Just as a circle has 360 degrees, all the way around, the Earth can also be divided into 360 degrees.
Latitudes are horizontal, imaginary lines, running around parallel and at, equal distances above and below the equator. They are parallel to one another and never meet. They cross the prime meridian at right angles. They get shorter toward the poles and are longest at the equator. The latitude of the earth gives the distance north and south of the equator. The distance between them is calculated at degrees, minutes and seconds.
The Earth is divided into 181 latitudes.
The lines of latitude run parallel to the Equator in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, starting at 0° and counting to 90° North and 90° South. The North Pole has the latitude coordinate of 90°N (North) and the South Pole has the latitude coordinate of 90°S (South).
The imaginary line running around the middle of a spherical earth is known as the Equator.
The equator is found at 0 degrees latitude.
The countries with a latitude of 0o are the Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, Indonesia, and Brazil.
The Arctic Circle is the latitude 66° 34′ North. The Antarctic Circle is the latitude 66° 34′ south. Places in both the Arctic and Antarctic circles experience extreme weather and experience the Midnight Sun.
The Tropic of Cancer is the latitude 23° 26′ North of the equator. It is the northern-most position on the Earth, where the Sun is directly overhead during the June Solstice. The Tropic of Capricorn is the latitude that lies at 23° 26′ South of the Equator. It is the southern-most position on the globe, where the sun is directly overhead during the December Solstice.
Longitudes are imaginary lines running from the North Pole to the South Pole at the earth’s circumference. The lines of longitudes are often called meridians.
The earth is divided into 360 longitudes.
Cities with a longitude of 0° include Greenwich and Cambridge (UK), Lleida (Spain) and Le Havre (France).
Prime Meridian
The meridian (line of longitude) that goes through the Royal Observatory, Greenwich in London is known as the Prime Meridian or the International Meridian or Greenwich Meridian.
The Prime Meridian is located at 0 degrees longitude.
Antimeridian
The antimeridian is the imaginary line halfway around the world, at 180 degrees longitude. It is the basis for the International Date Line.
International Date Line
International Date Line is the line of longitude at roughly 180 degrees. East of this line is one day earlier than west.
Maps are often marked with parallels (latitudes) and meridians (longitudes), creating a grid. The point in the grid where parallels and meridians intersect is called a coordinate. Coordinates can be used to locate any point on Earth.
They help set time zones, based on the earth’s rotation on its axis.
They help locate an exact place on earth based on the point where the latitude and longitude meet.
They help predict weather and climatic changes.
The modern-day Global Positioning Systems (GPS) are configured using latitudes and longitudes for satellite mapping of the earth and are used for tracking and route mapping.
