Each point on the planet's surface has a specific position, which corresponds to its own coordinate in latitude and longitude. It is located at the intersection of the spherical arcs of the meridian, which is responsible for longitude, with a parallel, which corresponds to latitude. It is denoted by a pair of angular values ​​expressed in degrees, minutes, seconds, which has the definition of a coordinate system.

Latitude and longitude are the geographical aspect of a plane or sphere, carried over into topographic images. For a more accurate location of any point, its height above sea level is also taken into account, which allows you to find it in three-dimensional space.

The need to find a point by the coordinates of latitude and longitude arises on duty and by occupation among rescuers, geologists, military, sailors, archaeologists, pilots and drivers, but tourists, travelers, seekers, researchers may also need it.

What is latitude and how to find it

Latitude is the distance from an object to the equator line. It is measured in angular units (such as degrees, degrees, minutes, seconds, etc.). Latitude on a map or globe is indicated by horizontal parallels - lines that describe a circle parallel to the equator and converge in the form of a series of tapering rings to the poles.

Therefore, they distinguish the northern latitude - this is the whole part earth's surface north of the equator, as well as the south - this is the entire part of the planet's surface south of the equator. Equator - zero, the longest parallel.

• The parallels from the equator line to the north pole are considered to be a positive value from 0° to 90°, where 0° is the equator itself, and 90° is the top of the north pole. They are counted as north latitude (NL).
• Parallels extending from the equator towards the south pole are indicated by a negative value from 0° to -90°, where -90° is the location of the south pole. They are counted as south latitude (S).
• On a globe, parallels are depicted as circles encircling the ball, which decrease as they approach the poles.
• All points on the same parallel will have the same latitude but different longitudes.
  On the maps, based on their scale, the parallels have the form of horizontal, curved arc stripes - the smaller the scale, the straighter the parallel strip is shown, and the larger it is, the more curved it is.

Remember! The closer a given area is to the equator, the lower its latitude will be.

What is longitude and how to find it

Longitude is the amount by which the position of a given area is removed relative to Greenwich, that is, the zero meridian.

Longitude is similarly inherent in the measurement in angular units, only from 0 ° to 180 ° and with the prefix - east or west.

• The zero meridian of Greenwich vertically encircles the globe of the Earth, passing through both poles, dividing it into the western and eastern hemispheres.
• Each of the parts to the west of Greenwich (in the Western Hemisphere) will have a West Longitude (WL) designation.
• Each of the parts east of Greenwich and located in the eastern hemisphere will carry the designation of east longitude (E.L.).
• Finding each point along one meridian has a single longitude, but a different latitude.
• The meridians are plotted on the maps in the form of vertical stripes, curved in the form of an arc. The smaller the scale of the map, the straighter the meridian strip will be.

How to find the coordinates of a given point on the map

Often you have to find out the coordinates of a point that is located on the map in a square between the two nearest parallels and meridians. Approximate data can be obtained by eye by successively estimating the step in degrees between the lines plotted on the map in the area of ​​interest, and then comparing the distance from them to the desired area. For accurate calculations, you will need a pencil with a ruler, or a compass.

• For the initial data, we take the designations of the parallels with the meridian closest to our point.
• Next, we look at the step between their stripes in degrees.
• Then we look at the value of their step on the map in cm.
• We measure with a ruler in cm the distance from a given point to the nearest parallel, as well as the distance between this line and the neighboring one, translate into degrees and take into account the difference - subtracting from the larger one, or adding to the smaller one.
• Thus we get the latitude.

Example! The distance between the parallels 40° and 50°, among which our area is located, is 2 cm or 20 mm, and the step between them is 10°. Accordingly, 1° is equal to 2 mm. Our point is removed from the fortieth parallel by 0.5 cm or 5 mm. We find degrees to our locality 5/2 = 2.5 °, which must be added to the value of the nearest parallel: 40 ° + 2.5 ° = 42.5 ° - this is our northern latitude of the given point. In the southern hemisphere, the calculations are similar, but the result has a negative sign.

Similarly, we find the longitude - if the nearest meridian is farther from Greenwich, and the given point is closer, then we subtract the difference, if the meridian is closer to Greenwich, and the point is further, then we add.

