World's longest line of latitude. THE LONGEST LIST OF THE LONGEST STUFF AT THE LONGEST DOMAIN NAME AT LONG LAST What is the world's longest line of latitude? Unlike lines of longitude, which are all the same length, lines of latitude vary, becoming a single point at the poles. The longest line of latitude is the equator which measures roughly 40,075 kilometers or 24,901.5 miles. Comparatively, the Tropic of Cancer which lies 23ï¿½ 26′ 22″ north of the Equator and the the Tropic of Capricorn which lies 23ï¿½ 26′ 22″ south of the Equator are both 36,787.559 kilometers or 22,858.7294 miles in length. Page Sponsored By: Audio CD Ripper Understanding Longitudes and Latitudes 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. Notable Latitudes The Equator represents 0° latitude, while the North and South Poles represent 90° North and 90° South latitudes. In addition to the Equator, there are four other major latitudes that are usually found on maps and globes. The Arctic Circle is the latitude 66° 34′ North. All locations falling North of this latitude are said to be in the Arctic Circle. The Antarctic Circle on the other hand, is the latitude 66° 34′ south. Any locations falling south of this latitude are said to be in the Antarctic Circle. Places in both these circles experience extreme weather, and experience the midnight sun, as well as polar nights.

The latitude 23° 26′ North is also known as the Tropic of Cancer. It marks the northern-most position on the Earth, where the Sun is directly overhead at least once a year. This happens during the June Solstice , when the Earth’s Northern Hemisphere is tilted towards the Sun. The Tropic of Capricorn is the latitude that lies at 23° 26′ South of the Equator. It is the southern-most position on the globe, where the sun is directly overhead during the December Solstice . Sometimes, latitudes north of the Equator are denoted by a positive sign. Latitudes south of the Equator are given negative values. This eliminates the need to add whether the specified latitude is north or south of the Equator. East-West Locations Longitudes are geographical positioning markers that run from the geographical North Pole to the geographical South Pole, intersecting the Equator. They meet at both Poles, and specify the East-West position of a location. Longitudes are therefore imaginary circles that intersect the North and South Poles, and the Equator. Half of a longitudinal circle is known as a Meridian. Meridians are perpendicular to every latitude.

Unlike, latitudes, there is no obvious central longitude. However, in order to measure the position of a location based on the longitude, cartographers and geographers over the course of history have designated different locations as the main longitudinal reference point. Today, the meridian line through Greenwich, England is considered as the reference point for longitudes. This line is also known as the Prime Meridian The Prime Meridian is set as 0° longitude and it divides the Earth into the Eastern and the Western Hemisphere. All the other longitudes are measured, and named after the angle they make with respect to the center of the Earth from the intersection of the Meridian and the Equator. Since a sphere has 360 degrees, the Earth is divided into 360 longitudes. The meridian right opposite the Prime Meridian (on the other side of the Earth) is the 180° longitude. Modern timekeeping systems use longitudes as references to keep time. Time zones are defined by the Prime Meridian and the longitudes. An Easy Way to Remember One easy way to remember the orientation of latitudes and longitudes is longitudes are long, and latitudes are lateral. Did You Know?

A Great Circle is any circle that is formed by a plane that passes through the center of the Earth. The Equator and the circles created by the meridians form Great Circles. A straight line connecting two Great Circles is the shortest distance between them. Because of this, they are important for the study of migration and other human interactions and activities including shipping and airline routes. Latitude Geography Overview By Amanda Briney Updated July 25, 2016. Latitude is the angular distance of any point on Earth measured north or south of the equator in degrees, minutes and seconds. The equator is a line going around Earth and is halfway between the North and South Poles , it is given a latitude of 0°. Values increase north of the equator and are considered positive and values south of the equator decrease and are sometimes considered negative or have south attached to them. For example, if a latitude of 30°N was given, this would mean that it was north of the equator. The latitude -30° or 30°S is a location south of the equator. On a map, these are the lines running horizontally from east-west.

