Full Answer
What are latitude lines referred to?
The lines of latitude are called parallels or also commonly referred to as the parallels of latitude. It is formed by the circles found on the globe which is parallel to the Earth’s equator and are equally spaced within the 90 degrees from North (with positive degrees of latitude) and South (with negative degrees of latitude).
What does the 5 major lines of latitude mean?
The five major circles of latitude are, from north to south:
- The Arctic Circle (66°N)
- The Tropic of Cancer (23° N)
- The Equator (0°)
- The Tropic of Capricorn (23°S)
- The Antarctic Circle (66°S)
What are lines of latitude called?
They are:
- The Equator
- The Tropic of Cancer
- The Tropic of Capricorn
- The Arctic Circle
- The Antarctic Circle
What are the two important lines of latitude?
The most important lines of latitude are:
- The equator (0 degrees) : It divides the earth into two equal halves. Each half is called a hemisphere. So there's the northern hemisphere and there's the southern hemisphere.
- Tropic of Cancer (22.5 degrees north)
- Tropic of Capricorn (22.5 degrees south)
- Arctic circle (66.5° north)
- Antarctic circle (66.5°south)
What is latitude?
Latitude is a measurement on a globe or map of location north or south of the Equator. Technically, there are different kinds of latitude, which ar...
What is the length of a degree of latitude?
The length of a degree of arc of latitude is approximately 111 km (69 miles), varying, because of the nonuniformity of Earth’s curvature, from 110....
What is longitude?
Longitude is a measurement of location east or west of the prime meridian at Greenwich, London, England, the specially designated imaginary north-s...
What is the distance per degree of longitude?
The distance per degree of longitude at the Equator is about 111.32 km (69.18 miles) and at the poles, 0.
How far is the latitude north or south of the equator?
measurement of about 1.8 kilometers of latitude north or south of the equator. equal distance apart, and never meeting. exactness. measurement of about 32 meters of latitude north or south of the equator.
How many minutes are in a minute of latitude?
Degrees of latitude are divided into 60 minutes. To be even more precise, those minutes are divided into 60 seconds. One minute of latitude covers about 1.8 kilometers (1.1 miles) and one second of latitude covers about 32 meters (105 feet).
How many degrees are there in the latitude of the North Pole?
The latitude of the North Pole is 90 degrees N, and the latitude of the South Pole is 90 degrees S. Like the poles, some circles of latitude are named.
What is the measurement of distance north or south of the equator?
latitude . Latitude is the measurement of distance north or south of the Equator. It is measured with 180 imaginary lines that form circles around the Earth east-west, parallel to the Equator. These lines are known as parallel s. A circle of latitude is an imaginary ring linking all points sharing a parallel.
What is the measurement of distance around the Earth called?
Similar to latitude, the corresponding measurement of distance around the Earth is called longitude. The imaginary lines of latitude and longitude intersect each other, forming a grid that covers the Earth. The points of latitude and longitude are called coordinates, and can be used together to locate any point on Earth.
What is the latitude of the tropics?
Its twin, the Tropic of Capricorn, is 23° 26' 21'' S. The tropics are important geographic locations that mark the northernmost and southernmost latitudes where the sun can be seen directly overhead during a solstice. One degree of latitude, called an arc degree, covers about 111 kilometers (69 miles).
How many miles is the first degree of latitude?
measurement of distance from the equator. The first degree of latitude is 111 kilometers (69 miles), decreasing in size to points at the North and South Poles.
What is the line of latitude?
Lines of latitude, also called parallels, are imaginary lines that divide the Earth. They run east to west, but measure your distance north or south. The equator is the most well known parallel. At 0 degrees latitude, it equally divides the Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. From the equator, latitude increases as you travel north or south, reaching 90 degrees at each pole.
Where do latitude lines start?
Latitude lines start at the equator (0 degrees latitude) and run east and west, parallel to the equator. Lines of latitude are measured in degrees north or south of the equator to 90 degrees at the North or South poles.
How are latitude and longitude used in astronomy?
