Latitude and Longitude
• Angular measurements used to locate positions on the earth’s surface
• Reference line- Line which serves as a starting point for measurement.
• Equator- reference line for latitude 0O.
• Prime meridian- reference line for longitude 0O.
Latitude
• Measurement north and south of the equator
• Parallels- imaginary lines that connect equal values of latitude.
• Greatest latitude is 900 (North & South pole)
• Labeled and used like the Y-axis on a graph
• Must always have a label N or S designating the location north or south of the equator.
• Based on the position of Polaris (North star).
Longitude
• Measurement east and west of the prime meridian.• Meridians- imaginary lines that connect equal
values of longitude. All meet at the north & south geographic poles
• Greatest longitude is 180 (international date line).• Labeled and used like the X-axis on a graph.• Must always have a label E or W designating the
location east or west of the prime meridian.• Based on the position of the sun.
Distance
• One degree of latitude or longitude is just over 69 miles.
• At 45 degrees N or S of the equator, one degree of longitude is about 49 miles.
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