If only a compass was found at hand, then each of the segments is fixed with its tips, and the thrust is transferred to the scale.

Similarly, calculations of coordinates on the surface of the globe are made.

The ability to determine where the latitude or longitude is on the map is important for a person. Especially when there was an accident and you need to quickly make a decision and transfer the coordinates to the police. She is recognized in a variety of ways. They mean the angle that is a vertical line and 0 parallel at a predetermined point. The value is only up to 90 degrees.

Do not forget that the equator divides the earth into northern and southern hemispheres. Therefore, the latitude of earthly points that are higher than the longest parallel are northern, and if they are located below, then southern.

How to find out the latitude of any object?

You can determine the latitude and longitude on the map. Look at which parallel the object is marked. If it is not specified, then independently calculate the distance between neighboring lines. Then find the degree of parallel you are looking for.

At the equator, geographic latitude is 0°. Points that are on the same parallel will have the same latitude. If you take a map, you will see it on the frames, if a globe, then where the parallels intersect with 0° and 180° meridians. Geographic latitudes range from 0° and only up to 90° (near the poles).

5 major latitudes

Take a map, there you will see the main parallels. Thanks to them, the coordinates are easier to recognize. From the latitudinal line to the line, territories are located. They belong to one of the areas: temperate or equatorial, arctic or tropics.

The equator is the longest parallel. Lines that are lower or higher decrease towards the poles. The latitude of the equator is 0°. This is the point from which the parallels are counted towards the south or north. The area that starts from the equator and stretches to the tropics is the equatorial region. Tropic north - the main parallel. It is always marked on the maps of the world.

You can find the exact coordinates of 23° 26 min. and 16 sec. north of the equator. This parallel is also called the Tropic of Cancer. Tropic South is a parallel located at 23° 26 min. and 16 sec. south of the equator. It is called the Tropic of Capricorn. The area that is located in the middle of the line and to the equator are tropical regions.

At 66° 33 min. and 44 sec. Just above the equator is the Arctic Circle. This is the border, beyond it the duration of the night increases. Near the Pole it is 40 calendar days.

Latitude of the Antarctic Circle -66° 33 min. and 44 sec. And this is the border, and beyond it there are polar days and nights. The regions between the tropics and the described lines are temperate, and those beyond them are called polar.

Instruction

Step #1

Everyone knows that the equator divided the earth into southern and northern hemispheres. In addition to the equator, there are parallels. These are circles that are parallel to the equator itself. Meridians are conditional lines that are perpendicular to the equator.

The zero meridian passes through the observatory, it is called the Greenwich observatory and it is located in London. That's why they say so: "Greenwich Meridian". The system, which includes parallels with meridians, creates a grid of coordinates. It is used when they want to determine where an object is located.

Step #2

Does the geographic latitude show this point to the south or north of the equator? It defines the angle 0° and to 90°. The angle begins to count from the equator and to the south or north pole. So you can determine the coordinates, they say that the latitude is southern or northern.

Step #3

Geographic coordinates are measured in minutes with seconds, and most importantly - in degrees. A degree of a certain latitude is 1/180 of any of the meridians. The average length of 1 degree is 111.12 km. A minute in length is 1852 m. The diameter of Mother Earth is 12713 km. This is the distance from pole to pole.

Step #4

To find out latitude 1 in the described way, you need a plumb line with a protractor. You can make a protractor yourself. Take a few rectangular planks. Fasten them like compasses so that they change the angle between them.

Step #5

Take the thread. Hang a load (plumb) on it. Anchor the thread in the center of your protractor. Point the base of the protractor at the polar star. Do some geometric calculations. Specifically, from the angle that is between the plumb line and the base of your protractor, immediately subtract 90 °. This result is the angle that passes between the polar star and the horizon. This angle is the geographic latitude where you are.

Another way

There is another option, how you can find the coordinates. It doesn't look like the first one. Wake up before sunrise and spot its beginning, and then the sunset. Pick up a monogram to find the latitude. On the left of the monogram, set aside how long the daylight hours lasted, and write the date on the right.

