Nonstop flight route between Kiffa, Mauritania and Santa Ana, California, United States:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Kiffa Airport (KFA), Kiffa, Mauritania and MCAS El Toro (NZJ), Santa Ana, California, United States would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,479 miles (or 10,427 kilometers).

A Great Circle is the shortest distance between 2 points on a sphere. Because most world maps are flat (but the Earth is round), the route of the shortest distance between 2 points on the Earth will often appear curved when viewed on a flat map, especially for long distances. If you were to simply draw a straight line on a flat map and measure a very long distance, it would likely be much further than if you were to lay a string between those two points on a globe. Because of the large distance between Kiffa Airport and MCAS El Toro, the route shown on this map most likely appears curved because of this reason.

Try it at home! Get a globe and tightly lay a string between Kiffa Airport and MCAS El Toro. You'll see that it will travel the same route of the red line on this map!

Departure Airport Information:

Arrival Airport Information:

Facts about Kiffa Airport (KFA):

• Because of Kiffa Airport's relatively low elevation of 423 feet, planes can take off or land at Kiffa Airport at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• Kiffa Airport (KFA) currently has only 1 runway.
• The closest airport to Kiffa Airport (KFA) is Tamchakett Airport (THT), which is located 59 miles (95 kilometers) NE of KFA.
• The furthest airport from Kiffa Airport (KFA) is Tongoa Airport (TGH), which is nearly antipodal to Kiffa Airport (meaning Kiffa Airport is almost on the exact opposite side of the Earth from Tongoa Airport), and is located 12,416 miles (19,981 kilometers) away in Tongoa, Shefa Province, Vanuatu.

Facts about MCAS El Toro (NZJ):

• The closest airport to MCAS El Toro (NZJ) is John Wayne Airport (SNA), which is located only 8 miles (13 kilometers) W of NZJ.
• Because of MCAS El Toro's relatively low elevation of 383 feet, planes can take off or land at MCAS El Toro at a lower air speed than at airports located at a higher elevation. This is because the air density is higher closer to sea level than it would otherwise be at higher elevations.
• Before it was decommissioned in 1999, it was the 4,682 acres home of Marine Corps aviation on the West Coast.
• MCAS El Toro (NZJ) has 5 runways.
• The land area originally taken by the air station is planned to be converted into a large recreational center, the Orange County Great Park.
• Before the site could be developed for civilian use, the Department of the Navy was required to perform environmental remediation to clean up contaminated soil on the site.
• The furthest airport from MCAS El Toro (NZJ) is Pierrefonds Airport (ZSE), which is located 11,486 miles (18,486 kilometers) away in Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
• In May 1942, Lieutenant Colonel William Fox was directed to select the sites for all of the Marine Corps' West Coast air stations.
• The land originally surrounding the base was mostly at agricultural use when it first opened, but it the late 1980s and early 1990s, residential development started to begin in the area.