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the Degree Confluence Project
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United States : California

2.9 miles (4.7 km) W of Wheeler Ridge, Kern, CA, USA
Approx. altitude: 458 m (1502 ft)
([?] maps: Google MapQuest OpenStreetMap topo aerial ConfluenceNavigator)
Antipode: 35°S 61°E

Accuracy: 3 m (9 ft)
Quality: good

Click on any of the images for the full-sized picture.

#2: View North #3: View East (over the California Aqueduct and Interstate 5, towards the southern end of California's Central Valley) #4: View South #5: Ground cover at the confluence point - on top of a grassy ridge #6: All GPS zeros! #7: Looking down on the point from 120 m above #8: View North from 120 m above the point #9: View East from 120 m above the point #10: View South from 120 m above the point #11: View West from 120 m above the point #12: The California Aqueduct, just 0.5 miles from the point, which lies up the hills on the far right

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  35°N 119°W (visit #8)  

#1: The confluence point lies on top of this grassy ridge. (This is also a view to the West.)

(visited by Ross Finlayson)

21-Oct-2018 -- My first (and only) visit to this point was way back in December 2002, where I remember recording ‘all zeros’ for the first time. Almost 16 years later, I decided to revisit this point, to get a drone’s-eye view.

The trick to visiting this Degree Confluence Point is figuring out where/how to cross the California Aqueduct (which passes 0.5 miles southeast of the point). From Laval Road (the nearby exit off I-5), you need to get onto Dennis McCarthy Drive, the frontage road (parallel to I-5), and drive north along this until you get to 35.00862°N 118.95702°W, on Sabodan Road. From there, you turn south onto the (very rough, poorly-maintained) paved road that snakes up the hill from there. Eventually, you end up crossing the California Aqueduct at 34.99429°N 118.99276°W. A locked gate - just past the aqueduct - prevented me from driving further, but at this point, I was only 0.5 miles from the point.

A dirt road passes just 0.1 miles from the point. If you take this road all the way, you’ll end up just 40 m north of the point, but in a deep gully with a very steep hillside between you and the point. Instead, you should leave the road at 34.99770°N 118.99685°W to start hiking up a grassy ridge. The point lies near the top of this ridge.

Here is a remote-controlled aerial video of this confluence point.


 All pictures
#1: The confluence point lies on top of this grassy ridge. (This is also a view to the West.)
#2: View North
#3: View East (over the California Aqueduct and Interstate 5, towards the southern end of California's Central Valley)
#4: View South
#5: Ground cover at the confluence point - on top of a grassy ridge
#6: All GPS zeros!
#7: Looking down on the point from 120 m above
#8: View North from 120 m above the point
#9: View East from 120 m above the point
#10: View South from 120 m above the point
#11: View West from 120 m above the point
#12: The California Aqueduct, just 0.5 miles from the point, which lies up the hills on the far right
ALL: All pictures on one page