Geography Notes
Latitude and Longitude
The Basics
❤ Lines of latitude and longitude are imaginary lines on the earth that form a grid-like
pattern
❤ Uses:
� Pin-point EXACT locations on the surface of the earth
� EX: sailors, pilots, surveyors, meteorologists, even farmers
Latitude
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AKA “parallels”
They run east to west (left to right) around the earth
Determines how far north or south of the equator a location is (Eqautor=0°)
Run up to 90 degrees north & 90 degrees south
Longitude
AKA “Meridians”
They run north to south (up and down) around the earth
Determines how many degrees a location is east or west of the prime meridian
The Prime Meridan starts at 0 degrees and runs through Northern Europe, England, and
West Africa.
� 180 east & 180 west
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Important Lines of Latitude
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Equator
Tropic of Cancer
Tropic of Capricorn
Arctic and Antarctic Circle
The Equator
� Circles the earth as it’s halfway point
� Separates the earth into northern & southern hemisphere
� Marks the point where the sun is directly overhead during the equinoxes (March 21st &
September 21st)
� Brazil, Kenya, Cameroon
Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn
Tropic of Cancer:
� Located at 23.5 N
� Marks the point on the earth’s surface where the sun is directly overhead on the summer
solstice (June 21st)
Tropic of Capricorn:
� Located at 23.5 S
� Marks the point on the earth’s surface where the sun is directly overhead on the winter
solstice (December 21st)
The Arctic and Antarctic Circles
� Arctic Circle: 66.5 N
� Antarctic Circle: 66.5 S
� On the summer solstice (June 21st), the area north of the arctic circle receives 24 hours of
sunlight, while the area south of the Antarctic circle receives 0 hours of sunlight
� The opposite occurs during the winter solstice (December 21st)
Maps
Globes
❤ Scale makes it nearly impossible to give directions
❤ Does not highlight the natural features of the earth
Maps
� Flat representation of the earth
� Projected to highlight specific features
Map Projections
Mercator:
� Earliest projection of the full earth
� Distorted land masses
� Utilized the most in modern times
Peters:
� Landmasses more accurate
� Does not include every part of the world due to scale
Types of Maps
Physical:
� Shows natural features of the earth such as….
� Land
� Water
� Elevation
� 3-dimensional
Political:
� Highlights man-made borders
� Divides nations, cities, states
� Displays political divisions
Special Purpose/Thematic Maps
� Highlights specific, topical information
� Interstate maps
� Data maps
� Weather maps
� Many, many more