Latitude and Longitude The location of any place on Earth can be described using latitude and longitude lines.

Latitude Lines Line of Latitude—reference lines that run parallel to the equator’s plane. Lines are measured as an angle from the equator of the Earth (0°) to the North Pole (90° North) or to the South Pole (90° South). The Equator is O degrees latitude.

Lines of Longitude Line of Longitude—reference lines that run from the North Pole to the South Pole. Lines are measured as an angle from the Prime Meridian (0°) to 180° East or to 180° West.

Prime Meridian Prime Meridian—marks the point of 0° longitude and divides the Eastern and Western Hemispheres.

Equator Equator—marks the point of 0° latitude and divides the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.

Hemisphere The word hemisphere means “ half of a sphere”. There are four major hemispheres: Northern, Southern, Western, and Eastern

Globe A globe is a model of the earth that shows the earth’s shape, distance, and directions as they truly relate to one another.

Scale A scale is the relationship between distance on a map and actual distance of the earth.