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Longitude (λ) Map of Earth Lines of longitude appear curved and vertical in this projection, but are actually halves of great circles. Lines of latitude appear straight and horizontal in this projection, but are actually circular with different radii. All locations with a given latitude are collectively referred to as a circle of latitude. The equator divides the planet into a Northern Hemisphere and a Southern Hemisphere, and has a latitude of 0°.

Latitude, usually denoted symbolically by the Greek letter phi, $phi,!$, gives the location of a place on Earth north or south of the equator. Lines of Latitude are the horizontal lines shown running east-to-west on maps. Technically, Latitude is an angular measurement in degrees (marked with °) ranging from 0° at the Equator (low latitude) to 90° at the poles (90° N for the North Pole or 90° S for the South Pole; high latitude). The complementary angle of a latitude is called the colatitude. Look up latitude in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Based on a screenshot of a CIA World Factbook PDF. I cropped it, added text labels, and changed file format. ... For other uses, see Map (disambiguation). ... This article is about Earth as a planet. ... Longitude is the east-west geographic coordinate measurement most commonly utilized in cartography and global navigation. ... In astronomy, geography, geometry and related sciences and contexts, a plane is said to be horizontal at a given point if it is locally perpendicular to the gradient of the gravity field, i. ... On the Earth, a circle of latitude is an imaginary east-west circle that connects all locations with a given latitude. ... World map showing the equator in red In tourist areas, the equator is often marked on the sides of roads The equator marked as it crosses IlhÃ©u das Rolas, in SÃ£o TomÃ© and PrÃ­ncipe. ... Northern hemisphere highlighted in yellow. ... southern hemisphere highlighted in yellow (Antarctica not depicted). ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (3630x1870, 1364 KB) Summary The original is a GIMP native XCF format (16 MB) which contains the base map with lines contained on separate layers. ... Look up Î¦, Ï† in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... This article is about Earth as a planet. ... World map showing the equator in red In tourist areas, the equator is often marked on the sides of roads The equator marked as it crosses IlhÃ©u das Rolas, in SÃ£o TomÃ© and PrÃ­ncipe. ... This article is about angles in geometry. ... This article describes the unit of angle. ... For other uses, see North Pole (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see South Pole (disambiguation). ... A pair of complementary angles, because they add up to 90 degrees. ... In spherical coordinates, colatitude is the complementary angle of the latitude. ...

## Circles of latitude GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");

Main article: Circle of latitude

All locations of a given latitude are collectively referred to as a circle of latitude or line of latitude or parallel, because they are coplanar, and all such planes are parallel to the equator. Lines of latitude other than the Equator are approximately small circles on the surface of the Earth; they are not geodesics since the shortest route between two points at the same latitude involves moving farther away from, then towards, the equator (see great circle). On the Earth, a circle of latitude is an imaginary east-west circle that connects all locations with a given latitude. ... On the Earth, a circle of latitude is an imaginary east-west circle that connects all locations with a given latitude. ... A set of points is said to be coplanar if and only if they lie on the same geometric plane. ... This article is about the mathematical construct. ... Parallel is a term in geometry and in everyday life that refers to a property in Euclidean space of two or more lines or planes, or a combination of these. ... World map showing the equator in red In tourist areas, the equator is often marked on the sides of roads The equator marked as it crosses IlhÃ©u das Rolas, in SÃ£o TomÃ© and PrÃ­ncipe. ... A small circle, of a sphere, is the circle constructed by a plane crossing the sphere not in its middle point. ... In mathematics, a geodesic is a generalization of the notion of a straight line to curved spaces. In presence of a metric, geodesics are defined to be (locally) the shortest path between points on the space. ... For the Brisbane bus routes known collectively as the Great Circle Line (598 & 599), see the following list of Brisbane Transport routes A great circle on a sphere A great circle is a circle on the surface of a sphere that has the same diameter as the sphere, dividing the...

Sign in northern Vermont.

