1. Latitude and Longitude
Geography
Latitude and Longitude
By Nick Pignatore

2. What is Geography?
Geography is the study of physical things and cultural things found on earth.
Geo means “Earth”
Graphy means “to write or describe”
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3. Five Themes of Geography
Location
Place
Movement
Human-Environment Interaction
Regions

4. Latitude
A set of imaginary lines that circle the earth to help find locations
Lines run from east to west
Lines of latitude are also called parallels
Measured in degrees North and South of the Equator
Image obtained at:

5. Longitude
A set of imaginary lines that circle the earth to help find locations
Lines run from north to south
Lines of longitude are also called meridians
Measured in degrees East and West of the Prime Meridian
Image obtained at:

6. Similarities and Differences: Latitude and Longitude

7. Special Lines Equator Prime Meridian International Date Line
Tropic of Cancer
Tropic of Capricorn
Explain that Tropics are there, but don’t go into detail about them: They are not important enough to risk confusion.

8. Lat./Long. Relationship Analogy

9. Location
Absolute Location: Uses latitude and longitude to indicate a specific point on earth. Example: Lincoln, NE is at 45 deg. North, 110 deg. West
Relative Location: Tells where something is in relation to something else. Example: Salt Creek is near Lincoln
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10. If you can trace two lines…
…You can find ANY location on the globe!
Find the absolute location of New York City
What is the relative location of California?
What is at 40N,105W?
New York City is located at 40N, 74W.
Denver, CO

11. Challenge:
Next to Pizza Hut is to Relative Location as Coordinates are to _________?
45 degrees North is to 45 degrees South as 50 degrees West is to ________?
Absolute Location
50 Degrees East
Image obtained at:
Machu Picchu 13S 72W
Bonus!!
What is this famous landmark and what are its coordinates?

12. Review Latitude runs east-west but is measured north-south.
Longitude runs north-south but is measured east-west.
The Equator and Prime Meridian are VITAL reference points.
What is the difference between absolute and relative location?
Allow class to practice finding various cities on maps and globes. Use absolute and relative location to describe each place. Break into groups of 3-5 and locate 10 major cities per group. Bonus question: What is the purpose of the International Date Line?

13. Equator

14. Prime Meridian
Prime Meridian obtained at:

15. International Date Line