Latitude lines are also sometimes called parallels because they are parallel and equidistant from each other. Each degree of latitude is about 69 miles (111 km) apart. The degree measure of latitude is the name of the angle from the equator while the parallel names the actual line along which degree points are measured. continue reading below our video Latitude and Longitude For example, 45°N latitude is the angle of latitude between the equator and the 45th parallel (it is also halfway between the equator and the North Pole). The 45th parallel is the line along which all latitudinal values are 45°. The line is also parallel to the 46th and 44th parallels. Like the equator, parallels are also considered circles of latitude or lines that circle the entire Earth. Since the equator divides the Earth into two equal halves and its center coincides with that of the Earth, it is the only line of latitude that is a great circle while all other parallels are small circles. Development of Latitudinal Measurements Since ancient times, people have tried to come up with reliable systems with which to measure their location on Earth.

For centuries, both Greek and Chinese scientists attempted several different methods but a reliable one did not develop until the ancient Greek geographer, astronomer and mathematician, Ptolemy , created a grid system for the Earth. To do this, he divided a circle into 360°. Each degree comprised 60 minutes (60') and each minute comprised 60 seconds (60''). He then applied this method to Earth's surface and located places with degrees, minutes and seconds and published the coordinates in his book Geography. Although this was the best attempt at defining the location of places on Earth at the time, the precise length of a degree of latitude was unresolved for around 17 centuries. In the middle ages, the system was finally fully developed and implemented with a degree being 69 miles (111 km) and with coordinates being written in degrees with the symbol °. Minutes and seconds are written with ', and '', respectively. Measuring Latitude Today, latitude is still measured in degrees, minutes and seconds. A degree of latitude is still around 69 miles (111 km) while a minute is approximately 1.15 miles (1.85 km).

A second of latitude is just over 100 feet (30 m). Paris, France for example, has a coordinate of 48°51'24''N. The 48° indicates that it lies near the 48th parallel while the minutes and seconds indicate just how close it is to that line. The N shows that it is north of the equator. In addition to degrees, minutes and seconds, latitude can also be measured using decimal degrees . Paris' location in this format looks like, 48.856°. Both formats are correct, although degrees, minutes and seconds is the most common format for latitude. Both however, can be converted between each other and allow people to locate places on Earth to within inches. One nautical mile , a mile type used by sailors and navigators in the shipping and aviation industries, represents one minute of latitude. Parallels of latitude are approximately 60 nautical (nm) apart. Finally, areas described as having low latitude are those with lower coordinates or are closer to the equator while those with high latitudes have high coordinates and are far.

For example, the Arctic Circle, which has a high latitude is at 66°32'N. Bogota, Columbia with its latitude of 4°35'53''N is at a low latitude. Important Lines of Latitude When studying latitude, there are three significant lines to remember. The first of these is the equator. The equator, located at 0°, is the longest line of latitude on Earth at 24,901.55 miles (40,075.16 km). It is significant because it is the exact center of the Earth and it divides that Earth into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres . It also receives the most direct sunlight on the two equinoxes . At 23.5°N is the Tropic of Cancer. It runs through Mexico, Egypt, Saudi Arabia , India and southern China. The Tropic of Capricorn is at 23.5°S and it runs through Chile, Southern Brazil, South Africa , and Australia. These two parallels are significant because they receive direct sun on the two solstices . In addition, the area between the two lines is the area known as the tropics .

This region does not experience seasons and is normally warm and wet in its climate . Finally, the Arctic Circle and Antarctic Circle are also important lines of latitude. They are at 66°32'N and 66°32'S. The climates of these locations are harsh and Antarctica is the largest desert in the world. These are also the only places that experience 24-hour sunlight and 24-hour darkness in the world. Importance of Latitude Besides making it easier for one to locate different places on Earth, latitude is important to geography because it helps navigation and researchers understand the various patterns seen on Earth. High latitudes for example, have very different climates than low latitudes. In the Arctic, it is much colder and drier than in the tropics. This is a direct result of the unequal distribution of solar insolation between the equator and the rest of the Earth. Increasingly, latitude also results in extreme seasonal differences in climate because sunlight and sun angle vary at different times of the year depending on latitude. This affects temperature and the types of flora and fauna that can live in an area.

