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Lines of longitude east of the prime meridian are numbered from 1° to 179° east (E). Britannica does not review the converted text. The beginning line of latitude is the 0 degree line of Latitude. The main long-term cycle causes the axial tilt to fluctuate between about 22.1° and 24.5° with a period of 41,000 years. Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 327,320 times. Similarly, the Antarctic Circle marks the northernmost latitude in the Southern Hemisphere at which the sun can remain continuously above or below the horizon for 24 hours (at the December and June Solstices respectively). For example, the Arctic Circle (66° 30′ N) and the Antarctic Circle (66° 30′ S) surround the cold regions around the North and South poles. Matt Rosenberg is an award-winning geographer and the author of "The Handy Geography Answer Book" and "The Geography Bee Complete Preparation Handbook. For example, a line of longitude could be 15°W. Lines of longitude run vertically and stretch from east to west, so count each line between the location and the Prime Meridian to get its degrees. Naval Observatory - mean obliquity of the ecliptic, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Circle_of_latitude&oldid=980764767, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles needing additional references from April 2012, All articles needing additional references, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, The border between 19th century Russian territories to the north and conflicting American and British land claims in western North America. I want to display coordinates on a mathematical grid for my school homework. There is both a north and south set of latitude degrees that run from 0° to 90°. Longitude degrees extend 180° east and 180° west from the prime meridian, an imaginary line dividing the earth into an eastern and western hemisphere, and meet to form the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean at 180° longitude. Finally, the Earth's rotational axis is not exactly fixed in the Earth, but undergoes small fluctuations (on the order of 15 meters) called polar motion, which have a small effect on the Tropics and Polar Circles and also on the Equator. A new, third level of content, designed specially to meet the advanced needs of the sophisticated scholar. The coordinates are displayed in the left column or directly on the interactive map. This line of latitude and longitude would be written as.

When you have that number, write it down in degrees and denote whether it lies east or west of the Prime Meridian. If you want to write latitude and longitude, first, identify the line of latitude on which a location sits.

References. Identify the number of minutes and decimals and then write out the coordinates.

For example, say you have a line of latitude at 15°N, 24 minutes, and 15 seconds.

Since (in the geodetic system) altitude and depth are determined by the normal to the Earth's surface, locations sharing the same latitude—but having different elevations (i.e., lying along this normal)—no longer lie within this plane.

For more help, like how to write latitude and longitude using degrees, minutes, and seconds, scroll down. The above example could be written as, "15 10.234, 30 -23.456.".

A location's position along a circle of latitude is given by its longitude. Lines of latitude and longitude are used to locate places accurately on the Earth's surface. Two short sections of the border between Democratic Republic of the Congo and Angola. These lines are also called meridians. Like lines of latitude, meridians are measured in degrees, minutes, and seconds. The Equator is an imaginary line that lies halfway between the North Pole and the South Pole. Are the digits to the right of the decimal point minutes and seconds respectively? Lines of longitude west of the prime meridian are numbered from 1° to 179° west (W). M.A., Geography, California State University - Northridge, B.A., Geography, University of California - Davis.

Lines of latitude describe positions north and south of the Equator.

Rather, they cause a theoretical shifting of the parallels, that would occur if the given axis tilt were maintained throughout the year. Of the parallels or circles of latitude, it is the longest, and the only 'great circle' (a circle on the surface of the Earth, centered on Earth's center). Circles of latitude are unlike circles of longitude, which are all great circles with the centre of Earth in the middle, as the circles of latitude get smaller as the distance from the Equator increases. You have a line of longitude at 30°E, 10 minutes, and 3 seconds. Roughly half the length of border between the United States and Canada follows 49°N. Lines of longitude run from the top of the Earth to the bottom.

Lines or degrees of latitude are approximately 69 miles or 111 km apart, with variation due to the fact that the earth is not a perfect sphere but an oblate ellipsoid (slightly egg-shaped). Lines of latitude north of the Equator are numbered from 1° to 89° N. Lines of latitude south of the Equator are numbered from 1° to 89° S. There are other important lines of latitude besides the Equator. This is the South Pole. To find the Earth coordinates of an address or a place, fill the address field and click on "Get GPS Coordinates" to display its latitude and longitude. Latitude lines run horizontally on a map. The conflicting claims led to the, In Canada, part of the border between Quebec and, In the United States, part of the border between, In the US, part of the border between Wyoming and Utah, the border between Wyoming and, In the US, the border between Nebraska and, In the US, the southern border of Utah with the northern border of, In the US, a short section of the border between the, In the US, the southern border of Tennessee, which meets, In the US, the southern border of Arkansas, which meets the northern border of. Thin lines : ° Thick lines : ° Latitude & Longitude of the mouse cursor on the map . Lines of longitude run between the North Pole and the South Pole. Lines of latitude (also called parallels) circle Earth parallel to the Equator. They are also known as parallels since they are parallel and equidistant from each other.

A line of longitude written out 30.67890 would fall east of the equator, while the line -30.67890 would fall west. This website uses cookies to help deliver and improve our services and provide you with a much richer experience during your visit. However, you must decipher the broad lines of latitude and longitude. On a map, the circles of latitude may or may not be parallel, and their spacing may vary, depending on which projection is used to map the surface of the Earth onto a plane. In the US, part of the border between New Mexico and Texas. Lines of latitude are measured in degrees (°). For example, a line of latitude could be 30°S. Greenwich was the home of Britain’s royal observatory. Latitude and longitude together can describe the exact location of any place on Earth. For example, a line falls 15°N, 30°W. To re-enable the tools or to convert back to English, click "view original" on the Google Translate toolbar.

All the other parallels are smaller and centered only on Earth's axis.

Accessible across all of today's devices: phones, tablets, and desktops. Their length can be calculated by a common sine or cosine function. For instance, the northern border of Colorado is at 41°N while the southern border is at 37°N.

The Arctic Circle is the southernmost latitude in the Northern Hemisphere at which the sun can remain continuously above or below the horizon for 24 hours (at the June and December solstices respectively). The Equator is the longest circle of latitude and is the only circle of latitude which also is a great circle. Count the lines from the equator to the location and write down that number in degrees along with “N” or “S” depending on whether the location is north or south of the equator. The degrees increase in either direction from this marker. Often called parallels or circles of latitude, latitudes are imaginary circles parallel to the Equator.

Movement of the Tropical and Polar Circles, Learn how and when to remove this template message, International Terrestrial Reference System, Spatial Reference System Identifier (SRID), "Maritime Delimitation between Nicaragua and Honduras in the Caribbean Sea (Nicaragua v. Honduras)", U.S.

For example, say your location falls on the latitude line 15°N and the longitude line …

[3] There are many smaller terms, resulting in varying daily shifts of some metres in any direction. facts about lines of latitudeEncyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; In contrast, geographic latitude, which is the kind used in mapping, is calculated using a slightly different process.

After translating an article, all tools except font up/font down will be disabled. Moving to the west, lines of longitude also increase by one degree per line.