Geography Skills Handbook
WG SOL 1a:
Notes
Latitude and Longitude – The Global Grid
Grid
System
 pattern created by a system
of horizontal and vertical
lines on a map or globe that
help determine location and
distance
Latitude
 east-west lines
 run parallel to the Equator
 measure distance north and
south of the Equator
Longitude
 north-south lines
 converge at the poles
 measure distance east and
west of the Prime Meridian
Equator
 0º Latitude
 starting point for measuring
latitude
 imaginary line that divides
the Earth into the N / S
hemispheres
Prime
Meridian
 0º Longitude
 starting point for
measuring longitude
 divides the Earth into the
E / W hemispheres
 runs through Greenwich,
England
Tropic of
Cancer
 23 ½ º North Latitude
 northernmost point to
receive the sun’s direct
rays
 northern boundary of the
low latitudes or “tropics”
Tropic of
Capricorn
 23 ½ º South Latitude
 southernmost point to
receive the sun’s direct
rays
 southern boundary of the
low latitudes or “tropics”
North Pole
 90º North Latitude
 northern point on the globe
where longitude lines
converge (meet)
South Pole
 90º South Latitude
 southern point on the globe
where longitude lines
converge (meet)