<P> A total solar eclipse occurred in North America on Monday, February 26, 1979 . </P> <P> A solar eclipse is an astronomical phenomenon that occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth . A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moon's apparent diameter is larger than the Sun's, blocking all direct sunlight, turning day into darkness . Totality occurs in a narrow path across Earth's surface, with the partial solar eclipse visible over a surrounding region thousands of kilometres wide . </P> <P> The central shadow of the moon passed through the American states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana (where totality covered almost the entire state), and North Dakota, the Canadian provinces Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Quebec, the Northwest Territories of Canada (the portion that is now Nunavut), and Greenland . </P> <P> Many visitors traveled to the Pacific Northwest to view the Monday morning eclipse, as it was the last chance to view a total solar eclipse in the contiguous United States for almost four decades . The next opportunity was 381⁄2 years later on August 21, 2017, also a Monday . </P>

Where was the path of totality in the 1979 eclipse