Even in the middle of the XVIII century. such coordinates could be learned on the basis of astronomical observations. In the 20s. The 20th century can already be contacted by radio and determine the coordinates with special tools.

Geographic latitude and longitude are plotted on a world map. With their help, it is easy to determine the location of the object.

A geographical map of the world is a reduced projection of the earth's surface on a plane. Continents, islands, oceans, seas, rivers, as well as countries, big cities and other objects.

• On the geographical map a grid has been drawn.
• On it you can see clearly information about the continents, seas and oceans, and the map allows you to create an image of the relief of the world.
• Using a geographical map, you can calculate the distance between cities and countries. It is also convenient to search for the location of land and ocean objects.

The shape of the Earth is like a sphere. If you need to determine a point on the surface of this sphere, then you can use the globe, which is our planet in miniature. But there is the most common way to find a point on Earth - these are geographical coordinates - latitude and longitude. These parallels are measured in degrees.

Geographic map of the world with latitude and longitude - photo:

The parallels that are drawn along and across the entire map are latitude and longitude. With their help, you can quickly and easily find any place in the world.

The geographical map of the hemispheres is convenient for perception. Africa, Eurasia and Australia are depicted on one hemisphere (eastern). On the other - the western hemisphere - North and South America.

Even our ancestors were engaged in the study of latitude and longitude. Even then there were maps of the world, not similar to modern ones, but with their help you can also determine where and what object is located. A simple explanation of what geographical latitude and longitude of the object on the map:

Latitude is a coordinate value in the system of spherical numbers that defines a point on the surface of our planet relative to the equator.

• If the objects are located in the northern hemisphere, then the geographic latitude is called positive, if in the southern hemisphere - negative.
• South latitude - the object is moving from the equator towards the North Pole.
• North latitude - the object is moving towards South Pole from the equator.
• On a map, latitudes are lines that are parallel to each other. The distance between these lines is measured in degrees, minutes, seconds. One degree is 60 minutes and one minute is 60 seconds.
• The equator is zero latitude.

Longitude is a coordinate value that determines the location of the object relative to the zero meridian.

• This coordinate allows you to find out the location of the object relative to the west and east.
• Lines of longitude are meridians. They are located perpendicular to the equator.
• The zero point of longitude in geography is the Greenwich Laboratory, which is located in east London. This line of longitude is called the Greenwich meridian.
• Objects that are to the east of the Greenwich meridian are the east longitude area, and those to the west are the west longitude area.
• East longitudes are considered positive, and west longitudes are considered negative.

With the help of the meridian, such a direction as north-south is determined, and vice versa.

Latitude on a geographical map is measured from the equator - this is zero degrees. At the poles - 90 degrees of geographical latitude.

From what points, what meridian is the geographic longitude measured?

Longitude on a geographical map is measured from Greenwich. The prime meridian is 0°. The farther away from Greenwich an object is, the greater its longitude.

To determine the location of an object, you need to know its geographical latitude and longitude. As mentioned above, latitude shows the distance from the equator to a given object, and longitude shows the distance from Greenwich to the required object or point.

How to measure, find out the geographical latitude and longitude on the world map? Each parallel of latitude is indicated by a specific number - a degree.

Meridians are also indicated by degrees.

Any point will be located either at the intersection of the meridian and the parallel, or at the intersection of intermediate indicators. Therefore, its coordinates are indicated by specific indicators of latitude and longitude. For example, St. Petersburg is located at the following coordinates: 60° north latitude and 30° east longitude.

As mentioned above, latitude is parallels. To determine it, you need to draw a line parallel to the equator or a nearby parallel.

• If the object is located on the parallel itself, then it is easy to determine its location (it was described above).
• If the object is between parallels, then its latitude is determined by the nearest parallel from the equator.
• For example, Moscow is located north of the 50th parallel. The distance to this object is measured along the meridian and it is equal to 6 °, which means that the geographical latitude of Moscow is 56 °.

An illustrative example of a definition geographical coordinates latitudes on the world map can be found in the following video:

Video: Geographic latitude and geographic longitude. Geographical coordinates

To determine geographic longitude, you need to determine the meridian on which the point is located, or its intermediate value.

