Latitude and Longitude

Cartographers and geographers trace horizontal and vertical lines called latitudes and longitudes across Earth's surface to locate points on the globe.

Dividing Earth Into Hemispheres

The Earth is, almost, but not quite, a sphere that rotates around its axis. Scientists call this shape a spheroid or ellipsoid. If we draw a line passing through the center of the Earth along its rotational axis, the line would pass through the North and the South Pole.

The Equator is an imaginary line perpendicular to this axis. It is equidistant from the North and South Poles, and divides the globe into the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere.

Most locations on the Equator experience consistently high temperatures throughout the year. They also experience at least 12 hours of daylight every day during the year. On the Equinoxes – September and March – the Sun is directly overhead the Equator, resulting in almost exactly 12 hour days and 12 hour nights.

The Equator passes through 14 countries, including Uganda, Kenya, Somalia, Indonesia, Ecuador, Colombia, and Brazil.

Imaginary Circles

Often called parallels or circles of latitude, latitudes are imaginary circles parallel to the Equator. They are named after the angle created by a line connecting the latitude and the center of the Earth, and the line connecting the Equator and the center of the Earth.

Latitudes specify the north-south position of a location on the globe. Locations in the Northern Hemisphere are identified by northern latitudes and are assigned a suffix of N for north. Southern Hemisphere locations, on the other hand, are on southern latitudes and are assigned a suffix of S for south.

An Easy Way to Remember

One easy way to remember the orientation of latitudes and longitudes is longitudes are long, and latitudes are flat.