Latitude and Climate
By
Patricia Rodriguez
Reviewing Globes and Map Projections
Remember that a
globe is the most
accurate way to
represent the earth.
The Equator, Prime Meridian, Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of
Capricorn.
Equator: Located at zero degrees latitude, (North or South) divides the Planet Earth into
the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn: Located at North and/or South of the Equator, this
area of Planet Earth between the two lines is known as the "Tropics”.
Prime Meridian: Located at zero degrees longitude, (East or West), divides the Planet
Earth into the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.
Latitude and Longitude
Parallels
Circle the earth and
show latitude, which
is distance measured in
degrees north (N) or
south (S) of Equator
at 0° latitude.
Meridians
Run north to south from
pole to pole. These lines
signify longitude,
which is distance
measured in degrees east
(E) or west (W) of the
Prime Meridian at 0°
longitude.
Reviewing Map Skills
Grid System
Lines of latitude and
longitude cross each
other in the form of a
grid system.
Knowing a place’s
latitude and longitude
allows you to locate it
exactly on a map or
globe.
Absolute Location
You can name an
absolute location by
naming the latitude and
longitude lines that
cross nearest to that
location.
Activity 1. Define the following:
Hemisphere
Latitude
Longitude
Grid System
Absolute Location
Activity 2.
Identify the countries the Equator
Passes Through
Go
Countries the Equator Passes Through.
Activity 3.
Use the following grid system “addresses”
to find the three cities located at these
coordinates:
55° N, 35° E
23° S, 43° E
1° N, 103° E
Summary.
Words to Know:
Projection
Hemisphere
Latitude
Longitude
Grid System
Absolute location
Places to Locate:
Tropic of Cancer
Tropic of Capricorn
Equator
Prime Meridian
References
Armstrong, Boehm and Hunkins. Geography, The world and its
People. Glencoe, McGraw Hill (1998).
Bower, Bert and Lobdell Jim. History Alive! Teachers’ Curriculum
Institute (1999).
Websites:
http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/Dictionary/DictionaryHome.aspx
http://dgl.microsoft.com/
http://gallery.yahoo.com
http://www.worldatlas.com/aatlas/imageg.htm
That’s all!