Latitude Maps

Which is latitude and which is longitude for maps and locations?

Public Comments

1. Lines of latitude All locations of a given latitude are collectively referred to as a line of latitude or parallel, because they are coplanar, and all such planes are parallel to the Equator. Lines of latitude other than the Equator are approximately small circles on the surface of the Earth; they are not geodesics since the shortest route between two points at the same latitude involves moving farther away from the equator. A specific latitude may then be combined with a specific longitude to give a precise position on the Earth's surface. Certain lines of latitude are important such as the Arctic Circle Prime Meridian or Antarctic circle. To learn more about them go to the important latitude page. Longitude, sometimes denoted by the Greek letter λ, describes the location of a place on Earth east or west of a north-south line called the Prime Meridian. Longitude is given as an angular measurement ranging from 0° at the Prime Meridian to +180° eastward and −180° westward. Unlike latitude, which has the equator as a natural starting position, there is no natural starting position for longitude. Therefore, a reference meridian had to be chosen. While British cartographers had long used the Greenwich meridian in London, other references were used elsewhere, including: El Hierro, Rome, Copenhagen, Jerusalem, Saint Petersburg, Pisa, Paris, Philadelphia and Washington. In 1884, the International Meridian Conference adopted the Greenwich meridian as the universal prime meridian or zero point of longitude. Each degree of longitude is further sub-divided into 60 minutes, each of which divided into 60 seconds. A longitude is thus specified as 23° 27′ 30" E. For high accuracy, the seconds are specified with a decimal fraction. An alternative representation uses degrees and minutes, where parts of a minute are expressed as a decimal fraction, thus: 23° 27.500′ E. Degrees may also be expressed as a decimal number: 23.45833° E. Sometimes, the West/East suffix is replaced by a negative sign for West. Confusingly, the convention of negative for East is also sometimes seen. The preferred convention that East is positive is consistent with the right-handed x-axis in the Cartesian coordinate system. A specific longitude may then be combined with a specific latitude to give a precise position on the Earth's surface.
2. Latitude: The angular distance north or south of the earth's equator, measured in degrees along a meridian, as on a map or globe. Longitude: Angular distance on the earth's surface, measured east or west from the prime meridian at Greenwich, England, to the meridian passing through a position, expressed in degrees (or hours), minutes, and seconds.
3. Okay - that first answer was right, but really long. Here's how I remember which is which. Latitude finds N and S, the latitude lines on a map or glabe look like a ladder - they sound the same.
4. Latitude is left to right, longitude is up and down.
5. Lines of Longitude run from pole to pole, and therefore denote how far to the east or west you are. Lines of Latitude run parallel with the equator, so Latitude is how far North you are. The easiest way to remember which is which is that the word latitude comes from lateral, meaning parallel. Lines of latitude are parallel with each other, and with the equator. Line of longitude are not parallel, as they converge at the poles.
6. Hey! help is on the way. Longitude - sounds long, not wide, right? A line of longitude goes from pole to pole, like a section of orange. And the lines of longitude tell you where, around the world (or the orange) you might be in relation to your starting point, which on the earth is Greenwich meridian. If you say find me 10 places at longitude 76 West, you would start with New York and add whatever places are on the same line, north & south. Latitude - if someone gives you a lot of latitude in doing something it suggests you have a lot of leeway. As in, left to right. That is how the lines of latitude mark off the earth, but this time, from the equator up (and down) to the pole. So you can have a lot of latitude all around the world, like cities or places at 45 degrees NORTH (or SOuth). As a matter of fact, 45 degrees is the halfway point between the equator and the poles, and if you look it up I am betting you'll find a few places that have a special marker to indicate it.
7. Lattitude is like a belt. There are different sizes. Longitude is like orange peels. They are all the same size.