1. The Global Grid

2. The global grid makes it possible to state the “absolute location” of a place – exactly where it is.

3. Absolute location – longitude & latitude – is like a global address.

4. Los Angeles, California: 34°N 118W°

5. Washington, DC: 38°N 77W°

6. Seattle, Washington: 47°N 122W°

7. Tulsa, Oklahoma: 36°N 95°W

8. Oklahoma City: 35°N 97W°

9. The absolute location of any place is the latitude + the longitude.

11. LATITUDE lines are the FLAT lines.

12. The most famous line of latitude is the Equator.

13. The Equator is the longest line of latitude, because it’s at the “fattest” part of the earth.

14. and down by the South Pole –
But up by the North Pole –
and down by the South Pole –
the lines are shorter.

15. Latitude lines run flat east and west, but they don’t measure how far east or west something is.
That’s not my job. That’s longitude’s job!
(We’ll get to that later.)

16.  Latitude lines measure how far north or south you are from the Equator.

17. Think of LATITUDE like the rungs of a ladder.
North Pole
Think of LATITUDE like the rungs of a ladder.
(ladder sounds like latitude).
It’s how you climb up and down the globe.
90°N
60°N
30°N
EQUATOR 0°
30°S
60°S
90°S
South Pole

18. Anywhere you are on the 30°N line, you are 30° north of the Equator.

19. And anywhere you are on the 30°S line, you are 30° south of the Equator.

20. To find latitude, you climb up and down the globe along the lines of latitude – north or south of the Equator.

21. To find latitude, you climb up and down the globe along the lines of latitude – north or south of the Equator.

22. And now, we take a moment to focus on the Equator. . .

24. on the Equator in Ecuador
Mitad del Mundo, Ecuador

25. Mitad del Mundo, Ecuador

26. and in Brazil not far from Belem, Brazil

27. Macapá, Brazil
Macapá, Brazil - the large monument in the background is a sundial - on the equinox, the shadow of the circle created by the rising sun falls squarely on the line of the equator. The photo is taken from the northern hemisphere.

28.
in Gabon

29.
in Uganda

30. and in Kenya

32. in Indonesia http://www.horizonsunlimited.com/newsletter/2008-10.shtml

33. Bonjol, Indonesia & Pontianak, Indonesia

34. Bethany’s latitude is 35°N, because we are 35° north of the Equator.

35. up or down the globe (north or south).
Latitude is all about how far you are from the Equator –
up or down the globe (north or south).

36. So remember to think of latitude like the rungs of a ladder.

37. Latitude is how you climb up and down the globe.

38. questions on latitude. . .

39. LONGITUDE

40. Longitude lines are always

41. EVERY longitude line goes from the South Pole all the way to the North Pole.

42. f a r t h e s t a p a r t at the Equator.
North Pole
Lines of longitude are
f a r t h e s t a p a r t at the Equator.
They get closer together towards the poles.
South Pole

43. Longitude lines tell us how far we are from the Prime Meridian.

44. Anywhere you are on the 30°E line, you are 30° east of the Prime Meridian.

45. Anywhere you are on the 30°W line, you are 30° west of the Prime Meridian.

46. The Equator is a real location
The Equator is a real location. But who decided where to put the Prime Meridian?

47. In the 1500s, when the Portuguese controlled the Atlantic, they drew the first Prime Meridian passing through the Madeira Islands.
Graphicmaps.com

48.
We control the Atlantic. So, of course, it makes perfect sense that we would put the Prime Meridian through OUR land. WE are the center of the world!
Graphicmaps.com
Portugal owned the Madeira Islands, so they thought it was a good idea to use THEIR land for the Prime Meridian location.

49. This Prime Meridian was used by most mapmakers for the next 300 years.
This Prime Meridian was used by most mapmakers for the next 300 years.

50. When the British got control of the Atlantic, they set a new Prime Meridian, right through England!
Graphicmaps.com

51. NOW look who’s in charge of the Atlantic
NOW look who’s in charge of the Atlantic! England is now the center of the universe, so we will re-draw the Prime Meridian to go through England!
Graphicmaps.com

52. In 1884, 25 countries reached agreement at a conference in Washington D.C. that the location in Greenwich, England, would be the “Prime Meridian” - zero degrees Over a period of many years, other countries accepted and adopted the decision.
The main factors that favored Greenwich as the site of the Prime Meridian were:-
The fact that Britain had far more shipping and far more ships using the Greenwich Meridian than the rest of the world put together. These charts were started in 1767 by the British Nautical Almanac.
That the Greenwich Observatory had been producing data of the highest quality for a very long time.

53. Royal Observatory, Greenwich, England
the Prime Meridian

55. in France
The French refused to accept the Greenwich Meridian until Even today, it’s hard to find a Prime Meridian marker in France (unless it’s for the old Paris Meridian!).

56. in Spain

58. in Ghana

59.  Bethany’s longitude is 97°W, because we are 97° west of the
Prime Meridian. 

60. So remember that longitude lines tell us how far east or west we are from the Prime Meridian.

61. questions on longitude. . .

62. 0° 0° ?
Practice

63. This buoy marks where the Prime Meridian and the Equator intersect.

64. Hemispheres

65. northern or southern hemisphere?
Is the U.S. in the
northern or southern hemisphere?
North
East
West
South

66. So is the on Maine be 45° N or 45°S?

67. western or eastern hemisphere?
And is the U.S. in the
western or eastern hemisphere?
North
East
West
South

68. And is the on Maine be 70° E or 70°W?

69. So the absolute location of the is
45°N, 70°W.

70. Is Peru in the northern or southern hemisphere?
East
West
South

71. So is the x on Peru 15° N or 15°S?

72. western or eastern hemisphere?
And is Peru in the
western or eastern hemisphere?
North
East
West
South

73. And is the x on Peru
75° W or
75°E?

74. So the absolute location of the is
15°S, 75°W.

75. Australia in the northern or southern hemisphere?
East
West
South

76. So is the x on Australia
20° N or
20°S?

77. western or eastern hemisphere?
And is Australia in the
western or eastern hemisphere?
North
East
West
South

78. So is the x on Australia
125° W or
125°E?

79. So the absolute location of the is
25°S, 125°E.