Longitude and Latitude

Longitude and latitude are terms that are used all over the world to find places. They are imaginary lines on the surface of the earth. They show on maps and globes, like the one shown here.

Lines of latitude — These lines go east and west to show distances north or south of the equator. The equator is the imaginary line around the biggest part of the earth. The equator is zero degrees latitude. The greatest distances from the equator are to the North Pole (90 degrees north) or to the South Pole (90 degrees south).

Lines of longitude — These lines go north and south to show distances east or west of the starting point which is the Prime Meridian (zero degrees). The Prime Meridian passes through Greenwich, England. The greatest distance from the Prime Meridian is in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, half-way around the world from Greenwich. The greatest distance is 180 degrees east or west from Greenwich.

Latitude and longitude lines cross each other to tell us exactly where a place is located. For example, Louisbourg is almost on the 60 degrees west longitude line and is just a little above the 45 degrees north line of latitude. If we wanted to tell someone where Louisbourg is we would tell them to look near 60 degrees west, 46 degrees north.