Tropical rainforests for example, are the most biodiverse places in the world while harsh conditions in the Arctic and Antarctic make it difficult for many species to survive. Take a look at this simple map of latitude and longitude. Latitude and Longitude 8a. The Horizon Any location on Earth is described by two numbers--its latitude and its longitude. If a pilot or a ship's captain wants to specify position on a map, these are the "coordinates" they would use. Actually, these are two angles, measured in degrees, "minutes of arc" and "seconds of arc." These are denoted by the symbols ( °, ', " ) e.g. 35° 43' 9" means an angle of 35 degrees, 43 minutes and 9 seconds (do not confuse this with the notation (', ") for feet and inches!). A degree contains 60 minutes of arc and a minute contains 60 seconds of arc--and you may omit the words "of arc" where the context makes it absolutely clear that these are not units of time.

Calculations often represent angles by small letters of the Greek alphabet, and that way latitude will be represented by λ (lambda, Greek L), and longitude by φ (phi, Greek F). Here is how they are defined . PLEASE NOTE: Charts used in ocean navigation often use the OPPOSITE notation--λ for LONGITUDE and φ for LATITUDE. The convention followed here resembles the one used by mathematicians in 3 dimensions for spherical polar coordinates . Imagine the Earth was a transparent sphere (actually the shape is slightly oval; because of the Earth's rotation, its equator bulges out a little). Through the transparent Earth (drawing) we can see its equatorial plane, and its middle the point is O, the center of the Earth. To specify the latitude of some point P on the surface, draw the radius OP to that point. Then the elevation angle of that point above the equator is its latitude λ--northern latitude if north of the equator, southern (or negative) latitude if south of it. Latitude The latitude angle lambda Imagine the Earth was a transparent sphere (actually the shape is slightly oval; because of the Earth's rotation, its equator bulges out a little).

Through the transparent Earth (drawing) we can see its equatorial plane, and its middle the point is O, the center of the Earth. To specify the latitude of some point P on the surface, draw the radius OP to that point. Then the elevation angle of that point above the equator is its latitude λ--northern latitude if north of the equator, southern (or negative) latitude if south of it. [How can one define the angle between a line and a plane, you may well ask? After all, angles are usually measured between two lines! Good question. We must use the angle which completes it to 90 degrees, the one between the given line and one perpendicular to the plane. Here that would be the angle (90°-λ) between OP and the Earth's axis, known as the co-latitude of P.] Lines of latitude On a globe of the Earth, lines of latitude are circles of different size. The longest is the equator, whose latitude is zero, while at the poles--at latitudes 90° north and 90° south (or -90°) the circles shrink to a point.

Longitude On the globe, lines of constant longitude ("meridians") extend from pole to pole, like the segment boundaries on a peeled orange. Every meridian must cross the equator. Since the equator is a circle, we can divide it--like any circle--into 360 degrees, and the longitude φ of a point is then the marked value of that division where its meridian meets the equator. Longitude lines or "meridians" What that value is depends of course on where we begin to count--on where zero longitude is. For historical reasons, the meridian passing the old Royal Astronomical Observatory in Greenwich, England, is the one chosen as zero longitude. Located at the eastern edge of London, the British capital, the observatory is now a public museum and a brass band stretching across its yard marks the "prime meridian." Tourists often get photographed as they straddle it--one foot in the eastern hemisphere of the Earth, the other in the western hemisphere.

