Line Paths on Water or Land on the Earth (2018)
[−]OscarCunningham · 2026-08-30 Sun 10:02 UTC · link
There's a longer land path that starts in or near Senegal and ends in China. But they miss it because it goes near the Dead Sea, and they treat anything below sea level as water.
[−]cubefox · 2026-08-30 Sun 11:14 UTC · link
That would an interesting finding!
[−]Anduia · 2026-08-30 Sun 12:06 UTC · link
If you are talking about the trail from Cape Town to Vladivostok, that one is not a straight line.
[−]evanb · 2026-08-30 Sun 12:33 UTC · link
They aren't, as clicking through on a sibling's link demonstrates. Moreover, Senegal is nowhere near Cape Town.
[−]ahazred8ta · 2026-08-30 Sun 16:18 UTC · link
In passing, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Salopek is walking from Ethiopia to Tierra del Fuego, tracing the path of human migration out of Africa. Walking the coast, not a straight line.
[−]maratc · 2026-08-30 Sun 12:11 UTC · link
Indeed, this route would be about 13,250 km, or about 2,000 km longer than the one TLA suggests.

http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=10%B0+24%27+41.4%22+N,+14%B0+31...

Or, using nearby airports: https://www.greatcirclemap.com/?routes=gucy-vmmc

[−]khaled_ismaeel · 2026-08-30 Sun 13:04 UTC · link
It seems like that path crosses the Suez canal. I think it's fair that bridges and/or tunnels don't count.
[−]Vvector · 2026-08-30 Sun 13:37 UTC · link
I'm confident that the Land Paths need bridges to cross the numerous rivers along the route. You need a different qualifier.
[−]OscarCunningham · 2026-08-30 Sun 15:39 UTC · link
The one they give also crosses numerous rivers and lakes. For the strict version of the challenge where you literally can't cross water it's likely that the best solution is across Antarctica. Guaranteed by temperature to contain no water whatsoever.
[−]hidroto · 2026-08-30 Sun 15:53 UTC · link
technically Antarctica is covered in (solid) water.

"technically incorrect the worst kind of incorrect".