Latitude and longitude — Geography, 7–10 years
Two kinds of lines help us describe a precise place on the round Earth. Geography, 7–10 years.
Earth’s invisible address
Latitude tells how far north or south a place is from the Equator. Longitude tells how far east or west it is from a starting line called the Prime Meridian. Together, the two measurements act like an address for a spot on a globe.
Why make a grid?
Saying “somewhere in the ocean” is not enough for a ship, aircraft or rescue team. A shared grid lets people point to the same place, even when there is no road, house or landmark nearby; explorers and mapmakers developed it to describe positions across the whole globe.
Reading a location
Suppose a place is at 40° north and 3° west. “40° north” means it is above the Equator, in the Northern Hemisphere. “3° west” means it is west of the Prime Meridian; these two clues place it near Madrid, Spain, rather than merely saying it is in Europe.
Which way is which?
It is reasonable to confuse the two because both use degrees and appear as lines on a map. The useful check is their direction: latitude lines run across the page like steps and never meet, while longitude lines run from pole to pole and meet at both poles; latitude comes first in a usual pair.
Finding places precisely
Coordinates are used by ships, aircraft, weather stations, wildlife researchers and digital maps. A phone can use satellites to estimate its latitude and longitude, helping it show your position or guide you; the system is useful because it works far beyond streets and buildings.
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