HEMISPHERES, LATITUDE & LONGITUDE

HEMISPHERES The world is shaped like a sphere (globe) It is divided into hemispheres (hemi = half, sphere = ball) Divided at the: Equator (northern and southern hemisphere) Prime Meridian (eastern and western hemisphere)

HEMISPHERES In which hemisphere do we live? Northern and Western hemispheres Hemispheres give us a good general idea of location in the world To be more precise we use grids made up of latitude and longitude

LATITUDE also called “parallels” lines drawn horizontally (east to west) on the surface of the earth remember “lat is flat” latitude lines begin at the Equator (0°) and are numbered towards the North and South Poles

LATITUDE lines are always equal distance from each other all the way around the globe 1 degree of latitude to another is 111 km (i.e. 40°N to 41°N is 111 km) How many km is the 49th parallel from the equator? 49 x 111 km = 5439 km

LATITUDE Latitude lines are NOT each the same distance around the earth lines become shorter as you move away from the equator

LONGITUDE also called “meridians” (see pg 19) lines drawn vertically (north to south) on the surface of the earth all longitude lines meet at the poles they are NOT equal distance apart

LONGITUDE numbering begins at the Prime Meridian (0) which passes through Greenwich, England rest of the lines are labeled according to their angle (east or west) from the Prime Meridian at the North Pole

LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE latitude and longitude lines ARE NOT the same as eastings and northings!!! Read and write latitude and longitude lines as: latitude first (N or S), then longitude (E or W) i.e. 45N 123W

LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE to be more specific in pinpointing locations, each degree of latitude and longitude is further divided into 60 minutes i.e. Kitchener, ON 4327N 8030W this is the same idea as the difference between the 4 and 6 figure grid references

ASSIGNMENT Complete Geolab 15 Picture Sources from: http://www.cruising.sailingcourse.com/images/latitude.gif