Latitude versus Longitude comparison chart
| Latitude | Longitude | |
| Direction | East-west, parallel to the equator | North-south; converging at the poles and ... |
| Parallel lines | Yes | No |
| Range | 0 to 90° North and South | 0 to 180° East and West |
| Denoted by | Greek letter phi (Φ) | Greek letter lambda (λ) |
How are latitude and longitude alike and different?
Longitude
- Measurement and Values. Latitude and longitude are both measured in degrees, minutes and seconds. ...
- Video. This is an educational video about latitudes and longitudes.
- Notable latitudes and longitudes. The region between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn is called the tropics. ...
- References
What are the maximum degrees of latitude and longitude?
o For latitude it is 90 degrees which is the north pole . Longitude is 180 degrees , 0 degrees longitude is the prime meridian , you can go a maximum of 180 to the east and 180 to the west .
What is the distance apart by latitude and longitude?
The distance between longitudes at the equator is the same as latitude, roughly 69 miles. At 45 degrees north or south, the distance between is about 49 miles (79 km). The distance between longitudes reaches zero at the poles as the lines of meridian converge at that point. What is distance is covered by 1 degree of latitude?
What is the Order of latitude and longitude?
Put Degrees, Minutes and Seconds in Order
- Latitude line with the degree
- Minutes
- Seconds
- Symbol of directions N or S
- Comma and longitude line with the degree
- Minutes
- Seconds
- Symbol of directions E or W
What are three differences between longitude and latitude?
The latitude specifies a location's distance north or south of the equator. The longitude specifies the location's distance east or west from an imaginary line connecting the North and South Poles, called the Prime Meridian.
What are the five differences between latitude and longitude?
Difference between latitudes and longitudesLatitudeLongitudeIt run east to westIt run north to southThere are 181 lines of latitudesThere are 360 lines of latitudes2 more rows•May 16, 2018
How do you remember the difference between latitude and longitude?
The easiest way to remember the difference between latitude and longitude is by associating the terms with different parts of a ladder. Lines of latitude run east and west. Lines of latitude run horizontally around the Earth and tell you how far north or south you are from the Equator. Image: NASA, public domain.
What is difference of latitude?
difference of latitude. The distance between any two places on the same meridian, or the difference between the parallels of latitude of any two places expressed in miles of the equator.
What is the difference between longitude and latitude?
The main difference between longitude and latitude is that longitude is a measurement east or west of the prime meridian, while latitude is the measurement north or south of the Equator.
What is latitude measurement?
What is a Latitude. Latitudes are the measurement of distance north or south of the Equator. These are imaginary circles parallel to the Equator. There are 180 such imaginary lines. We call them parallels. Each line measures one degree north or south of the Equator.
How do we measure longitude?
Longitude is an angular measurement and we express it in degrees. Moreover, we measure longitudes by imaginary lines that run around the Earth vertically. These lines are called meridians, and they meet at the South and North Poles. We measure the distance around the Earth as 360 degrees, and each meridian measures one degree of longitude.
What is the most northerly latitude on Earth?
For example, the Tropic of Cancer is the line of latitude 23.5 degrees north of the Equator. It’s the most northerly circle of latitude on Earth. Tropic of Capricorn, on the other hand, is 23.4394 degrees of the Equator, and it’s the most southerly latitude. Moreover, at this latitude, the sun can appear directly overhead at noon.
What is the coordinate system of longitude and latitude?
In brief, longitudes and latitudes are a coordinate system from which we can determine the specific location or position of any place on Earth’s surface. Moreover, we measure longitudes from imaginary vertical lines that run across the globe and latitudes from imaginary horizontal lines that run across the globe.
What is the equator?
The Equator is the line of 0 degrees latitude. We can also express southern latitudes as negative numbers with -90° at the South Pole. In brief, we can use both latitude and longitude to specify the specific location of a geographical feature. Furthermore, some latitudes have names.
Is 15° longitude a line of 0 degrees?
It’s universally accepted as the line of 0 degrees. In addition, there is a close connection between longitude and time. In fact, time in a specific place varies with longitude; a difference of 15° longitude corresponds to a one-hour difference in time.
What is the difference between latitude and longitude?
The latitude specifies a location's distance north or south of the equator. The longitude specifies the location's distance east or west from an imaginary line connecting the North and South Poles, called the Prime Meridian .
How are latitude and longitude measured?
Measurement and Values. Latitude and longitude are both measured in degrees, minutes and seconds. There are 60 minutes in each degree and 60 seconds in each minute. Values for longitude range from 0 (for the Prime Meridian) to 180 degrees. They are denoted by the letters E or W to represent direction.
