Nonstop flight route between Mountain View, California, United States and Golmud, Qinghai, China:

About this route:

A direct, nonstop flight between Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ), Mountain View, California, United States and Golmud Airport (GOQ), Golmud, Qinghai, China would travel a Great Circle distance of 6,819 miles (or 10,974 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 Moffett Federal Airfield and Golmud Airport, 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 Moffett Federal Airfield and Golmud Airport. 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 Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ):

• In August 2008, the Navy proposed simply stripping the toxic coating from the hangar and leaving the skeleton after spraying it with a preservative.
• Hangar One is one of the world's largest freestanding structures, covering 8 acres.
• Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) has 2 runways.
• On April 16, 1942, control of the facility was returned to the Navy and it was re-commissioned as NAS Sunnyvale.
• Post-Cold War defense cutbacks and related Base Realignment and Closure actions in the 1990s identified NAS Moffett Field for closure.
• The closest airport to Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) is Palo Alto Airport of Santa Clara County (PAO), which is located only 5 miles (8 kilometers) NW of NUQ.
• Because of Moffett Federal Airfield's relatively low elevation of 32 feet, planes can take off or land at Moffett Federal Airfield 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.
• The furthest airport from Moffett Federal Airfield (NUQ) is Tôlanaro Airport (FTU), which is located 11,365 miles (18,290 kilometers) away in Tôlanaro, Madagascar.
• A spirited debate is underway over the future of Hangar One.

Facts about Golmud Airport (GOQ):

• The closest airport to Golmud Airport (GOQ) is Dunhuang Airport (DNH), which is located 260 miles (418 kilometers) N of GOQ.
• Because of Golmud Airport's high elevation of 9,333 feet, planes must typically fly at a faster airspeed in order to takeoff or land at GOQ. Combined with a high temperature, this could make GOQ a "Hot & High" airport, where the air density is lower than it would otherwise be at sea level.
• In addition to being known as "Golmud Airport", other names for GOQ include "格尔木机场" and "Gé'ěrmù Jīchǎng".
• The furthest airport from Golmud Airport (GOQ) is Carriel Sur International Airport (CCP), which is located 11,763 miles (18,930 kilometers) away in Concepción, Bío Bío Region, Chile.
• Golmud Airport (GOQ) currently has only 1 runway.