The Earth’s Invisible Lines

hThe X axis is called the Equator.

hThe Y axis is called the Prime Meridian or sometimes the Greewich Meridian because itruns through the town of Greenwich outside of London.

hLat/Long are the 2 grid points by which you can locate any point on earth.

Y

X

East West, North South on the Earth

hLet each of the four quarters then be designated by North or South and East or West.

N

S

EW

hThese invisible lines are numbered starting from the x and y axis, moving outward.

90 75 60 45 30 15 15 30 45 60 75 90

7

5 6

0 4

5 3

0 1

5 1

5 3

0 4

5 6

0 7

5

They are Labeled: East West, North South on the Earth

hThe N tells us we’re north of the Equator. The S tells us we’re south of the Equator.

hThe E tells us that we’re east of the Prime Meridian. The W tells us that we’re west of the Prime Meridian.

(N, W) (N, E)

(S, W) (S, E)

East West, North South on the Earth

hThat means all points in North America will have a North latitude and a West longitude because it is North of the Equator and West of the Prime Meridian.

(N, W)

Prime Meridian

East West, North South on the Earth

hWhat would be the latitude and longitude directions in Australia?

Prime Meridian ?

What is Latitude? hLatitude is the distance from the equator along the Y axis.

hAll points along the equator have a value of 0 degrees latitude.

hNorth pole = 90°N

hSouth pole = 90°S

hValues are expressed in terms of degrees.

Y

X

90°S

90°N

Latitude

hThe distance from the equator effects the temperature and climate of a place.

hThe closer to the equator a place is, the hotter it is and the less it’s temperature varies throughout the year.

hThe farther away from the equator a place is, the larger the temperature variation. These places have very cold winters and hot summers.

What is Longitude?hLongitude is the

distance from the prime meridian along the X axis.

hAll points along the prime meridian have a value of 0 degrees longitude.

hThe farthest point west is 180, the farthest point east is 180

Y

X

180°W 180°E

Time Zones

hThe longitude of a place effects it’s time.

So Where is (0,0)?hThe origin

point (0,0) is where the equator intersects the prime meridian.

h(0,0) is off the western coast of Africa in the Atlantic Ocean.

See If You Can Tell In Which Quarter These Lon/Lats Are

Located

h1. 41°N, 21°E

h2. 37°N, 76°W

h3. 72°S, 141°W

h4. 7°S, 23°W

h5. 15°N, 29°E

h6. 34°S, 151°E

A B

C D

h1. B

h2. A

h3. C

h4. C

h5. B

h6. D

Equator Latitude 0o

Latitude: (90oN to 90oS)

Latitude 23½o NorthTropic of Cancer

Latitude 23½o SouthTropic of Capricorn

Longitude 30o East

Longitude 60o East

Longitude 30o West

Longitude 60o West

Positioning on the Earth’s SurfaceEast is the direction of rotation of the Earth North Pole

South Pole

23½o 23½o

66½o 90o

900

21st June

22nd December

22nd Sept

20th March

30oE60oE90oE90oW30oW60oW

Longitude 90oEastLongitude 90o West

Prime Meridian

0o Longitude

Longitude: (180oE to 180oW)

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!