What longitudes are most important during the summer solstice?
The most important longitudes are the Prime Meridian (0°) and the International Date Line (180°).
How far ahead of UTC is the sun?
The sun moves across the sky at a rate of 15 degrees per hour (360°/day). So if the time zone is three hours ahead of UTC then that location is near 45° longitude (3 hours × 15° per hour = 45°). Longitudes converge at the Poles so calculations that are accurate for other positions may be inaccurate at the Poles.
Why is the west side of the date line always one day ahead of the east side?
This is because the direction of rotation of the Earth is west to east. The Prime Meridian marks the location for the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) or Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).
What is the climate of the tropics?
It is a region characterized by hot and humid climate. The sun is directly overhead at noon only in the tropics. The region between the tropics and the Arctic or Antarctic circles is called the Temperate zone and is characterized by four distinct seasons.
Which time zone is the equator?
equator (north or south) Prime Meridian (east or west) Time zone. Locations that share the same latitude do not necessarily fall into the same time zone. All locations on the same longitude fall in the same time zone. Number of lines.
What is the difference between latitude and longitude?
Next time you are trying to remember the difference between degrees of latitude and longitude, just think of a ladder. The latitude lines are the rungs and the longitude lines are the "long" lines that hold those rungs together. Latitude lines run east and west.
What are the lines of longitude and latitude?
Lines of longitude and latitude are part of the grid system that helps us navigate the Earth, but it can be difficult to remember which is which. There is an easy memory trick that anyone can use to keep the two geography terms straight.
Why do longitude lines run north to south?
In the same manner, you can remember that lines of longitude run north to south because they are "long.". If you are looking up a ladder, the vertical lines appear to meet at the top. The same can be said for longitude lines, which converge as they stretch from the North Pole to the South Pole.
What is the line of latitude?
Latitude lines run east and west. Just like rungs on a ladder, they remain parallel as they run across the earth's surface. In this way, you can easily remember that latitude is just like "ladder"-tude. In the same manner, you can remember that lines of longitude run north to south because they are "long.".
How many miles is a minute north of the equator?
For each 'minute' that you travel north of the equator, you will travel 1/60th of a degree or about 1 mile. That is because there are approximately 69 miles between degrees of latitude (rounded down to 60 to make the examples easier). In order to get from 40.748440 degrees to an exact 'minute' north of the equator, we need to express those minutes.
What is the equator in coordinates?
When reading coordinates, you will also come across negative and positive numbers. The equator is 0° latitude. Points north of the equator are expressed with positive numbers and points to the south are expressed as negative numbers. There are 90 degrees in either direction. The prime meridian is 0° longitude.
What are the three formats of coordinates?
3 Common Formats of Coordinates 1 Degrees Alone (DDD.DDDDDD°): 40.748440° (positive number, so this indicates degrees north or east) 2 Degrees and Minutes (DDD° MM.MMMM'): N40° 44.9064' (direction with degrees and minutes) 3 Degrees, Minutes, and Seconds (DDD° MM.MMMM' SS.S"): N40° 44' 54.384" (direction with degrees, minutes, and seconds)
What is the difference between latitude and longitude?
Longitude is vertical lines going from one pole to the other starting at the prime meridian.
How is longitude measured?
Lines of longitude are measured in degrees from 0 to 180 degrees running east and west. Like latitude, longitude is measured using degrees, minutes and seconds (DMS). The prime meridian is 0 degrees, and the antimeridian or International Date Line is at 180 degrees.
Why are parallel lines called parallel lines?
These parallel lines follow the line of the equator and go from the equator to the North Pole and from the equator to the South Pole at an equal distance , which is why they are called parallels. Latitude lines progressively get smaller and smaller until they get to the North Pole and the South Pole.
What is the equator?
The equator is halfway between the North and South Poles. It’s an imaginary horizontal line that cuts the planet completely in half.
What is the range of latitude?
Lines of latitude are measured in degrees from 0 to 90 degrees. As you might guess, the range is 0 at the equator and 90 at the North Pole and the South Pole. Latitude can either be negative (S) or positive (N).
Where do longitude lines start?
Since everything has to start somewhere, lines of longitude start at the prime meridian. The prime meridian runs through Greenwich, England, and goes until it reaches the antimeridian, or International Date Line, which is halfway around the Earth.
Is longitude parallel to latitude?
While the lines of latitude are parallel, the lines of longitude are not. Lines of longitude are similar to wedges of an orange. The lines of longitude run from one pole to the other in perfect wedges. These lines run up and down the Earth, creating the vertical lines of the grid.