Latitude and longitude have been used in astronomy and navigation since ancient times. By calculating the angle between the horizon and a celestial object (usually the sun or the North Star), navigators could determine their approximate latitude using basic tools. The calculations were simple, so measuring latitude at sea was reliable hundreds of years before accurate longitude measurements could be calculated during a voyage. If the North Star was 60 degrees above the horizon, the observer was at 60 degrees latitude (north). This process was more complex in the southern hemisphere, where the North Star is not visible.
How many kilometers is a degree of latitude?
Each degree of latitude covers about 111 kilometers on the Earth’s surface. One degree of latitude can be further divided into 60 minutes, and one minute can be further divided into 60 seconds. A second of latitude covers only about 30.7 meters. Unlike longitude lines, which get closer to each other at the poles, latitude lines are parallel. No matter where you are on Earth, latitude lines are the same distance apart.
Is the Earth round?
While the Earth appears to be round when viewed from the vantage point of space, it is actually closer to an ellipsoid. Our planet is pudgier at the equator than at the poles due to the centrifugal force created by the earth’s constant rotation. The fact that the Earth is not a perfect sphere makes calculating latitude lines with high degrees of accuracy a complicated endeavor.
Why are latitude lines important?
Some important lines of latitude have names. This serves several purposes: sometimes, the names are historical in nature. In other cases, they are determined for navigational or geographic purposes. Other times , they have more to do with astronomy than with Earth's geography.
What is Latitude?
Essentially, latitude is a way of dividing the Earth into degrees that go from the North Pole to the South Pole with the Equator in the middle. A person can know quite precisely how far north or south they are using latitude, meaning that latitude is essential to any navigation or exploration one might undertake. The fact that the Earth is round, as well as the concept of latitude, has been well understood for thousands of years. The Phoenicians, for instance, used the gnomon and other tools to measure the angle of the sun as early as 600 BCE. Other civilizations around the world created similar systems around the same time, including the Polynesians.
What is the name of the line that runs vertically on a map and intersects with latitude lines?
The lines that run vertically on a map and intersect with latitude lines are called longitude.
How many degrees is the Tropic of Capricorn?
The Tropic of Capricorn: 23 degrees, 27 minutes south. Latitude is used in conjunction with longitude, which measures one's east-to-west location compared to the Prime Meridian. Both are written using degrees, minutes, and seconds. To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member. Create your account.
How many miles are there between two degrees of latitude?
The distance between two degrees of latitude (for instance, the distance between the Equator and 1 degree north) is approximately 69 miles.
What is the biggest line of latitude?
Lines of latitude are horizontal; they go around the world in circles of varying sizes. The biggest line is the Equator; all other lines of latitude are either north or south of the Equator and they run parallel to it.
How many degrees does the Sun rise at the North Pole?
Someone at the North Pole will see the sun rise just to the level of the horizon, which is a difference of 90 degrees compared to someone at the Equator. Someone located at 30 degrees north, on the other hand, will see the sun rise to an angle of 60 degrees south on the equinox (90 - 30 = 60).
What is latitude on a map?
Latitude is a measurement on a globe or map of location north or south of the Equator. Technically, there are different kinds of latitude, which are geocentric, astronomical, and geographic (or geodetic), but there are only minor differences between them.
What is the coordinate system of latitude and longitude?
Overview explaining the coordinate system of latitude and longitude, which is used to describe the location of any place on Earth's surface. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. See all videos for this article. Latitude is a measurement on a globe or map of location north or south of the Equator. Technically, there are different kinds ...
What is the relationship between the prime meridian and the equator?
The combination of meridians of longitude and parallels of latitude establishes a framework or grid by means of which exact positions can be determined in reference to the prime meridian and the Equator: a point described as 40° N, 30° W, for example, is located 40° of arc north of the Equator and 30° of arc west of the Greenwich meridian.
Why is latitude not a perfect sphere?
