Sydney to Hawaii

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Sydney
Australia

Sydney, Australia's historic city

START
New
Caledonia

New Caledonia

2hrs 35mins
1,950km
Vanuatu

Vanuatu

3hrs 30mins 2,461km
Tuvalu

Tuvalu

6 hours
4,013km
Phoenix Is.
Kiribati

Phoenix Islands, Republic of Kiribati

7hrs 10mins
5,165km
The
Equator

The Equator

7hrs 30mins
5,477km
Line Islands
USA/Kiribati

Line Islands, United States of America and Republic of Kiribati

8 hours
6,625km
Hawaii
USA

Hawaii, USA

9hrs 45mins
8,180km

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Line Islands, United States of America and Republic of Kiribati

Eleven islands make up the Line Islands chain; three are part of the United States Minor Outlying Islands, while the rest are part of the nation of Kiribati.

The Kiribati Line Islands are the world’s farthest forward time zone, welcoming a new day 14 hours before Greenwich Mean Time.

The International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean is necessary for marking where one day on Earth ends and a new one starts.

The Line Islands stretch for more than 2,350km across the central Pacific Ocean, making it one of the longest island chains in the world.

The northern Line Islands are known to be among the most pristine coral reefs in the world and are protected Pacific Islands Marine National Monuments.

Kingman Reef is home to some of the oldest deep water corals ever observed; some colonies of gold coral are estimated to be 5,000 years old.

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Flying at 13,000m - The International Date Line

The International Date Line deviates dramatically at the Kiribati Line Islands, as Kiribiti wish to keep their whole country in the same day, west of the date line.

The sign at Greenwich Royal Observatory marking the Prime Meridian where Greenwich Mean Time and Coordinated Universal Time start.

This diagram shows how the day changes at the International Date Line, marked here in in red.

A laser shines from the Greenwich Royal Observatory to mark the Prime Meridian Line.

Map showing the time zone lines clearly running parallel from Greenwich Mean Time. Some lines deviate to accommodate large or spread out countries such as Russia and Kiribati.

The clock at Greenwich Royal Observatory displays Greenwich Mean Time. This is the time from which the rest of the world calculates its time zones.

The International Date Line zigzags between Russia and Alaska to keep each region in the same time zone.

World map showing each of the different time zones, including daylight savings time, in different colours. Note that the zones do not always follow straight lines.

A sign in Fiji marks the 180° meridian, the exact opposite of the Prime Meridian. The International Date Line should follow this line, but deviates so as not to separate countries into different days.

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Flying at 6,000m - Coral atolls

Tabuaeran Reef, or Fanning Island, displays the classic atoll shape, formed around the cone of a volcano.

A map showing the names of the Line Islands. Those shown in bold are part of Kiribati, while Kingman, Palmyra and Jarvis Island are part of the United States Minor Outlying Islands.

Kiritimati, or Christmas Island, is the largest coral atoll in the world. It is larger than the Mediterranean island of Malta.

Flint Island is the most southerly of the Line Islands, some 2,350km south of Kingman Reef.

Vostok Island is part of the Southern Line Islands of Kiribati, formed of coral reefs in the same way as its neighbours.

It is thought that atolls are formed when coral reefs form around the flanks of volcanoes at sea. As the volcano becomes less active, the coral continues to grow resulting in a circular reef around a shallow lagoon.

Starbuck Island is part of the Central Line Islands of Kiribati. It is one of the smaller Line Islands.

Malden Island is another uninhabited Line Island, belonging to Kiribati.

A diagram showing the outline of a coral reef. Coral is built by sea organisms called polyps that prefer to live in shallow water and build limestone ‘walls’ to protect themselves from sea currents and predators.

Jarvis Island is one of the three Line Islands to belong to the United States. Unusually, Jarvis Island's central lagoon is dry.

Teraina, or Washington Island, is unusual among the Line Islands as it has a large freshwater lake at its centre instead of a salt-water lagoon. This is the dark brown area on this satellite image.

Millennium Island is one of the Southern Line Islands of Kiribati. Like the other Line Islands, it was formed by coral reefs growing around shrinking volcano peaks.

Map showing the world's coral reef locations. The Line Islands are visible to the south of Hawaii on the left of the map.

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Flying at sea level - Marine National Monuments

Kingman Reef has no permanent land and is almost completely submerged at high tide.

Palmyra Atoll is densely forested and provides habitats for large numbers of Pacific bird and mammal species.

Pisonia grandis forests are important for nesting sea birds. Palmyra Atoll contains some of the best examples of these forests in the world.

One of many tropical islets that make up Palmyra Atoll.

Palmyra Atoll from space. This atoll comprises of many smaller reefs joined together around a central lagoon.

Giant clams can weigh more than 200 kilograms and be over a metre across.

Palmyra Atoll differs from Kingman Reef as it has permanent land which allows vegetation to grow.

Kingman Reef has three times the number of coral species found on Hawaii's main islands, making it one of the world's most diverse coral environments.

Palm tree forests cover Palmyra Atoll and its surrounding islets, as well as the important Pisonia grandis forests.

Kingman Reef contains huge diversity of coral species and marine life which are protected by the US National Park Service.

Kingman Reef is home to one of the highest densities of giant clams in the world.

Palmyra Atoll is covered in forest, providing important nesting sites for several species of sea birds.

Palmyra Atoll is home to the world's third-largest colony of red-footed boobys, which come here to nest in the island's mature forests.

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© 2013 Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)