What is the difference between latitude and longitude?
Longitude and latitude present the geographical location on Earth. Latitude denotes the distance from the Equator while longitude denotes the distance from the Prime Meridian.
What does "latitude" mean in the dictionary?
According to the Oxford English dictionary, latitude also means ‘scope for freedom of action or thought .’. For example, S he had considerable latitude reporting the murder. This means she had considerable scope for freedom of action or thought to report the murder.
What is the difference between the long lines on the globe between the North Pole and the South Pole?
Simply remember that the long lines on the globe between the North Pole and the South Pole are referred to by the term longitude whereas the lateral lines on the globe between east and west are referred to by the term latitude.
How is longitude measured?
It is interesting to note that longitude is measured by degrees. It is 0 degrees longitude across the Prime Meridian that passes through the Greenwich. Maximum measurement of longitude would be 180 degrees towards both the east and the west. The longitude lines are denoted by ‘lambda’.
Why is latitude important?
Hence latitude is used in the determination of the distances from the equator and thereby the character of the region such as tropical or the Arctic for that matter. Latitude is also used to determine the effect of the various phenomena of weather.
What is the longitude line?
The longitude lines are denoted by ‘lambda’. The distance of any place from any other place is determined by the longitude of a place. In short, it can be said that the longitude of a place is the distance from the Prime Meridian. The time difference can also be thus calculated.
What is the difference between 90 degrees and 90 degrees?
Latitude is measured by degrees. 90 degrees latitude towards north would signify the North Pole whereas 90 degrees latitude towards south implies the South Pole. The Equator is lying at 0 degrees latitude for that matter. The latitude lines are denoted by ‘phi.’. The climate and the weather of a particular region are determined by the latitude.
Difference between latitude and longitude
The difference between latitude and longitude is that latitude is the distance, in degrees, along Earth’s surface from the Equator to the Geographic North Pole. Latitude is measured in angular units called degrees. The equator divides the earth into two hemispheres: the northern hemisphere and the southern hemisphere.
The longitude can be calculated using the following equation
longitude difference = arccos (sin (latitude 1) * sin (latitude 2) + cos (latitude 1) * cos (latitude 2) * cos (longitude 1 – longitude 2))
Relation between longitude and latitude?
Longitude is measured in degrees, with 360 degrees being equivalent to the equator. Latitude is measured in degrees, with 90 degrees being equivalent to the northern hemisphere’s parallel of latitude.
Latitude and longitude rhyme
Latitude and longitude rhyme with one another. The difference between them is that Longitude is the angular distance of any point on Earth’s surface measured east or west of the prime meridian, which is the zero degrees longitude. It passes through Greenwich, England.
What does latitude mean?
Etymologically speaking, its roots are slightly less perplexing than longitude ‘s. Also dating back to the late 1300s, latitude means “breadth” but goes even further back to the Old French latitude, and the Latin latitudo, meaning “breadth , width, extent, and size.”.
How to use latitude and longitude?
To use latitude and longitude as a measurement, you have to understand that latitude is measured in degrees north (+) and degrees south (-). The equator, or the middle point, measures at zero. The northernmost point reads at 90 degrees North (+) and the southernmost point reads at 90 degrees South (-). Longitude is measured by how far ...
How to tell if a location is on a map?
The numbers on the top and bottom of the map are the longitude, so as you follow along the grid to determine where a location is, you can identify them positively or negatively by their latitude or longitude depending on direction.
How is longitude measured?
Longitude is measured by how far a point is east (+) or west (-) of the prime meridian (which is set as Greenwich, England). The prime meridian is set at zero degrees longitude. When moving east or west, the longitude measures up to 180 degrees East or West (+ or -) of the prime meridian.
What is the longitude of the Earth?
Longitude is defined as the “geographical angular distance east or west on the earth’s surface” or, for the directionally-challenged, left to right. To clarify: the lines of longitude run from pole to pole but measure left to right.
What is the unit used to measure longitude and latitude?
Degrees are used as the units to measure longitude and latitude, and they are divided to the decimal point. That’s referred to as decimal degrees. Assume that the top of every map indicates north. The numbers on the right and left sides of a map refer to the latitude.
What does "length" mean in Latin?
A dress can be too long, for example, or someone can have long arms. And looking at the etymological roots, it gets even more bewildering. Dating to the 1300s, the roots of this word literally mean both “length” or “height.” (It is derived from the Latin longitudo ” meaning “length, long duration.”)
