Latitude and Longitude

Learning about longitude and latitude is quite similar to what we already learned when we looked at Grid References in the Navigation section. We divide the map of the Earth into different sections and give each section a reference number to help us to find it more easily.

To make it easier to locate a particular place, the Earth is divided into imaginary lines called latitude and longitude.

Latitude and Longitude lines

Latitude and longitude lines are measured in degrees.

Longitude lines run north and south whereas latitude lines run east and west.

The equator is at zero degrees latitude.
It is the starting point for measuring latitude.

The Equator at zero degrees latitude

The equator is an imaginary line like a belt that runs around the middle of the Earth halfway between the North Pole and South Pole.

The equator runs through the top of South America, through the middle of Africa and then Indonesia and north of New Guinea.

Lines of longitude are also called meridians.

Zero degrees longitude is a line which runs from the North pole to the South Pole and goes through Greenwich in London, England. This is also known as the Prime Meridian.