Latitude and Longitude or Finding your way around a map

Latitude and Longitude

Latitude and Longitude Geographers divided the Earth into two hemispheres. The north and the south.

Latitude and Longitude They are divided by a horizontal imaginary line called the Equator The Equator is 0o latitude.

Latitude and Longitude They also divided it into the eastern and western hemispheres by an imaginary line called the Prime Meridian.

Latitude and Longitude The Prime Meridian is 0o longitude. It goes through Greenwich, England.

Latitude and Longitude

Latitude and Longitude Everything north of the Equator is in the Northern Hemisphere. Everything south of the Equator is in the Southern Hemisphere.

Latitude and Longitude Everything west of the Prime Meridian is in the Western Hemisphere. Everything east of the Prime Meridian is in the Eastern Hemisphere.

Latitude and Longitude Where does that put us?

Latitude and Longitude The horizontal lines on the map are lines of latitude or parallels. They are parallel to the Equator

Latitude and Longitude Latitude lines are given in degrees north or south of the Equator.

Latitude Lines are equal in distance apart at all points

Latitude and Longitude The vertical lines on the map are longitude lines or meridians. They are given in degrees east or west of the Prime Meridian.

Latitude and Longitude It is called the prime because it is the primary meridian that others are based on.

Longitude Lines are the farthest apart at the equator, and they are closer together at the poles.

Latitude and Longitude Measured in degrees. Latitude 0 - 90º North or South The North and South Poles are at 90º latitude.

Latitude and Longitude Longitude 0 -180º East or West A sphere, like the Earth is 360º around. Each Hemisphere, the East or the West, is 180º around.

Latitude and Longitude At 180o longitude there is line exactly opposite the Prime Meridian and is called the International Date Line.

Latitude and Longitude When you cross the International Date Line you move forward or backward one day.

Latitude and Longitude The International Date Line is in the Pacific. Moving toward California you gain a day. - Moving toward China you go backward one day. * You get to do the whole day over!! June 8  June 7 * Where does the time go? June 8  June 7

Latitude and Longitude Two important parallels are 23 ½o N which is the Tropic of Cancer and 23 ½o S which is the Tropic of Capricorn.

Latitude and Longitude Other important lines of latitude are the Arctic Circle at 66 ½o N and the Antarctic Circle at 66 ½o S.

Latitude and Longitude - Absolute locations are always given with the latitude first and then the longitude.

Latitude and Longitude

Map Scale The scale of a map tells you how the map’s features compare in size with Earth’s surface.

Map Scale This comparison is usually shown as a ratio, such as one inch on the map equals one mile (or one kilometer) on the Earth.

Map Scale A map can be a large-scale map, which shows a small area of the Earth’s surface, or a small-scale map, which shows a large area.

Map Scale A map scale can be expressed in several ways. A graphic scale will show a line divided into segments of equal length and then marked in units of measurement.

Map Scale A verbal scale shows written abbreviations , such as “1 cm = 1 km.” A representative fraction scale (such as 1:100,000) will tell you that one unit on the map equals a specified number of units on Earth.

Graphic Scale How to use: Mark on a piece of paper the distance and place the marked paper on the scale to determine the distance

Map Orientation When you are reading a map, you have to orient yourself to which direction the top, bottom, left, and right represent.

Map Orientation If there is any doubt about a map’s orientation, look for the compass rose, an arrow indicating direction, somewhere on the map.