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Latitude and Longitude
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Latitude and Longitude
■ Lines of Latitude and
Longitude are imaginary
lines that encircle the
Earth in either an EastWest direction or in a
North-South direction
■ Together they form a grid
which can be used to
identify locations on the
Earth’s surface
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Latitude and Longitude
■ When using these lines to find a location the
coordinates are always given latitude first and
then longitude
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Latitude
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Latitude
■ Latitude is the name for a group of
imaginary lines that run parallel to the
Equator
■ The Equator is the 0 degree line and splits
the earth into two equal halves –northern and
southern hemispheres
■ Each hemisphere is divided into 90 degrees,
from the Equator to the Pole
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Latitude
■ When finding a point in the Northern
hemisphere the latitude is given as (x)
degrees N
■ For a point in the Southern hemisphere the
coordinates would be (x) degrees S
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Latitude
■ Lines of latitude get smaller as they get
further north because the distance around
the Earth decreases
■ At the Poles the latitude is 90 degrees and
the circular distance is 0km, each Pole being
just a single point
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Latitude
■ Lines of latitude get smaller as they get
further north because the distance around
the Earth decreases
■ At the Poles the latitude is 90 degrees and
the circular distance is 0km, each Pole being
just a single point
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Latitude
■ There are several major lines of Latitude
other than the Equator and the Poles
■ They are the Tropic of Cancer, the Tropic of
Capricorn, the Arctic Circle and the Antarctic
Circle
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Longitude
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Longitude
■ Lines of longitude run north-south around
the planet
■ They begin at the Prime Meridian and split
the Earth into East and West hemispheres
■ There are 180 degrees in each hemisphere
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Longitude
■ When locating a point in the Eastern
hemisphere the longitude is given as (x)
degrees E
■ For a point in the Western hemisphere the
longitude would be (x) degrees W
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Longitude
■ All lines of longitude are the same length
■ There is only one important line of
Longitude other than the Prime Meridian –
the International Date Line
■ This is the 180 degree line in both directions
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Latitude and Longitude
Finding Locations
Finding Locations
■To use latitude and
longitude to find a
location you simply
follow the lines until
they meet at the point
you are looking for
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Latitude and Longitude
Finding Locations
Finding Locations
■ The latitude is always the first coordinate
given
■ It will be a number between 0 and 90
degrees and will be followed by either an N or
an S, depending on which hemisphere the
location is in
■ Longitude is always the second number and
will be between 0 and 180 degrees, followed
by either an E or a W
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Latitude and Longitude
Finding Locations
Finding Locations
■ Not all points are located neatly at the
points where the lines intersect
■ To find locations between the points each
degree is split into 60 smaller sections called
minutes
■ For example, the coordinates for Orono are
43 59N 78 36W
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Latitude and Longitude
Finding Locations
Finding Locations
■ The coordinates for Orono mean that the
village is located 43 degrees and 59 minutes
north of the Equator and 78 degrees and 36
minutes west of the Prime Meridian
■ If you are using a GPS device there will be
an additional set of numbers for each
coordinate, called seconds
■ Seconds subdivide the minutes into even
smaller sections and provide additional
accuracy