A specific latitude may then be combined with a specific longitude to give a precise position on the Earth's surface (see satellite navigation system). Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... This article is about the U.S. state. ... Longitude is the east-west geographic coordinate measurement most commonly utilized in cartography and global navigation. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Global Navigation Satellite System. ...

### Important named circles of latitude

Besides the equator, four other lines of latitude are named because of the role they play in the geometrical relationship with the Earth and the Sun:

Only at latitudes between the Tropics is it possible for the sun to be at the zenith. Only north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle is the midnight sun possible. For the fast food restaurant chain, see Arctic Circle Restaurants. ... For the novel by Henry Miller, see Tropic of Cancer (novel). ... World map showing the Tropic of Capricorn For the novel by Henry Miller, see Tropic of Capricorn (novel). ... Zoomable PDF of the map this is based on The Antarctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. ... Sol redirects here. ... In broad terms, the zenith is the direction pointing directly above a particular location (perpendicular, orthogonal). ... For the fast food restaurant chain, see Arctic Circle Restaurants. ... Zoomable PDF of the map this is based on The Antarctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. ... The midnight sun at Nordkapp, Norway. ...

The reason that these lines have the values that they do lies in the axial tilt of the Earth with respect to the sun, which is 23° 26′ 21.41″. In astronomy, axial tilt is the inclination angle of a planets rotational axis in relation to a perpendicular to its orbital plane. ... This article describes the unit of angle. ...

Note that the Arctic Circle and Tropic of Cancer and the Antarctic Circle and Tropic of Capricorn are colatitudes since the sum of their angles is 90°.

## Subdivisions

As Earth is not a smooth sphere, but slightly oblate, a degree of latitude varies in length from about 111.3195 km at the equator to 110.9462 km at the poles. A degree of arc at a latitude not only varies with latitude, but also with the direction being faced. To simplify calculations where elliptical consideration is not important, the nautical mile was created, equaling exactly 111.12 km per degree of arc or, sub-dividing into minutes, 1852 metres per minute of arc. One minute of latitude can be further divided into 60 seconds. A latitude is thus specified as 13°19'43″ N (for greater precision, a decimal fraction can be added to the seconds). An alternative representation uses only degrees and minutes, where the seconds are expressed as a decimal fraction of minutes, thus the above example is expressed as 13°19.717' N. Degrees can also be expressed singularly, with both the minutes and seconds incorporated as a decimal number and rounded as desired (decimal degree notation): 13.32861° N. Sometimes, the north/south suffix is replaced by a negative sign for south (−90° for the South Pole). For other uses, see Sphere (disambiguation). ... An oblate spheroid is ellipsoid having a shorter axis and two equal longer axes. ... This article describes the unit of angle. ... A nautical mile or sea mile is a unit of length. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... This article is about the unit of length. ... For other uses, see South Pole (disambiguation). ...

## Effect of latitude

Average temperatures vary strongly with latitude.

A region's latitude has a great effect on its climate and weather (see Effect of sun angle on climate). Latitude more loosely determines tendencies in polar auroras, prevailing winds, and other physical characteristics of geographic locations. Image File history File links Size of this preview: 777 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolutionâ€Ž (1,100 Ã— 849 pixels, file size: 385 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) // This is a global map of the annually-averaged near-surface air temperature from 1961-1990. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 777 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolutionâ€Ž (1,100 Ã— 849 pixels, file size: 385 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) // This is a global map of the annually-averaged near-surface air temperature from 1961-1990. ... For the geological process, see Weathering or Erosion. ... Figure 1 This is a diagram of the seasons. ... Aurora borealis Polar aurorae are optical phenomena characterized by colorful displays of light in the night sky. ... Wind is the quasi-horizontal movement of air (as opposed to an air current) caused by a horizontal pressure gradient force. ...

