West Head - Easternmost Point of South Island

Easternmost Point of South Island

West Head, at the entrance to Tory Channel, is the easternmost point of the South Island. However, two other distinct headlands have very similar longitudes, sometimes leading to confusion and erroneous claims.

West Head, at the entrance to Tory Channel, is recorded by Land Information New Zealand as longitude 174.3154°E, and the easternmost tip is measured at 174.3157°E (174°18'57"E).

Cape Jackson, LINZ longitude 174.3134°E, easternmost tip measured at 174.3150°E (174°18'54"E), is about 100 metres further west.

Both West Head and Cape Jackson are at the end of long, narrow and difficult-to-reach peninsulas in the Marlborough Sounds. For this reason third-place Cape Campbell, LINZ longitude 174.2760°E, easternmost tip 174.2773°E (174°16'34") is sometimes mistakenly considered the easternmost point, but is about three kilometres further west.

Note that LINZ coordinates may refer to a prominent feature such as a hill top, while easternmost tips are measured on Wikimapia. There may also be discrepancies between coordinate systems used by different sources.

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