Longitude and Latitude

Question 1

What are they?

Answer 1

Longitude and latitude are the coordinates used to specify locations on Earth’s surface. They form a grid system known as the geographic coordinate system.

Question 2

What is a longitude line?

Answer 2

• Definition: The angular distance of a place east or west of the prime meridian.
• Range: 0° at the Prime Meridian to 180° East and 180° West.
• Lines of Longitude: Also called meridians, these are imaginary lines that run vertically from the North Pole to the South Pole. The Prime Meridian (0°) runs through Greenwich, England, and the 180° meridian (opposite side of the globe) is the International Date Line.

Question 3

What is a latitude line?

Answer 3

• Definition: The angular distance of a place north or south of the Earth’s equator.
• Range: 0° at the Equator to 90° North at the North Pole and 90° South at the South Pole.
• Lines of Latitude: Also called parallels, these are imaginary lines that run horizontally around the globe. Key parallels include the Equator (0°), Tropic of Cancer (23.5° N), Tropic of Capricorn (23.5° S), Arctic Circle (66.5° N), and Antarctic Circle (66.5° S).

Question 4

Coordinates for lines of Longitude and Latitude

Answer 4

• Format: A pair of numbers (latitude, longitude), typically in degrees (°), minutes (’), and seconds (”).
• Example: The coordinates of the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France are approximately 48.8584° N latitude and 2.2945° E longitude.