Researchers at Harvard's Center for International Development (CID) found in 2001 that only three tropical economies — Hong Kong, Singapore, and part of Taiwan — were classified as high-income by the World Bank, while all countries within regions zoned as temperate had either middle- or high-income economies.[1] Harvard University is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, and a member of the Ivy League. ... The tropics are the geographic region of the Earth centered on the equator and limited in latitude by the two tropics: the Tropic of Cancer in the north and the Tropic of Capricorn in the southern hemisphere. ... The World Bank logo The World Bank (the Bank) is a part of the World Bank Group (WBG), is a bank that makes loans to developing countries for development programs with the stated goal of reducing poverty. ... For the usage in virology, see temperate (virology). ...

## Types of latitude

Because the Earth is slightly flattened by its rotation, cartographers refer to a variety of auxiliary latitudes to precisely adapt spherical projections according to their purpose.
More generally, for other planets such as Mars, geographic and geocentric latitude are called "planetographic" and "planetocentric" latitude, respectively. Most maps of Mars since 2002 use planetocentric coordinates. This article is about Earth as a planet. ... Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the solar system, named after the Roman god of war (the counterpart of the Greek Ares), on account of its blood red color as viewed in the night sky. ...

### Common "latitude"

• In common usage, "latitude" refers to geodetic or geographic latitude $phi,!$ and is the angle between the equatorial plane and a line that is normal to the reference spheroid, which approximates the shape of the Earth to account for flattening of the poles and bulging of the equator.

The expressions following assume elliptical polar sections with the angular eccentricity, $o!varepsilon,!$ (which equals ${}^{arccos(frac{b}{a})},!$, where $a;!$ and $b;!$ are the equatorial and polar radii), and that all sections parallel to the equatorial plane are circular. Geographic latitude (with longitude) then provides a Gauss map. Utilized in some of these conversions is a common elliptic integrand: World map showing the equator in red In tourist areas, the equator is often marked on the sides of roads The equator marked as it crosses IlhÃ©u das Rolas, in SÃ£o TomÃ© and PrÃ­ncipe. ... A surface normal, or just normal to a flat surface is a three-dimensional vector which is perpendicular to that surface. ... In mathematics, a spheroid is a quadric surface in three dimensions obtained by rotating an ellipse about one of its principal axes. ... This article is about Earth as a planet. ... For other uses, see Ellipse (disambiguation). ... In the study of ellipses and related geometry, various parameters in the distortion of a circle into an ellipse are identified and employed: Aspect ratio, flattening and eccentricity. ... In differential geometry, the Gauss map (named, like so many things, after Carl F. Gauss) maps a surface in Euclidean space R3 to the unit sphere . ... This article deals with the concept of an integral in calculus. ...

$n'(theta)=frac{1}{E'(theta)}=frac{1}{sqrt{1-big(sin(theta)sin(o!varepsilon)big)^2}};,!$

### Reduced latitude

• Reduced or parametric latitude, $beta,!$, is the latitude of the same radius on the sphere with the same equator.

For other uses, see Sphere (disambiguation). ...

### Authalic latitude

• Authalic latitude, $&# 0;,!$, gives an area-preserving transform to the sphere.
$widehat{S}(phi)^2=frac{1}{2}b^2left(sin(phi)n'(phi)^2+frac{lnbigg(n'(phi)Big(1+sin(phi)sin(o!varepsilon)Big)bigg)}{sin(o!varepsilon)}right);,!$
begin{align}&# 0;amp;=arcsin!left(frac{widehat{S}(phi)^2}{widehat{S}(90^circ)^2}right), &=arcsin!left(frac{sin(phi)sin(o!varepsilon)n'(phi)^2+lnBig(n'(phi)big(1+sin(phi)sin(o!varepsilon)big)Big)}{sin(o!varepsilon)sec(o!varepsilon)^2+lnBig(sec(o!varepsilon)big(1+sin(o!varepsilon)big)Big)}right);end{align},!

### Rectifying latitude

• Rectifying latitude, $mu,!$, is the surface distance from the equator, scaled so the pole is 90°. Unfortunately, it involves elliptic integration:
$M(theta)=acos(o!varepsilon)^2n'(theta)^3;,!$
$mu=frac{;int_{0}^phi;M(theta),dtheta}{frac{2}{pi}int_{0}^{90^circ}M(phi),dphi} =frac{pi}{2}cdotfrac{;int_{0}^phi;n'(theta)^3,dtheta}{int_{0}^{90^circ}n'(phi)^3,dphi};,!$

In integral calculus, elliptic integrals originally arose in connection with the problem of giving the arc length of an ellipse and were first studied by Giulio Fagnano and Leonhard Euler. ...