A lines of longitude is also called a meridian, derived from the Latin, from meri, a variation of "medius" which denotes "middle", and diem, meaning "day." The word once meant "noon", and times of the day before noon were known as "ante meridian", while times after it were "post meridian." Today's abbreviations a.m. and p.m. come from these terms, and the Sun at noon was said to be "passing meridian". All points on the same line of longitude experienced noon (and any other hour) at the same time and were therefore said to be on the same "meridian line", which became "meridian" for short . About time--Local and Universal Two important concepts, related to latitude and (especially) longitude are Local time (LT) and Universal time (UT) Local time is actually a measure of the position of the Sun relative to a locality. At 12 noon local time the Sun passes to the south and is furthest from the horizon (northern hemisphere). Somewhere around 6 am it rises, and around 6 pm it sets.

Local time is what you and I use to regulate our lives locally, our work times, meals and sleep-times. But suppose we wanted to time an astronomical event--e.g. the time when the 1987 supernova was first detected. For that we need a single agreed-on clock, marking time world-wide, not tied to our locality. That is universal time (UT), which can be defined (with some slight imprecision, no concern here) as the local time in Greenwich, England, at the zero meridian. Local Time (LT) and Time Zones Longitudes are measured from zero to 180° east and 180° west (or -180°), and both 180-degree longitudes share the same line, in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. As the Earth rotates around its axis, at any moment one line of longitude--"the noon meridian"--faces the Sun, and at that moment, it will be noon everywhere on it. After 24 hours the Earth has undergone a full rotation with respect to the Sun, and the same meridian again faces noon. Thus each hour the Earth rotates by 360/24 = 15 degrees.

When at your location the time is 12 noon, 15° to the east the time is 1 p.m., for that is the meridian which faced the Sun an hour ago. On the other hand, 15° to the west the time is 11 a.m., for in an hour's time, that meridian will face the Sun and experience noon. In the middle of the 19th century, each community across the US defined in this manner its own local time, by which the Sun, on the average, reached the farthest point from the horizon (for that day) at 12 oclock. However, travelers crossing the US by train had to re-adjust their watches at every city, and long distance telegraph operators had to coordinate their times. This confusion led railroad companies to adopt time zones, broad strips (about 15° wide) which observed the same local time, differing by 1 hour from neighboring zones, and the system was adopted by the nation as a whole. The continental US has 4 main time zones--eastern, central, mountain and western, plus several more for Alaska, the Aleut islands and Hawaii.

Canadian provinces east of Maine observe Atlantic time; you may find those zones outlined in your telephone book, on the map giving area codes. Other countries of the world have their own time zones; only Saudi Arabia uses local times, because of religious considerations. In addition, the clock is generally shifted one hour forward between April and October. This "daylight saving time" allows people to take advantage of earlier sunrises, without shifting their working hours. By rising earlier and retiring sooner, you make better use of the sunlight of the early morning, and you can enjoy sunlight one hour longer in late afternoon. The Date Line and Universal Time (UT) Suppose it is noon where you are and you proceed west--and suppose you could travel instantly to wherever you wanted. Fifteen degrees to the west the time is 11 a.m., 30 degrees to the west, 10 a.m., 45 degrees--9 a.m. and so on. Keeping this up, 180 degrees away one should reach midnight, and still further west, it is the previous day. This way, by the time we have covered 360 degrees and have come back to where we are, the time should be noon again--yesterday noon.

Hey--wait a minute! You cannot travel from today to the same time yesterday! We got into trouble because longitude determines only the hour of the day--not the date, which is determined separately. To avoid the sort of problem encountered above, the international date line has been established--most of it following the 180th meridian--where by common agreement, whenever we cross it the date advances one day (going west) or goes back one day (going east). That line passes the Bering Strait between Alaska and Siberia, which thus have different dates, but for most of its course it runs in mid-ocean and does not inconvenience any local time keeping. Astronomers, astronauts and people dealing with satellite data may need a time schedule which is the same everywhere, not tied to a locality or time zone. The Greenwich mean time, the astronomical time at Greenwich (averaged over the year) is generally used here. It is sometimes called Universal Time (UT). Right Ascension and Declination The globe of the heavens resembles the globe of the Earth, and positions on it are marked in a similar way, by a network of meridians stretching from pole to pole and of lines of latitude perpendicular to them, circling the sky.

