Latitude and Longitude

1. Latitude and Longitude

2. LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE • FORM THE GEOGRAPHICALCOORDINATE SYSTEM USED FOR LOCATING PLACES • THEY ARE ANGULAR MEASUREMENTS, EXPRESSED IN DEGREES OF A CIRCLE MEASURED FROM THE CENTRE OF THE EARTH • THE EARTH ROTATES (SPINS) ON ITS AXIS, WHICH INTERSECTS THE SURFACE AT THE NORTH AND SOUTH POLES • LAT/LONG PRODUCES A SPHERICAL GRID

3. LATITUDE • HALFWAY BETWEEN THE POLES LIES THE EQUATOR. • LATITUDE IS THE ANGULAR MEASUREMENT (OR DISTANCE) OF A PLACE EXPRESSED IN DEGREES, NORTH OR SOUTH OF THE EQUATOR. LATITUDE RUNS FROM 0 0 AT THE EQUATOR TO 90 0N OR 90 0 S AT THE POLES. • LINES OF LATITUDE RUN IN AN EAST-WEST DIRECTION • THEY ARE CALLED PARALLELS BECAUSE THEY ARE EQUALLY DISTANT FROM THE EQUATOR.

4. LONGITUDE • CALLED MERIDIANS • RUN IN A NORTH - SOUTH DIRECTION FROM POLE TO POLE • ANGULAR MEASUREMENT OF A PLACE EAST OR WEST OF PRIME MERIDIAN UP TO 180 0 • 0 0 IS THE PRIME MERIDIAN • INTERNATIONAL DATELINE FOLLOWS 180 0 MERIDIAN

5. DEGREES, MINUTES & SECONDS • A DEGREE (0) CAN BESUBDIVIDED INTO 60 PARTS CALLED MINUTES (‘) • EACH MINUTE CAN BEDIVIDED INTO 60 (“) SECONDS • 1 0 OF LATITUDE EQUALS 111 KM (69 MILES) ON THE EARTH’S SURFACE • ONE MINUTE IS JUST UNDER 2 Km • ONE SECOND IS AROUND 30 m • MERIDIANS CONVERGE AT POLES SO THE LENGTH OF 1 LONGITUDE VARIES FROM 111 Km AT THE EQUATOR TO 0 Km AT POLES