• For example, St. Petersburg is located on the meridian, the value of which is 30°.
• But what if the object is located between the meridians? How to determine its longitude?
• For example, Moscow is located east of 30° east longitude.
• Now add the number of degrees along the parallel to this meridian. It turns out 8 ° - it means that the geographical longitude of Moscow is 38 ° east longitude.

Another example of determining the geographic coordinates of longitude and latitude on a world map in a video:

Video: Finding latitude and longitude

All parallels and meridians are indicated on any map. What is the maximum value of geographic latitude and longitude? Highest value geographic latitude - 90 °, and longitude - 180 °. The smallest value for latitude is 0° (Equator), and the smallest value for longitude is also 0° (Greenwich Mean Time).

Geographic latitude and longitude of the poles and equator: what is it?

The geographic latitude of the points of the earth's equator is 0 °, the North Pole +90 °, the South -90 °. The longitude of the poles is not determined, since these objects are located on all meridians at once.

It may be necessary for schoolchildren to determine geographic coordinates from maps in real time when performing control work or on an exam.

• It's convenient, fast and simple. The determination of the geographical coordinates of latitude and longitude on Yandex and Google maps online can be done on various services on the Internet.
• For example, it is enough to enter the name of an object, city or country, and click on it on the map. The geographical coordinates of this object will appear instantly.
• In addition, the resource will show the address of the point being determined.

The online mode is convenient in that you can find out the necessary information here and now.

If you do not know the exact address of an object, but you know its geographical coordinates, then its location is easy to find on Google or Yandex maps. How to find a place by coordinates on Yandex and Google maps? Do the following:

• Go, for example, to the Google map.
• Enter a geographic coordinate value in the search box. You can enter degrees, minutes and seconds (e.g. 41°24’12.2″N 2°10’26.5″E), degrees and decimal minutes (41 24.2028, 2 10.4418), decimal degrees: (41.40338, 2.17403).
• Click "Search", and the object you are looking for on the map will open in front of you.

The result will appear instantly, and the object itself will be marked on the map with a “red drop”.

Finding satellite maps with latitude and longitude coordinates is easy. You just need to enter keywords in the Yandex or Google search box, and the service will instantly give you what you need.

For example, " Satellite maps with latitude and longitude coordinates. Many sites will open with the provision of such a service. Choose any, click on the desired object and determine the coordinates.

The Internet gives us great opportunities. If earlier it was necessary to use only a paper map to determine longitude and latitude, now it is enough to have a gadget with a network connection.

Video: Geographical coordinates and determination of coordinates

Geographic coordinates are used to determine a point on Earth. In this case, the planet is taken as a kind of ball, which allows you to determine the longitude, latitude and height. In the age of improving electronic maps, almost every one of them allows you to search for a place by entering the appropriate values. Today we would like to demonstrate how to perform this operation on the example of a world-famous web service called Google Maps.

There are certain concepts of entering coordinates so that the service can parse the values, but we will talk about this a bit later. Now I would like to draw your attention to the fact that two ways of accomplishing the task will be presented below - through the full version of the site and the mobile application. The principle of operation is practically the same, however, it is required to take into account the structure of the interface. Therefore, you just have to choose the appropriate method and follow the instructions.

Supported input format and coordinate conversion

Maps from Google supports the entry of coordinates according to certain rules that apply to other geographic directions. If you take into account the official guidelines, you will notice that the developers recommend adhering to the following formats:

• 41°24’12.2″N 2°10’26.5″E- that is, alternate indication of degrees minutes and seconds with longitude and latitude;
• 41 24.2028, 2 10.4418 - degrees and decimal minutes without longitude and latitude (this is already included in the numbers);
• 41.40338, 2.17403 - decimal degrees (without defining minutes, seconds, longitude and latitude).

Sometimes such rules lead to the fact that the user has to convert the existing values ​​into one type before starting to enter, so that the search correctly perceives the specified coordinates. The easiest way to do this is to use online services that will automatically make calculations. Let's look at a small conversion example.

Now let's go directly to the methods of searching by coordinates on the service in question.

