Follow a mile-by-mile map of the total solar eclipse
On April 8, the sun, moon and Earth will enter the precise alignment of a total solar eclipse. The moon will block the sun, casting a shadow across a strip of North America from the Pacific Ocean west of Mexico, through 15 U.S. states, to the Atlantic off Canada.
This strip, roughly 4,000 miles long and 115 miles wide, is called the path of totality. For a short while, everyone and everything in this path will experience midday darkness.
The beginning
2:07-2:11 p.m.
Total time eclipsed
37%
Historic cloud coverage
The moon’s shadow makes landfall in Mexico at 2:07 p.m. Eastern time, casting the first region into darkness. Here, darkness lasts for about four minutes near the center of the path, but decreases in time toward the edges.
A populous path
Nearly 32 million people live in the path of totality this year. The eclipse crosses the homes of more people in Texas alone than the 2017 eclipse crossed nationally.
Eagle Pass, Tex.
2:27-2:31 p.m.
32%
The eclipse crosses into the United States in Eagle Pass, Tex. The border town will be dark for 4 minutes and 23 seconds — over a minute longer than the 2017 eclipse lasted anywhere.
Austin
2:35-2:39 p.m.
40%
A 195-mile stretch of Interstate 35 between Austin and Dallas is in the path. Texas officials are already warning drivers not to stop on roadways during the eclipse. You'd have to drive 1,950 miles an hour to keep up with the moon's shadow.
Dallas
2:40-2:44 p.m.
39%
The nation’s second busiest airport, Dallas Fort Worth International, lies in the path of totality. The airport said flights will not be affected. Some airlines are even offering special flights timed to the eclipse to extend your time in totality.
Hot Springs National Park
2:48-2:53 p.m.
47%
In Arkansas lies Hot Springs National Park, one of two national parks in the path of totality. Parks across the country, even those not in totality, are planning livestreams, shows and talks for the eclipse.
Ozark National Scenic Riverways
2:55-2:59 p.m.
45%
Just like many humans, Smokey Bear is also traveling into the path of totality. A 97-foot-tall hot air balloon bearing Smokey’s face is traveling from New Mexico to the Ozarks to remind visitors how to prevent wildfires.
Carbondale, Ill.
2:59-3:03 p.m.
55%
Just past the Mississippi River is Carbondale, Ill., which has billed itself the “Eclipse Crossroads of America” because it sat in the path of the 2017 eclipse.
Check the forecast
At this point in the path, the weather forecast becomes critical for eclipse seekers. The areas from here on are typically cloudier in April than the previous areas, according to an analysis of cloud cover data.
Cleveland
3:13-3:17 p.m.
62%
The eclipse crosses the Cleveland Guardians’s baseball stadium on the team's home opener at about 3:15 p.m. But rather than be interrupted by nearly four minutes of darkness, the game will start two hours after the moon’s shadow passes by.
An influential eclipse
The eclipse next passes over land historically populated by the Haudenosaunee, also known as the Iroquois. Researchers disagree on when the Iroquois Confederacy was established. But tribal oral history indicates the Seneca joined the alliance shortly after witnessing a solar eclipse, which researchers suggest occurred in this area in 1142.
Burlington, Vt.
3:25-3:28 p.m.
82%
About 13,000 schools are in the path of totality, including more than 300 in Vermont. Some plan to incorporate experiencing the eclipse into their lessons, but others plan to let kids out of school early to help avoid traffic bottlenecks.
Piscataquis County, Maine
3:30-3:34 p.m.
57%
The final 150 miles of the Appalachian Trail lie in the path of totality, including Mount Katahdin, the highest point in Maine.
Gulf of St. Lawrence
3:32-3:35 p.m.
The eclipse finally passes over Prince Edward Island before its last hurrah over Newfoundland in Canada, completing its North American journey in a bit more than two hours.
Totality at
2:07 p.m. EDT
About this story
Population calculated by summing 2020 population estimates in 30 arc-second grid cells within the path of totality. Distance covered calculated from the centerline of the path.
Sources: NASA, European Space Agency, U.S. Geological Survey, Natural Earth Data, Census Bureau, OpenStreetMap, GOES imagery analysis by University of Wisconsin at Madison Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies, Center for International Earth Science Information Network
Szu Yu Chen and Lauren Tierney contributed to this report. Editing by Emily M. Eng, Tim Meko and Victoria Jaggard. Copy editing by Angela Mecca.