elsslots:
I can't make much sense of it now.
Enjoy your trip, Jonathanfr! I will try to make some sense of it.
Definition:WHS with their core zone (or exact location) on one of two prime meridians: the International Prime Meridian, or Greenwich meridian, at 0[sup]o[/sup] longitude and the anti-meridian at 180[sup]o[/sup] longitude. See in comparison the connection for WHS located on the
Equator.
While the definition for the Equator at 0[sup]o[/sup] latitude sort of follows naturally once a 'top' and 'bottom' (north pole and south pole) of a sphere are defined, defining where is 0[sup]o[/sup] longitude relies on international agreements. Before agreement was reached on the Greenwich meridian, many countries used their own prime meridian. The definition of the Greenwich meridian as a prime meridian was first established by Sir George Airy in 1851. In October of 1883, at the invitation of the President of the U.S.A., 41 delegates from 25 nations met in Washington, D.C for the
International Meridian Conference. This inter-governmental conference selected the meridian passing through Greenwich as the world standard prime meridian. However, France abstained from the vote, and French maps continued to use the Paris meridian for several decades.
(wiki)Maritime Greenwich: The name is almost self-explaining. However, the WHS has in its core zone the Royal Observatory of Greenwich, that served as the benchmark for defining the prime meridian and crosses the meridian at about 51[sup]o[/sup]28'40".
Loire Valley: The WHS stretches from Sully-sur-Loire (~2[sup]o[/sup]21'E) to Chalonnes (~0[sup]o[/sup]45' W). The Greenwich meridian crosses the Loire somewhat east of Saumur.
Pyrénees-Mont Perdu: The Greenwich meridian crosses the Pyrenees at an elevation of over 2,000 meters in the Monte Perdido WHS on the border of France and Spain. It just misses its highest peaks.
Wrangel Island: The anti-meridian crosses the main island of the Wrangel Island Reserve. The international date lane at this high latitude is displaced eastwards to keep the islands on the same day as mainland Russia.
(Sorry, I couldn't find how to get the o in superscript for the degrees :) )