Where does east stop being east?

Question

I mean here in the states we call the right side the eastcoast, but like is the right side of china called the east as well? Because by that logic then the east eventually runs into our westcoast right? I feel stupid, but please help me out. I'm stumped.

Okay, so then I'm guessing that places like China don't refer to the middle east as such.

Answer 1

On a sphere, such as our planet, there can be no difinitive East and West. We use those terms simply as a reference to direction. It is determined from your point of origin. If you are in California, then Washington D.C. is to the East of you, but if you are in England, then Washington D.C. is to the West of you. Direction is always contingent on the point of origin and therefore it changes. Even on a flat world, you could not determine definite easst and west for the same reason as explained above.

I hope this helps you some!

Answer 2

East is a direction, not a place. You can keep going east until you've circled the globe many times. As long as you don't change your direction, you're always heading east.

The east side of a country comes from the following idea:
"If you started in the middle of the country, then headed east, you'd run into the east edge (side) of the country".

Therefore, every country has an east side. It's simply the side you reach first when you start out in the middle and head east.

However, if there was a country that formed a ring around the Earth's equator, you would never reach the end of it by heading east. Therefore, such a country would have no east side (and no west side).

Answer 3

At first you should know what is right-left and east-west?

Right means right-hand side or direction.
Left means left hand side or direction.
East means the point of the horizon where the sun rises.
West means the point of the horizon where the sun sets.

Now why the east stop being east?

The reason is the International date line which is passed through water surface avoiding land surfaces like Aleution,Fizi and Chatum islands in a zig-zag way.

Answer 4

I like the way the poster above put it. We say something is in The East or in The West, but actually it is only relative to where we are.
East is a direction, not a place. Think of it sort of like this
You are on a chair, 3 feet high. Your friend is on a stool, 5 feet high. If you are going up (a direction) to the four foot level, your friend could be going down ( a direction) to the four foot level. Then you could pass each other, but you would still be going in your direction and the friend in his/hers. Instead of vertical directions, east and west are horizontal directions. I hope this is sort of clear.

Answer 5

I have read the other posters answers and they mis the one fundemental point. There are actually two places on the earth were you can not face east... And you cannot face west in thses two places either.
If you are at the very precise point of the north pole then the only direction you could face would be ... SOUTH... no east or west.. so ineffect at the very north pole east ands west cease to exist.... Its the same at the south pole.... the only direction you can face is north.... you cant go east you cant go west... one step which ever way you face is North..

Answer 6

At the international date line.

As far as what we consider the Eastern Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere, cross the International Date Line from the East and going East, you are now back in the Western Hemisphere.

Answer 7

the furthist point east in the us is eastport maine, but the furthest point east is the international date line in the pacific ocean the best way to find it is to look for midway and wake islands in the pacific ocean near hawaii

Answer 8

Great question. (There is nothing I can add that hasn't already been stated here).