Latitude, Longitude, and GIS
“Where’s Waldo” just got a lot less
fun
Find Waldo in the picture.
Write his relative location on the top of a piece of paper
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Hemispheres
• To help geographers classify and describe
places on Earth, the globe is divided into 4
hemispheres:
– Northern
– Southern
– Western
– Eastern
• Equator: Imaginary line that divides the
Northern and Southern Hemisphere
• Prime Meridian: Imaginary line that divides
the Eastern and Western Hemisphere
• Grid system: criss-crossing lines that help find
exact places on earth’s surface
Latitude
• Lines on the grid system that circle the Earth
parallel to the Equator
• Described as North or South
• Equator: 0°
• Poles: 90 ° North/South
Longitude
• Lines on the grid system that circle
the Earth parallel to the Prime Meridian
• Described as East or West
• Prime Meridian: 0°
• The opposite side of the Earth
from the Prime Meridian is the
International Date Line
Absolute Location
• Latitude and Longitude describe an absolute
location
• Tokyo, Japan’s absolute location: 36 °N 140 ° E
• Relative location describes a place in relation
of one location to another
• Tokyo, Japan’s relative location?
Geographic Information Systems
• Computer program that combines maps,
satellite images, statistics, and other data to
create a complex map with several layers of
information.
• Google Earth uses GIS technology to present
multiple layers of information at the same
time. The user chooses the information
needed.
• WANNA SEE?!?!?!