### Conformal latitude

• Conformal latitude, $chi,!$, gives an angle-preserving (conformal) transform to the sphere.
$chi=2cdotarctanleft(sqrt{frac{1+sin(phi)}{1-sin(phi)}cdotleft(frac{1-sin(phi)sin(o!varepsilon)}{1+sin(phi)sin(o!varepsilon)}right)^{!!sin(o!varepsilon)}}^{color{white}|};right)-frac{pi}{2};;!$

In mathematics, a mapping w = f(z) is angle-preserving or (more usually) conformal at a point z0, if it preserves oriented angles between curves through z0, as well as their orientation, i. ...

### Geocentric latitude

• The geocentric latitude, $psi,!$, is the angle between the equatorial plane and a line from the center of the Earth.
$psi=arctanBig(cos(o!varepsilon)^2tan(phi)Big).;!$

This article is about Earth as a planet. ...

### Comparison of latitudes

The following plot shows the differences between the types of latitude. The data used is found in the table following the plot. Please note that the values in the table are in minutes, not degrees, and the plot reflects this as well. Also note that the conformal symbols are hidden behind the geocentric due to being very close in value.

Image File history File links Types_of_latitude_difference. ...

Approximate difference from geographic latitude ("Lat")
Lat
$phi,!$
Reduced
$phi-beta,!$
Authalic
$phi-&# 0;,!$
Rectifying
$phi-mu,!$
Conformal
$phi-chi,!$
Geocentric
$phi-psi,!$
0.00′ 0.00′ 0.00′ 0.00′ 0.00′
1.01′ 1.35′ 1.52′ 2.02′ 2.02′
10° 1.99′ 2.66′ 2.99′ 3.98′ 3.98′
15° 2.91′ 3.89′ 4.37′ 5.82′ 5.82′
20° 3.75′ 5.00′ 5.62′ 7.48′ 7.48′
25° 4.47′ 5.96′ 6.70′ 8.92′ 8.92′
30° 5.05′ 6.73′ 7.57′ 10.09′ 10.09′
35° 5.48′ 7.31′ 8.22′ 10.95′ 10.96′
40° 5.75′ 7.66′ 8.62′ 11.48′ 11.49′
45° 5.84′ 7.78′ 8.76′ 11.67′ 11.67′
50° 5.75′ 7.67′ 8.63′ 11.50′ 11.50′
55° 5.49′ 7.32′ 8.23′ 10.97′ 10.98′
60° 5.06′ 6.75′ 7.59′ 10.12′ 10.13′
65° 4.48′ 5.97′ 6.72′ 8.95′ 8.96′
70° 3.76′ 5.01′ 5.64′ 7.52′ 7.52′
75° 2.92′ 3.90′ 4.39′ 5.85′ 5.85′
80° 2.00′ 2.67′ 3.00′ 4.00′ 4.01′
85° 1.02′ 1.35′ 1.52′ 2.03′ 2.03′
90° 0.00′ 0.00′ 0.00′ 0.00′ 0.00′

### Astronomical latitude

A more obscure measure of latitude is the astronomical latitude, which is the angle between the equatorial plane and the normal to the geoid (ie a plumb line). It originated as the angle between horizon and pole star. A surface normal, or just normal to a flat surface is a three-dimensional vector which is perpendicular to that surface. ... The GOCE project will measure high-accuracy gravity gradients and provide an accurate geoid model based on the Earths gravity field. ...

