Australia: Not where you think it is

Continental Australia has shifted 1.5 metres (4.9 feet) north since the last adjustments to its GPS coordinates were made in 1994

INDIAN PLATE

AUSTRALIAN PLATE

Movement: Each year plate shifts 6.9cm (2.7in) north, with slight clockwise rotation

ANTARCTIC PLATE

LINE OF LATITUDE

LINE OF LONGITUDE

INDONESIA

AUSTRALIA

Canberra

NEW GUINEA

PAPUA NEW GUINEA

NEW ZEALAND

PACIFIC PLATE

1,000km 620 miles

Ocean

Oceanic crust

Lithosphere

2015: Scientists discover tectonic plates glide on layer of jelly-like rock

Asthenosphere

1994: GPS adjustment recalibrates Australia’s coordinates by 200m (656ft)

Jan 1, 2017: Geoscientists adjust longitude and latitude of Australia to take in 1.5m
movement of Australian tectonic plate since 1994

Sources: National Geographic, wire agencies