Latitude and Longitude

How the world is measure and plotted

Latitude

• Measurement of distance in degrees north or south

of the equator

• Parallels are the imaginary lines of latitude that

run east and west

around the

globe

EQUATOR 0º

30° N

60° N

90° N

30° S

60° S

90° S

Equator

Goes around the middle of the earth like a belt

Divides the

Northern

and 0° Latitude

Southern

Hemispheres

EQUATOR 0º

30° N

60° N

90° N

30° S

60° S

90° S

Measuring with latitude

Latitude is measured in degrees north and south from

the equator. At 90° north latitude is the North Pole

and at 90° south latitude is the South Pole.

These lines of latitude are

numbered every 10° north

and south from the equator.

As the latitude reading

Gets larger, the climate

tends to get cooler.

Longitude

• Measurement of distance

in degrees east or west

of the Prime Meridian

• Meridians are imaginary

lines of longitude that

run from the North Pole

to the South Pole

Prime Meridian

• Passes through the North and South Pole

• Passes through Greenwich, England

• 0° longitude

• Divides the Western and Eastern Hemispheres

Measuring with longitude

• The starting point for longitude is the Prime Meridian. This line is longitude zero (0°).

• Longitude measures

east and west from

this line. Longitude is

measured in degrees.

• There are 180° of

longitude east and

180° of longitude west.

Meridians determine time

Each 15° of longitude determines one hour of time

passage, therefore 24 time zones around the world.

Northern Hemisphere Southern Hemisphereall area north of the equator

all area south of the equator

Area west of the

Prime Meridian

Measured as Longitude 0-180° W.

Western Hemisphere

Eastern Hemisphere

Area east

of the

Prime

Meridian

Measured as Longitude 0-180° E.

Absolute Location

• The exact spot where something

appears on earth.

Plotting absolute location

Your street name and

house number furnish your

absolute location.

Latitude and longitude

provide absolute location

for a place on the globe.

Using the Navstar GPS,

satellite, your position can

be accurately determined

for finding street directions

for a map in some cars.

Mercator ProjectionThe property of the

Mercator projection

map that made it

useful to navigators

is that it preserves

angles. Lines of

constant compass

heading (called

rhumb lines by

sailors) are straight

lines on this map.

Relative Location

• Described by landmarks, time, direction or

distance from one place to another

As an example, the

worldatlas.com U.S. office

is on Galveston Island,

located in southeastern

Texas in the Gulf of

Mexico, about 48 miles

southeast of Houston.

That's its relative location.