Astronomical latitude is not to be confused with declination, the coordinate astronomers use to describe the locations of stars north/south of the celestial equator (see equatorial coordinates), nor with ecliptic latitude, the coordinate that astronomers use to describe the locations of stars north/south of the ecliptic (see ecliptic coordinates). In astronomy, declination (abbrev. ... An astronomer or astrophysicist is a person whose area of interest is astronomy or astrophysics. ... The celestial equator is a great circle on the imaginary celestial sphere, which could be constructed by inflating the Earths equator until it intersects with said sphere. ... The equatorial coordinate system is probably the most widely used celestial coordinate system, whose equatorial coordinates are: declination () right ascension () -also RA-, or hour angle () -also HA- It is the most closely related to the geographic coordinate system, because they use the same fundamental plane, and the same poles. ... Ecliptic latitude is one of the co-ordinates which can be used to define the location of an astronomical object on the celestial sphere in ecliptic coordinates. ... The plane of the ecliptic is well seen in this picture from the 1994 lunar prospecting Clementine spacecraft. ... The ecliptic coordinate system is a celestial coordinate system that uses the ecliptic for its fundamental plane. ...

### Palæolatitude

Continents move over time, due to continental drift, taking whatever fossils and other features of interest they may have with them. Particularly when discussing fossils, it's often more useful to know where the fossil was when it was laid down, than where it is when it was dug up: this is called the palæolatitude of the fossil. The Palæolatitude can be constrained by palæomagnetic data. If tiny magnetisable grains are present when the rock is being formed, these will align themselves with the Earth's magnetic field like compass needles. A magnetometer can deduce the orientation of these grains by subjecting a sample to a magnetic field, and the magnetic declination of the grains can be used to infer the latitude of deposition. Plates in the crust of the earth, according to the plate tectonics theory Continental drift refers to the movement of the Earths continents relative to each other. ... Paleomagnetism refers to the study of the record of the Earths magnetic field preserved in various magnetic minerals through time. ... A magnetometer is a scientific instrument used to measure the strength and/or direction of the magnetic field in the vicinity of the instrument. ... Magnetic declination. ...

## Further reading

• John P. Snyder Map Projections: a working manual excerpts

## See also

The American Practical Navigator , written by Nathaniel Bowditch, is an encyclopedia of navigation, a valuable handbook on oceanography and meteorology, and contains useful tables and a maritime glossary. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Datum. ... Geodetic pillar (1855); Ostend, Belgium Archive with lithography plates for maps of Bavaria in the Landesamt fÃ¼r Vermessung und Geoinformation in Munich Geodesy (IPA North American English ; British, Australian English etc. ... Geotagging, sometimes referred to as Geocoding, is the process of adding geographical identification metadata to various media such as websites, RSS feeds, or images. ... The great-circle distance is the shortest distance between any two points on the surface of a sphere measured along a path on the surface of the sphere (as opposed to going through the spheres interior). ... A diagram showing the relative positions of the Horse latitudes Horse latitudes or Subtropical High are subtropical latitudes between 30 and 35 degrees both north and south. ... The following is a list of cities by latitude. ... . ... Longitude is the east-west geographic coordinate measurement most commonly utilized in cartography and global navigation. ... Table of geography, hydrography, and navigation, from the 1728 Cyclopaedia. ... The World Geodetic System defines a reference frame for the earth, for use in geodesy and navigation. ... Categories: | ...

## Footnotes

1. ^ Location, Location, Location. The relationship of climate to, and the effect of disease and agricultural productivity on, the economic success of a city or region.

Results from FactBites:

 Creative Latitude: Home (124 words) Creative Latitude is a worldwide community that unites various creative disciplines for collective promotion, education and ethical business practice. CL's editor with the big red pen, Derald Shultz, dishes up a batch of delicious articles every month from a group of great contributors. How and why more than 30 professionals around the world got Creative Latitude off the ground.
 map of latitude longitude lines absolute relative locations explanations (571 words) Latitude (shown as a horizontal line) is the angular distance, in degrees, minutes, and seconds of a point north or south of the Equator. Lines of latitude are often referred to as parallels. Enter a latitude and longitude and find what's at that intersection, or (location) on the planet HERE This is a worldwide project and you can read more about.
More results at FactBites »

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