To study some particular galaxy, an astronomer directs the telescope to its coordinates. On Earth, the equator is divided into 360 degrees, with the zero meridian passing Greenwich and with the longitude angle φ measured east or west of Greenwich, depending on where the corresponding meridian meets the equator. In the sky, the equator is also divided into 360 degrees, but the count begins at one of the two points where the equator cuts the ecliptic--the one which the Sun reaches around March 21. It is called the vernal equinox ("vernal" means related to spring) or sometimes the first point in Aries, because in ancient times, when first observed by the Greeks, it was in the zodiac constellation of Aries, the ram. It has since then moved, as is discussed in the later section on precession . The celestial globe, however, uses terms and notations which differ somewhat from those of the globe of the Earth. Meridians are marked by the angle α (alpha, Greek A), called right ascension, not longitude.

It is measured from the vernal equinox, but only eastward, and instead of going from 0 to 360 degrees, it is specified in hours and other divisions of time, each hour equal to 15 degrees. Similarly, where on Earth latitude goes from 90° north to 90° south (or -90°), astronomers prefer the co-latitude, the angle from the polar axis,equal to 0° at the north pole, 90° on the equator, and 180° at the south pole. It is called declination and is denoted by the letter δ (delta, Greek small D). The two angles (α, δ), used in specifying (for instance) the position of a star are jointly called its celestial coordinates. The next section tells how the stars, the Sun and accurate clocks allowed sailors to find their latitude and longitude. Further Exploring Richard Harwood's Courses: Physical Geography 101: Longitude and Latitude Longitude and Latitude Map Location Systems One of the main purposes of maps is to identify the location of places or features on the surface of the Earth.

It is equally important to be able to locate the position of one map relative to another map on the Earth's surface. There are a number of methods of doing this. Most map location systems use some type of regularly spaced lines which form a grid pattern. In some cases these grid lines are parallel, in other cases they converge and meet at a single point. The U.S. Army uses the Universal Transverse Mercator system for its maps and field operations. This system is a rectangular grid based on one square kilometer. The most commonly used location system in the world is the Longitude and Latitude grid. This is a grid which is based on two sets of lines which intersect each other at right angles, and are measured in degrees of arc. Geometry of Angles and the Circle At this point it is useful to review some of the basic geometry of angles and the circle as this forms the basis for measurements of lines of longitude and latitude. The basic unit of measuring angles is the degree (the symbol used to designate degrees is a small superscript circle, ° - don't confuse this with degrees of temperature). Degrees of arc are a measure of the size of the angle created when two lines or two plane intersect. Each degree can be further subdivided into smaller fractions.

One degree of arc can be divided into 60 minutes (don't confuse this with the minutes that we use to measure time - they are not the same thing). The symbol used to designate minutes is the single tick mark. For example, 1° = 60'. One minute of arc can be further subdivided into yet smaller fractions of a degree called seconds (again, don't confuse this with the seconds that we use to measure time - they are not the same thing). One minute of arc is equal to 60 seconds of arc, 1' = 60" - the double tick mark is used to designate seconds. A full circle can be divided into 360 degrees. One quarter of the distance around the circle is 90°. This is also the angle of two lines which are perpendicular or at right angles to each other. Half way around the circle is 180°. Three quarters of the distance is 270° and a full circle makes 360°. Longitude Lines of longitude are also referred to as Meridians and Great Circles.