Because Earth is not a perfect sphere—the planet’s curvature is flatter at the poles—geographic latitude is the arc subtended by the equatorial plane and the normal line that can be drawn at a given point on Earth’s surface .
What is geocentric latitude?
Given in degrees, minutes, and seconds, geocentric latitude is the arc subtended by an angle at Earth’s centre and measured in a north-south plane poleward from the Equator.
What is the cutaway drawing of latitude and longitude?
This cutaway drawing shows that the latitude and longitude of any place are based on the sizes of two angles that originate at the centre of Earth. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. facts about lines of latitude Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. In contrast, geographic latitude, which is the kind used in mapping, ...
How long is a degree of latitude?
What is the length of a degree of latitude? The length of a degree of arc of latitude is approximately 111 km (69 miles), varying, because of the nonuniformity of Earth’s curvature, from 110.567 km (68.706 miles) at the Equator to 111.699 km (69.41 miles) at the poles.
How many lines of latitude are there?
five major lines of latitude. Image Credit: Wikimedia Commons. As you already know that all the parallels of latitude are usually measured in degrees. Well, speaking of degrees, the very first circles of latitude start from the equator which is at 0 degrees. Later, from the equator, these circles expand to the north and south poles of the earth. ...
Why do all the circular lines of latitude never intersect?
Because all these circular lines are parallel to each other. In other words, these lines of latitude never intersect with each other.
How many degrees of latitude are there in the equator?
And, when you add the equator i.e at 0 degrees, you get 181 degrees of latitudes. To put it differently, (90 for equator to the north pole) + (90 for equator to south pole) + (1 for equator itself) is equal to 181 circles of latitudes.
What is the latitude of the Arctic Circle?
The very first one in my list of five major circles of latitude is the Arctic Circle that currently runs at 66.56 degrees north of the equator.
What is the southernmost circle of latitude?
The Antarctic Circle is the southernmost major circle of latitude that currently runs at 66.56 degrees south of the equator.
What is the northernmost area of the Earth at which the sun can be directly overhead?
During June solstice i.e summer solstice in the northern hemisphere, the tropic of cancer marks the northernmost area of the earth at which the sun can be directly overhead.
How many parallels are there around the globe?
As you know that in total we have 181 parallels around the globe. Don’t forget, it’s classically. I mean, if I talk in terms of quantum mechanically, we would have infinite numbers of parallels around the globe.
What is the reference point for longitude?
Today, the meridian line through Greenwich, England, is considered as the reference point for longitudes. This line is also known as the Prime Meridian. The Prime Meridian is set as 0° longitude and it divides the Earth into the Eastern and the Western Hemispheres.
What is the difference between northern and southern latitudes?
Latitudes specify the north-south position of a location on the globe. Locations in the Northern Hemisphere are identified by northern latitudes and are assigned a suffix of N for north. Southern Hem isphere locations, on the other hand, are on southern latitudes and are assigned a suffix of S for south.
What is the name of the imaginary circle that connects the latitude and the center of the Earth?
Often called parallels or circles of latitude, latitudes are imaginary circles parallel to the Equator. They are named after the angle created by a line connecting the latitude and the center of the Earth, and the line connecting the Equator and the center of the Earth. Latitudes specify the north-south position of a location on the globe.
What are horizontal and vertical lines called?
Cartographers and geographers trace horizontal and vertical lines called latitudes and longitudes across Earth's surface to locate points on the globe.
What is the name of the circle that intersects the North and South poles?
They meet at both Poles, and specify the east-west position of a location. Longitudes are, therefore, imaginary circles that intersect the North and South Poles and the Equator. Half of a longitudinal circle is known as a Meridian. Meridians are perpendicular to every latitude.
What is the tropic of Capricorn?
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. Sometimes, latitudes north of the Equator are denoted by a positive sign.
How many longitudes does the Earth have?
Since a sphere has 360 degrees, the Earth is divided into 360 longitudes. The meridian opposite the Prime Meridian (on the other side of the Earth) is the 180° longitude and is known as the antimeridian. Modern timekeeping systems use longitudes as references to keep time.
