Lines of Latitude + Longitude

Lines of Latitude Run east to west on the globe Starting point is at the equator (0 degrees latitude) Divide the world into two halves- northern hemisphere and southern hemisphere

Lines of Longitude Run north to south on the globe Starting point is the prime meridian (o degrees longitude) which runs through Greenwich, England Divide the world into two halves: the western hemisphere and the eastern hemisphere

How are they named? Given degrees- like a thermometer Eg. latitude- 60 degrees N Each degree is divided into 60 minutes Eg. latitude- 60 degrees, 35 seconds N The degrees and seconds describe how far away a point on the map is away from the latitude and longitude starting points (0 degrees) Seconds are named when you are in between 2 degrees

Naming lines on latitude Traveling north of the equator the lines of latitude increases from 0- 90 degrees north (N) Traveling south of the equator the lines of latitude increases from 0 – 90 degrees south (S) Eg. St. John’s NFLD is at 47 degrees 35 seconds N

Naming lines of longitude Traveling east of the prime meridian the lines of longitude increase from 0- 180 degrees east (E) Traveling west of the prime meridian the lines of longitude increase from 0- 180 degrees west (W) Eg. St. John’s NFLD is at 52 degrees 40 seconds W

Putting it all together… When describing the location of a place you combine the latitude and longitude points to make a set of coordinates Eg. St. John’s has a set of coordinates of 45 degrees 35’ N, 52 degrees 40’ W

Absolute Location Refers to a specific point on a map Described by a set of latitude and longitude coordinates

Relative Location General location on a map Described in terms of distance, direction or time from another place Eg. Annapolis is 25 minutes from Digby