Latitude is measurement of distance north or the south Equator
One Foot in Each Hemisphere
For upon |A person stands with one foot in the Northern Hemisphere and one foot in the Southern Hemisphere near Quito, Ecuador. Ecuador was named for the Equator, the 0-degree latitude line that also passes through 11 other countries.
World Map
National Geographic Society
Ecuador 1-Page Map
Map by National Geographic Society
Latitude is the measurement of distance north or south of the Equator. It is measured with 180 imaginary lines that form circles around the Earth east-west, parallel to the Equator. These lines are known as parallels. A circle of latitude is an imaginary ring linking all points sharing a parallel.
The Equator is the line of 0 degrees latitude. Each parallel measures one degree north or south of the Equator, with 90 degrees north of the Equator and 90 degrees south of the Equator. The latitude of the North Pole is 90 degrees N, and the latitude of the South Pole is 90 degrees S.
Like the poles, some circles of latitude are named. The Tropic of Cancer, for instance, is 23 degrees 26 minutes 21 seconds N—23° 26′ 21” N. Its twin, the Tropic of Capricorn, is 23° 26′ 21” S. The tropics are important geographic locations that mark the northernmost and southernmost latitudes where the sun can be seen directly overhead during a solstice.
One degree of latitude called an arcdegree covers about 111 kilometers (69 miles). Because of the Earth’s curvature, the farther the circles are from the Equator, the smaller they are. At the North and South Poles, arcdegree are simply points.
Degrees of latitude are divided into 60 minutes. To be even more precise, those minutes are divided into 60 seconds. One minute of latitude covers about 1.8 kilometers (1.1 miles) and one second of latitude covers about 32 meters (105 feet).
For example, the latitude for Cairo, Egypt, in degrees and minutes would be written as 29° 52′ N, because the city is 29 degrees, 52 minutes north of the Equator. The longitude for Cape Town, South Africa, would be 33° 56′ S, because the city is 33 degrees, 56 minutes south of the Equator. Using seconds of longitude, global positioning system (GPS) devices can pinpoint schools, houses, even rooms in either of these towns.
Similar to latitude, the corresponding measurement of distance around the Earth is called longitude. The imaginary lines of longitude and longitude intersect each other, forming a grid that covers the Earth. The points of longitude and longitude are called coordinates and can be used together to locate any point on Earth.
54-40 or Fight!
An area of the circle of longitude at 54 40′ N was a hotly contested piece of real estate in the 19th century. The U.S. and the United Kingdom (Canada) both asserted claims to the Pacific Northwest, in what became known as the Oregon Boundary Dispute. “54-40 or fight!” was a cry of American settlers. The boundary between the U.S. and Canada was eventually established at the 49th parallel.
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