Latitude- Longitude Coordinate System A. Coordinate System- system of locating a point on a surface by means of 2 numbers. B. Latitude- Longitude Coordinate System- - used to locate positions on Earth (curved surface) 1) Latitude- Angular distance North and South of the Equator. A) North –South lines above and below Equator B) Parallels- lines of latitude are parallel to the Equator. C) All parallels are smaller than the Equator Lines of Latitude These parallel lines on the globe are lines of latitude. http://plantwatch.sunsite.ualberta.ca/library/images/lat.jpg LATITUDE Latitude (lines of parallel) distance in degrees north or south of the equator. Lines of latitude are horizontal. 0o - equator 90o N- North pole 90o S- South Pole Latitude Latitude angles are measured from the center of the earth (vertex of the angle) http://www.csmate.colostate.edu/cltw/cohortpages/viney/latitude.html Degrees, Minutes, Seconds 360 degrees in a circle 1 degree is 60 minutes 1 minute is 60 seconds 2) Longitude- Angular distance east or west of the Prime Meridian a) Prime Meridian- reference line 0° b) Connects North and South Poles c) Meridian- longitude lines d) non-parallel e) International Date Line (180°) Prime Meridian The Prime Meridian passes through Greenwich, England http://www.mrsciguy.com/sciimages/longitude1.jpg Prime Meridian Marker A marker showing the actual location of the Prime Meridian in Greenwich, England http://www.cavinguk.co.uk/holidays/London200 6/normal/PrimeMeridian.jpg Lines of Longitude http://plantwatch.sunsite.ualberta.ca/library/images/long.jpg Longitude Angles •Longitude is measured in degrees east or west of the Prime Meridian •Angles are measured from the center of the earth (vertex of angle) east or west of the Prime Meridian http://www.csmate.colostate.edu/cltw/cohortpages/viney/latitude.html Positioning on the Earth’s Surface East is the direction of Latitude: (90oN to 90oS) rotation of the Earth North Pole o o Prime Meridian Longitude: (180 E to 180 W) 0o Longitude Tropic of Cancer Latitude 23½o North st 21 June 9060ooE 6090303090WEo o nd 66½23½o 22 Sept o Equator 0 o Latitude 0 20th March 90 23½ 22nd December Tropic of Capricorn Latitude 23½o South Longitude 90o West Longitude 90oEast o Longitude 60 West Longitude 60o East Longitude 30o West Longitude 30o East South Pole Latitude and Longitude together enable the fixing of position on the Earth’s surface. Now you’re ready to find some locations on a map!.