Method 1: Full version of the site

Default full version The Google Maps website provides more tools and features, but the mobile app has its own advantages. If you choose this option, you should search like this:

1. On the main Google page go to section "Cards", opening a list of all services.



2. In the search bar on the left, enter the available values ​​and press the key Enter.



3. Once a point is displayed, you can view detailed information about it.



4. Nothing prevents you from also laying a route by specifying one of the points using coordinates.



5. If you need to know the coordinates of any place on the map, just right-click on it and select "What's in here?".



6. A small panel will appear at the bottom, where the coordinate numbers will be marked in gray.

As you can see, there is nothing difficult in performing a search. The main thing here is to follow the input rules and specify the coordinates in the same format. Further, the map will independently provide all the necessary information about the found point.

Method 2: Mobile application

Now many users use the Google Maps mobile application, because it allows you to find out the traffic schedule, get any route and use GPS navigation. Of course, the built-in functionality will solve the issue with the search by coordinates, which is done like this:

If, for any reason, Google Maps is not to your liking, or it can't find per given point, we recommend trying the same operation through cards from Yandex. Detailed instructions on this topic can be found in our other article at the following link.

Now you are familiar with two methods of finding a place from coordinate values ​​on Google Maps. This will allow you to study the point in detail, determine its exact position relative to other objects, or set it as one of the route targets.

The geographic coordinate system is necessary in order to determine the location of an object on the surface of the Earth with great accuracy. As you know, this system consists of geographic latitude and longitude. The first element of this system is the angle between the local zenith (noon) and the plane of the equator, ranging from 0 to 90 degrees west or east of the equatorial boundary. Longitude is the angle formed by two planes: the meridian passing through a given point in the area and the Greenwich meridian, i.e. zero point. From the latter, the longitude begins, which is from 0 to 180 degrees east and west (east and west longitude). Knowing how to navigate the terrain using latitude and longitude will help you communicate your exact coordinates when an emergency occurs. emergency, when you find yourself in an unfamiliar place that is not marked on the map, or get lost in the forest. Learn more about how you can determine the latitude and longitude of your location.

Clock to determine location by latitude and longitude

How to determine a place by latitude and longitude

Definition of local geographical longitude carried out using conventional clocks. To do this, you need to set on them the exact time of the location in this moment. Then you should determine the time of the local noon, this will help the time-tested method: you need to find a meter or one and a half meter stick, stick it vertically into the ground. The length of the drop shadow line will show the time intervals that need to be detected. The moment when the shadow will be the shortest is the local zenith, i.e. the gnomon shows exactly 12 noon, while the direction of the shadow is from south to north.

At this time, you need to note the time on the clock - this will be the indication of Greenwich Mean Time. From this value, you need to subtract the indicator, which is taken from the time equation table. This correction arises due to the variability of the angular velocity of motion and the dependence on the season. Given this correction, the average value of Greenwich time is reduced to true solar. The resulting difference between this sunny time(i.e. 12 hours) and Greenwich, taking into account the amendment, must be converted to a degree value. To do this, you need to know that in one hour the Earth rotates 15 degrees (if you divide 360 ​​degrees by 24 hours) of longitude, or 1 degree in four minutes. If noon in a given area comes earlier than Greenwich Mean Time, indicate east longitude in your calculations, if later, then west. The closer the coordinates of the desired area to the polar regions, the more accurate the longitude measurements will be.

The field of how the value of longitude is found, you can begin to determine the value of the latitude of a particular area. First you need to determine the duration of the daytime, which begins at sunrise and ends at sunset. Next, you need to draw up a nomogram, i.e. determination of latitude: on the left side the value of the daylight hours is indicated, on the right - the date. If you combine these values, you can determine the intersection of the geographic latitude with the middle part. The location found will indicate the local latitude. When determining latitude relative to southern hemisphere you need to add 6 months to the required date. The second way is to find the latitude using a conventional protractor: for this, a plumb line (thread with a weight) is fixed in the center of this tool, and its base is pointed at the North Star. The angle formed by the plumb line and the base of the protractor must be reduced by 90 degrees, i.e. subtract this value from its value. The value of this angle shows the height of the North Star, i.e. the height of the pole above the horizon. Since the geographic latitude is equal to the value of the pole above the horizon of a particular place, this value will indicate its degree.