To determine location, geographers use a set of imaginary lines that crisscross the surface of the globe. You can use latitude and longitude as you would a simple grid system on a state highway map. For example, St. Louis, Missouri, is roughly at 39 degrees north latitude and 90 degrees west longitude.
Location further describes how one place relates to another.
St. Louis is where the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers meet about midway between Minneapolis-St. Paul and New Orleans. It developed as a trading center between east and west, north and south. To help young children learn location, make sure they know the color and style of the building in which they live, the name of their town, and their street address. Then, when you talk about other places, they have something of their own with which to compare.