Locating Positions on the Earth’s Surface

Coordinate System Surface grid used to locate any position on the Earth Latitude and Longitude

System uses two reference points: Equator – (00 latitude) Imaginary line that circles the earth The angular distance north or south of the equator is called latitude Lines of latitude are parallel to each other 2. Prime Meridian (00 longitude) Runs from the north pole to the south pole through Greenwich, England The angular distance east or west of the Prime Meridian is called longitude. Longitude lines meet at the poles and run north to south

Lines of latitude and longitude on the Globe P R I M E D A N Equator--

Globe

Globe to Mercator

Notice the distortion in the polar regions. South America is actually 9 times the size of Greenland

An area of the world will always be distorted with these projections.

Projections Map Projections.asf

Distance using Latitude One degree of latitude = 111km Each degree is divided into 60 minutes (60’) Each minute = 1.85km Each minute is divided into 60 seconds (60”) 420 30’ 15” N is read as 42 degrees, 30 minutes and 15 seconds north This means the location is 4718km north of the equator

Distance using Longitude At the equator, one degree of longitude = 111km As you go towards the poles, this distance decreases