Great Circles are defined as "any circle on the surface of a sphere, especially when the sphere represents the Earth, formed by the intersection of the surface with a plane passing through the center of the sphere." Any path with follows a great circle on the surface of the Earth will be the shortest possible distance between two points. All lines of longitude are great circles, as well as the Equator, which is a line of latitude. Longitude lines are lines which run north-south on the globe. These lines all converge and meet at the North and South Poles. Because of this convergence the distance from one line of longitude to the next is not constant. As one moves towards the poles from the equator the east-west distance between lines decreases. Line of longitude are measured in degrees east or west of the Prime Meridian. This is easiest to understand when looking down on the Earth at the North Pole. From this perspective it is easy to see the angle that is formed between the Prime Meridian and the line of longitude. Because lines of longitude are measured east or west of the Prime Meridian it is important to place an "E" or "W" after the degrees. Half way around the globe from the Prime Meridian is 180°.

This line of longitude (along with the Prime Meridian) does not have an "E" or "W" designation as 180° defines a single line. Note that this is not the case for 150° or any other line of longitude. Longitude measurements can only go from 0° to 180°. Latitude Lines of latitude are a little bit harder to visualize how they are measured, but are still based on measuring angles. Latitude lines are lines which run east-west on the globe. They are also referred to as "Parallels". Unlike lines of longitudes, each line of latitude is parallel to every other line of latitude. In other words, two lines of latitude will never intersect or cross, and the distance between the two lines will always remain constant. Lines of latitude are measured in degrees north or south of the Equator, 0° latitude. In order to more easily understand how this angle is measured it is best to imagine that the Earth has been sliced in half along a great circle. The line connecting the North and South Poles is the Earth's axis of rotation. This is perpendicular, or at 90°, to the Equator.

At the surface of the Earth, at a given latitude, draw a line from that location to the center of the Earth. The angle between this line and the Equator is the latitude measurement. The drawing below shows two examples - one for 30° N and one for 60° S. As with longitude, it is important to place the letter designations of "N" or "S" on the measurements. Only the Equator, 0°, does not have a north or south direction. Latitude measurements can only go from 0° to 90°. Determining Longitude and Latitude The left diagram below shows a globe with the longitude and latitude lines on it. The Prime Meridian and Equator have been highlighted in red. The location at the point where these two lines meet would be designated as 0° Longitude, 0° Latitude. The red dot on the right hand diagram below would have a designation of 60°E Longitude, 30°N Latitude. Determine the Longitude and Latitude of the locations on the map below. Enter your answers in the spaces provided below, then grade your answers.

Each Longitude and Latitude must be entered with a single space between the degrees and the N, S, E or W. For example, "10 W". The N, S, E and W must be entered as a capital letter. Location Geography Glossary Geography Glossary latitude lines Imaginary lines running horizontally around the globe. Also called parallels, latitude lines are equidistant from each other. Each degree of latitude is about 69 miles (110 km) apart. Zero degrees (0°) latitude is the equator, the widest circumference of the globe. Latitude is measured from 0° to 90° north and 0° to 90° south—90° north is the North Pole and 90° south is the South Pole. longitude lines Imaginary lines, also called meridians, running vertically around the globe. Unlike latitude lines, longitude lines are not parallel. Meridians meet at the poles and are widest apart at the equator. Zero degrees longitude (0°) is called the prime meridian. The degrees of longitude run 180° east and 180° west from the prime meridian.

geographic coordinates Latitude and longitude lines form an imaginary grid over the Earth's surface. By combining longitude and latitude measurements, any location on earth can be determined. The units of measurement for geographic coordinates are degrees (°), minutes ('), and seconds ("). Like a circle, the Earth has 360 degrees. Each degree is divided into 60 minutes, which in turn is divided into 60 seconds. Latitude and longitude coordinates also include cardinal directions: north or south of the equator for latitude, and east or west of the prime meridian for longitude. The geographic coordinates of New York City, for example, are 40° N, 74° W, meaning that it is located 40 degrees north latitude and 74 degrees west longitude. Using minutes and seconds as well as degrees, the coordinates for New York would be 40°42'51" N, 74°0'23" W. (Latitude is always listed first.) A less common format for listing coordinates is in decimal degrees. The Tropic of Cancer, for example, can be expressed in degrees and minutes (23°30' N) or in decimal degrees (23.5° N).

