what is latitude

Latitude measures the distance north or south from the Earth’s equator.

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Latitude and longitude | Definition, Examples, Diagrams, & Facts | Britannica

2 weeks ago - Latitude and longitude, coordinate system by means of which the position or location of any place on Earth’s surface can be determined and described. Latitude is a measurement of location north or south of the Equator. Longitude is a similar ...

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Latitude

angle between zenith and a plane parallel to the equator

Latitude, longitude, and the prime meridian explained

In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that … Wikipedia

Wikipedia

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Latitude - Wikipedia

March 22, 2026 - In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pole, with 0° at the Equator.

Background Latitude on the sphere Latitude on the ellipsoid Meridian distance Auxiliary latitudes Latitude and coordinate systems Astronomical latitude

Caliper

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What is a Latitude - Latitude Definition

In geography, latitude is the distance on the earth’s surface, north or south of the Equator, expressed in angular measurements from 0° at the Equator to 90° (North or South). Southern latitudes can also be expressed as negative number where -90° is at the South Pole.

Merriam-Webster

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LATITUDE Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

4 days ago - The meaning of LATITUDE is angular distance from some specified circle or plane of reference. How to use latitude in a sentence.

National Geographic

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Latitude - National Geographic Education

Latitude is the measurement of distance north or south of the Equator.

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Study.com

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Latitude Definition & Examples - Lesson | Study.com

September 5, 2015 - Which way is latitude on a map? Lines of latitude are horizontal; they go around the world in circles of varying sizes. The biggest line is the Equator; all other lines of latitude are either north or south of the Equator and they run parallel to it. The Equator is located at 0 degrees, and there are 90 degrees between the Equator and the North Pole and another 90 degrees between the Equator and the South Pole.

Generation Genius

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Latitude Definition | K-8 Science | Fun Videos & Lessons

May 1, 2024 - Latitude measures distance north or south of the equator using imaginary east-west lines. For example, the equator is at 0° latitude.

HERE

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What is the difference between longitude and latitude?

October 13, 2023 - The best-known latitude line is the one in the very middle — the equator — that separates the world into the northern and southern hemispheres.

LocationIQ

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What is Latitude?

It is the northernmost point on the Earth's surface and is located in the Arctic Ocean. Latitude is usually expressed in degrees, minutes, and seconds, with each degree being divided into 60 minutes and each minute being divided into 60 seconds.

Atlas

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Latitude - Definitions & FAQs | Atlas

January 9, 2024 - Latitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the Earth's surface. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek lett...

BBC

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What is longitude and latitude? - BBC Bitesize

January 20, 2025 - But I also need to find out how far around the Earth he is, and how far down. To do that, I’ll use what’s called latitude and longitude.Lines of latitude run around the Earth like imaginary hoops and have numbers to show how many degrees north or south they are from the Equator.

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r/askscience on Reddit: What is the correct definition of latitude and longitude?

October 30, 2021 -

I was taught that latitude and longitude are coordinates, those two words essentially mean two numbers for each point on the planet, or two set of measurements as national geographic puts it. Then, in addition to these words, there are two more: "parallels" - lines of *equal* latitude, and "meridians" - lines of *equal* longitude.

Now the kids are in school and I was surprised to see how latitude and longitude are introduced and explained. They say that "latitude is a line" that divides the Earth horizontally, and "longitude is a line" that divides the Earth vertically. Essentially confusing latitude for a "parallel" and longitude for a "meridian". Additionally, youtube is full of similar explanations.

What I see especially confusing is that latitude is a measure of how far from the equator, measured "vertically", but explanations say it is a horizontal line, so the kids' brains get short-circuited.

So what is right, is there a mix in terminology?

