Tolin's 2024 World Cruise blog posts, Day 99, Apr 17, 2024, Null Island (Soul buoy)
Null Island is the location at zero degrees latitude and zero degrees longitude ( 0°N 0°E ) i.e., where the prime meridian and the equator intersect. The name is often used in mapping software as a placeholder to help find and correct database entries that have erroneously been assigned the coordinates 0,0. Although "Null Island" started as a joke within the geospatial community, it has become a useful means of addressing a recurring issue in geographic information science . The point on the Earth's surface defined as Null Island is located in international waters in the Atlantic Ocean , roughly 370 miles off the coast of West Africa , in the Gulf of Guinea . A weather buoy , named the Soul buoy after the soul music genre, is permanently moored at the location. The nearest land to Null Island is a small islet 354 miles to the north ( 4°45′30″N 1°58′33″W ) that is part of Ghana . The nearest point on the mainland is Achowa Point betwee