hemisphere A hemisphere is half the Earth's surface. The four hemispheres are the Northern and Southern hemispheres, divided by the equator (0° latitude), and the Eastern and Western hemispheres, divided by the prime meridian (0° longitude) and the International Date Line (180°). equator Zero degrees latitude. The Sun is directly overhead the equator at noon on the two equinoxes (March and Sept. 20 or 21). The equator divides the globe into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. The equator appears halfway between the North and South poles, at the widest circumference of the globe. It is 24,901.55 miles (40,075.16 km) long. prime meridian Zero degrees longitude (0°). The prime meridian runs through the Royal Greenwich Observatory in Greenwich, England (the location was established in 1884 by international agreement). The prime meridian divides the globe into the Western and Eastern hemispheres. The Earth's time zones are measured from the prime meridian. The time at 0° is called Universal Time (UT) or Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

With the Greenwich meridian as the starting point, each 15° east and west marks a new time zone. The 24 time zones extend east and west around the globe for 180° to the International Date Line. When it is noon along the prime meridian, it is midnight along the International Date Line. International Date Line Located at 180° longitude (180° E and 180° W are the same meridian). Regions to the east of the International Date Line are counted as being one calendar day earlier than the regions to the west. Although the International Date Line generally follows the 180° meridian (most of which lies in the Pacific Ocean), it does diverge in places. Since 180° runs through several countries, it would divide those countries not simply into two different time zones, but into two different calendar days. To avoid such unnecessary confusion, the date line dips and bends around countries to permit them to share the same time. Tropic of Cancer A line of latitude located at 23°30' north of the equator.

The Sun is directly overhead the Tropic of Cancer on the summer solstice in the Northern Hemisphere (June 20 or 21). It marks the northernmost point of the tropics, which falls between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. map projections Two-dimensional representations of the three-dimensional Earth. Because projections attempt to present the spherical Earth on a flat plane, they inevitably produce distortions. Map projections are numerous and complex (e.g., there are a variety of cylindrical, conic, or azimuthal projections). Each projection has advantages and serves different purposes, and each produces different types of distortions in direction, distance, shape, and relative size of areas. One of the most famous projections is the Mercator, created by Geradus Mercator in 1569. It is a rectangular-shaped map in which all longitude and latitude lines are parallel and intersect at right angles (on a globe, meridians are not parallel, but grow narrower, eventually converging at the poles).

Near the equator, the scale of the Mercator is accurate, but the farther one moves toward the poles, the greater the distortion—Antarctica in the far south and Greenland in the far north, for example, appear gigantic. The Mercator projection was used well into the 20th century, but has now been superseded by others, including the widely used Robinson projection. The Robinson projection is an elliptical-shaped map with a flat top and bottom. Developed in 1963 by Arthur H. Robinson, it is an orthophanic (“right appearing”) projection, which attempts to reflect the spherical appearance of the Earth. The meridians, for example, are curved arcs, which gives the flat map a three-dimensional appearance. But to convey the likeness of a curved, three-dimensional globe, the Robinson projection must in fact distort shape, area, scale, and distance. The Albers, Lambert, Mollweide, and Winkel Tripel are some of the other commonly used map projections. The Equator, Tropic of Cancer and Tropic of Capricorn By Matt Rosenberg Updated August 31, 2016.

Three of the most significant imaginary lines running across the surface of the Earth are the equator, the Tropic of Cancer, and the Tropic of Capricorn. While the equator is the longest line of latitude on the Earth (the line where the Earth is widest in an east-west direction), the tropics are based on the sun's position in relation to the Earth at two points of the year. All three lines of latitude are significant in their relationship between the Earth and the sun. The Equator The equator is located at zero degrees latitude . The equator runs through Indonesia, Ecuador, northern Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo , and Kenya, among other countries . It is 24,901.55 miles (40,075.16 kilometers) long. On the equator, the sun is directly overhead at noon on the two equinoxes - near March and September 21. The equator divides the planet into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. On the equator, the length of day and night are equal every day of the year - day is always twelve hours long and night is always twelve hours long.