Top answer

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I would say both descriptions are lacking, but the second description of latitude and longitude (i.e., the "new" way) is maybe slightly better than the first (i.e., the "old" way), but the introduction of "horizontal" and "vertical" are problematic and imprecise. Neither description is wrong, but both are missing key elements. The way I would describe them are that latitude and longitude are a spherical coordinate system (i.e., a way of slicing up a spherical shell) allowing you to uniquely define a position on the surface of the sphere with a set of two coordinates. In terms of the orientation of the lines of latitude or longitude, it's more correct (and maybe easier) to consider them with respect to the rotational axis and the equator of the planet. The equator is a line that marks the intersection of the surface of the planet with a plane perpendicular to the rotational axis that goes through the center of the planet. Lines of latitude (other than 0 degrees, i.e., the equator) are the intersection with the surface of the planet of planes that do not go through the center of the planet, but are parallel to the equator. For this reason, lines of latitude are sometimes referred to as "parallels". Line of longitude, or meridians, are the intersection with the surface of the planet of a series of planes that go through both the center of the planet and the axis of rotation. So if you were to cut the sphere along any line of longitude, you would divide the sphere into two equal hemispheres, but if you were to cut the sphere along any line of latitude but the equator, you would divide the sphere in two unequal halves. Then, in relating the coordinates to the lines of latitude and longitude, because we are on a sphere, we measure these in degrees. The angles between lines of longitude are a little easier to visualize since these all intersect at the poles. The angle between lines of latitude are a little more difficult to picture since by definition lines of latitude to not intersect. Here, it's useful to consider a hemispherical slice along a meridian, i.e., we slice the sphere in half perpendicular to the equatorial plane, bisecting the poles. Then, on this hemispherical slice if we draw two radii between any two lines of latitude and the center of the sphere, the angle between those two radii is the angle between the two lines of latitude. The final piece of the puzzle is the origin of the coordinate system. For latitude, this is not arbitrary and it's fixed to the equator, i.e., to define the degree of latitude we measure the angle between the equator and that line of latitude per above. For longitude, it is arbitrary and we have to pick some meridian from which to measure our angles. Once we have a set of lines, ways of measuring angular distance between those lines, and origins for the two sets of lines, we now have all the pieces to define a unique coordinate for any place on the surface of the sphere.

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It may help to understand that these 'lines' are actually curves along a surface. The circle of the equator and the Arctic Circle are called 'parallels' but are nowhere in the same plane on Earth. Represented on a flat map (in some projections) latitudes are parallel to each other and are shown to be in the same plane. In the usual 'world map' projection, all 'lines' appear to be in the same plane, latitudes appear to be parallel, as do longitudes, which is why the north and south poles are left out (because the longitudes converge there).

Time and Date

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What Is Longitude and Latitude?

Together, they form the Earth’s geographical coordinates, and represent the angular distance of any location from the center of the Earth. Both latitudes and longitudes are measured in degrees (°) and minutes (′). Astronomical terms & definitions · The Earth is, almost, but not quite, a sphere that rotates around its axis.

Humboldt State University

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GSP 270: Latitude and Longitude

The latitude is the angle formed by a line going from the center of the earth to the equator at the point on the equator that is closed to the point of interest and another line that goes from the center of the earth to the parallel that goes through the point of interest.

Dictionary.com

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LATITUDE Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com

A measure of relative position north or south on the Earth's surface, measured in degrees from the equator, which has a latitude of 0°, with the poles having a latitude of 90° north and south. The distance of a degree of latitude is about 69 statute miles or 60 nautical miles (111 km).

MapTools

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Lattitude and Longitude Defined - Latitude

Lines of latitude measure north-south position between the poles. The equator is defined as 0 degrees, the North Pole is 90 degrees north, and the South Pole is 90 degrees south. Lines of latitude are all parallel to each other, thus they are often referred to as parallels.

Britannica Kids

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latitude and longitude - Kids | Britannica Kids | Homework Help

Lines of latitude (also called parallels) circle Earth parallel to the Equator. The Equator is an imaginary line that lies halfway between the North Pole and the South Pole. It runs east-west all the way around Earth.

Geosciences LibreTexts

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1.4.1: Latitude and Longitude - Geosciences LibreTexts

May 24, 2024 - Latitude and longitude comprises a grid system of lines encircling the globe and is used to determine the locations of points on the earth. Lines of latitude, also called parallels, run east - west.