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Article: Latitude and Longitude
- Article from:
- World of Earth Science
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Latitude and longitude
The concepts of latitude and longitude create a grid system for the unique expression of any location on Earth's surface.
Latitudes
—
also known as parallels
—
mark and measure distance north or south from the equator. Earth's equator (the great circle or middle circumference) is designated 0
°
latitude. The north and south geographic poles respectively measure 90
°
north (N) and 90
°
south (S) from the equator. The angle of latitude is determined as the angle between a transverse plane cutting through Earth's equator and the right angle (90
°
) of the
polar axis
. The distance between lines of latitude remains constant. One degree of ...