continue reading below our video Overview of the Four Seasons The Tropic of Cancer and The Tropic of Capricorn The Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn each lie at 23.5 degrees latitude. The Tropic of Cancer is located at 23.5° North of the equator and runs through Mexico, the Bahamas, Egypt, Saudi Arabia , India, and southern China. The Tropic of Capricorn lies at 23.5° South of the equator and runs through Australia, Chile, southern Brazil (Brazil is the only country that passes through both the equator and a tropic), and northern South Africa . The tropics are the two lines where the sun is directly overhead at noon on the two solstices - near June and December 21. The sun is directly overhead at noon on the Tropic of Cancer on June 21 (the beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere and the beginning of winter in the Southern Hemisphere) and the sun is directly overhead at noon on the Tropic of Capricorn on December 21 (the beginning of winter in the Northern Hemisphere and the beginning of summer in the Southern Hemisphere).

The reason for the location of the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn at 23.5° north and south respectively is due to the axial tilt of the Earth. The Earth is titled 23.5 degrees from the plane of the Earth's revolution around the sun each year. The area bounded by the Tropic of Cancer on the north and Tropic of Capricorn on the south is known as the "tropics." This area does not experience seasons because the sun is always high in the sky. Only higher latitudes, north of the Tropic of Cancer and south of the Tropic of Capricorn, experience significant seasonal variation in climate. Realize, however, that areas in the tropics can be cold. The peak of Mauna Kea on the big island of Hawaii stands nearly 14,000 feet above sea level, and snow is not unusual. If you live north of the Tropic of Cancer or south of the Tropic of Capricorn, the sun will never be directly overhead.

In the United States, for example, Hawaii is the only location in the country that is south of the Tropic of Cancer, and it is thus the only location in the United States where the sun will be directly overhead in the summer.. Prime Meridian While the equator divides the Earth into Northern and Southern Hemispheres , it is the Prime Meridian at zero degrees longitude and the line of longitude opposite the Prime Meridian (near the International Date Line ) at 180 degrees longitude that divides the Earth into the Eastern and Western Hemispheres . The Eastern Hemisphere consists of Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia while the Western Hemisphere includes North and South America . Some geographers place the boundaries between the hemispheres at 20° West and 160° East so as to not run through Europe and Africa. Unlike the equator and the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, the Prime Meridian and all lines of longitude are completely imaginary lines and have no significance with regard to the Earth or to its relationship with the sun. latitude Encyclopedia > Earth and the Environment > Geography > Maps and Mapping latitude latitude, angular distance of any point on the surface of the earth north or south of the equator.

The equator is latitude 0°, and the North Pole and South Pole are latitudes 90°N and 90°S, respectively. The length of one degree of latitude averages about 69 mi (110 km); it increases slightly from the equator to the poles as a result of the earth's polar flattening. Latitude is commonly determined by means of a sextant or other instrument that measures the angle between the horizon and the sun or another celestial body, such as the North Star (see Polaris ). The latitude is then found by means of tables that give the position of the sun and other bodies for that date and hour. An imaginary line on the earth's surface connecting all points equidistant from the equator (and thus at the same latitude) is called a parallel of latitude. On most globes and maps parallels are usually shown in multiples of 5°. Because of their special meanings, four fractional parallels are also shown.

These are the Tropic of Cancer (231/2°N) and the Tropic of Capricorn (231/2°S), marking the farthest points north and south of the equator where the sun's rays fall vertically (see tropics ), and the Arctic Circle (661/2°N) and the Antarctic Circle (661/2°S), marking the farthest points north and south of the equator where the sun appears above the horizon each day of the year (see also midnight sun ). Parallels of latitude and meridians of longitude together form a grid by which any point on the earth's surface can be specified. The term latitude is also used in various celestial coordinate systems (see ecliptic coordinate system ). The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2012, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

Question: What is the longest line of latitude on the Earth?
Answer: Equator