How do latitude and longitude describe location

Think about having imaginary horizontal "hula hoops" around the earth, with the biggest hoop around the equator, and then progressively smaller ones stacked above and below it to reach the North and South Poles. Latitude lines are a numerical way to measure how far north or south of the equator a place is located. The equator is the starting point for measuring latitude--that's why it's marked as 0 degrees latitude.

The number of latitude degrees will be larger the further away from the equator the place is located, all the way up to 90 degrees latitude at the poles.

Longitude Vertical mapping lines on Earth are lines of longitude, known as "meridians". One simple way to visualize this might be to think about having hula hoops cut in half, vertically positioned with one end at the North Pole and the other at the South Pole. Visualize hula hoops cut in half, vertically positioned with one end at the North Pole and the other at the South Pole.

As the vertical starting point for longitude, the Prime Meridian is numbered 0 degrees longitude. Both longitude and latitude are angles measured with the center of the earth as an origin. A longitude is an angle from the prime merdian, measured to the east longitudes to the west are negative. Latitudes measure an angle up from the equator latitudes to the south are negative. Figure 1. With an angle of longitude and an angle of latitude, we can locate any point on the surface of the earth.

You've seen lines running across maps your whole life and may not have noticed them. The lines running North to South are called "Meridians" or "lines of longitude" Figure 2 , while the lines running East to West are called "Parallels" or "lines of latitude" Figure 3.

Join our community of educators and receive the latest information on National Geographic's resources for you and your students. Skip to content. Twitter Facebook Pinterest Google Classroom. Informal Assessment Have students use the outline maps of the United States and the world to identify: states in the U. Learning Objectives Students will: explain why lines of latitude and longitude might be helpful determine the latitude and longitude of their town and other places in the country find cities with the same latitude and describe their locations find landmarks with the same longitude and describe their locations.

Teaching Approach Learning-for-use. Teaching Methods Discussions Hands-on learning Modeling. Connections to National Standards, Principles, and Practices National Geography Standards Standard 1 : How to use maps and other geographic representations, geospatial technologies, and spatial thinking to understand and communicate information. Resources Provided The resources are also available at the top of the page. Prior Knowledge None. Vocabulary degree.

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