Mapping Our World
Latitude and Longitude
• Cartography
– Science of mapmaking
– Uses imaginary grid of
parallel lines and
vertical lines to locate
points on earth
– Equator cuts Earth in
Half
Latitude
Latitude: lines running to the equator dividing the
globe vertically into degrees north and south of
The equator
• Each degree of latitude= 111km on Earth’s surface
• Each degree is further broken down into minutes and
then seconds
• Each minutes of latitude= 1.85 km
• Each second of latitude= 0.031 km
Latitude
• equator is @ 0 Degrees
Latitude
• 90 Degrees North Latitude
is North Pole
• 90 Degrees South
Latitude is the South Pole
• 23.5 Degrees North
Latitude is Tropic of
Cancer
• 23.5 Degrees South
Latitude is Tropic of
Capricorn
Longitude
Longitude: lines used to locate positions East and
West of the Prime Meridian
• Each degree of longitude is 111 km at the Equator and is
further broken down into minutes and seconds
• Distance between lines of longitude change-largest at the
equator and smallest at the poles.
• Unlike lines of Latitude, lines of Longitude are not parallel but
are semicircles running from pole to pole
• Distance between degrees of longitude are not equal, unlike
the distance between degrees of latitude; smaller distance
closer to the poles.
• When using coordinates to locate a specific point, degrees of
latitude are given first followed by degrees of longitude
Longitude
• Prime Meridian is @ 0
Degrees longitude
through Greenwich
England
• Points west of P.M. are
numbered 0-180o west
• Points east of the P.M are
numbered 0-180o east
• International dateline is
opposite P.M. when
crossing you going west,
add a day, when crossing
going East subtract a day
Latitude and Longitude Together
Time Zones
Time Zones: 24 different time zones
on Earth, Why? (it takes the earth 24
hours for 1 rotation)
• Each zone is = 15 Degrees wide, adjusted
to local areas to reduce time zone
confusion
• United States has 6 time zones
Time Zones
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International Date Line
Calendar Dates: days based on Earth’s rotation,
just as time zones are, so when passing through
time zones, you either gain or lose time
• On the international dateline, 180 Degrees from the
Prime Meridian, days are lost and gained
• Traveling west across the prime meridian you gain a day
• Traveling east across the prime meridian you lose a day
International Date Line