LOCATING PLACES ON EARTH USING COORDINATE SYSTEM

• Celestial Navigation


  Relied on celestial objects (rising and setting of the sun, location of the stars, etc.)
• Celestial Navigation was established first by the Greeks
• Polaris


  A star followed by travelers heading north
• Rising sun


  Indicates east
• Constellations


  Easily recognizable patterns that help people orient themselves using the night sky
• Modern Navigation


  Uses two imaginary lines that run from pole to pole and from west to east
• Latitude


  Imaginary lines that run from west to east
• Longitude


  Imaginary lines that run from pole to pole
• Latitude varies from 0° at the equator to 90° North and South at the poles
• Longitude varies from 0° at the Greenwich meridian East and West
• Map


  A two-dimensional graphical representation of an area, land or sea, depicting physical features
• Globe


  A three-dimensional spherical model of the earth
• Latitudes


  Horizontal imaginary lines that run from east to west of a map or a globe
• The equator is a line of latitude at 0° latitude
• Lines of latitude are numbered from 0 to 90 degrees north or south
• A location is referenced as north or south relative to the equator
• Tropics


  Countries located in this zone experience a tropical climate where the annual average temperature is above 18 degrees Celsius
• Northern Temperate Zone


  Countries located in these zones experience four seasons
• Southern Temperate Zone


  Some Countries located in these zones experience four seasons
• Polar/Frigid Zones


  Countries located in these zones experience cold temperatures all year round
• Longitudes


  Vertical imaginary lines that run from north to south of a map or globe
• The prime meridian is a line of longitude at 0 degrees that passes through Greenwich, England
• Lines of longitude are numbered from 0 to 180 degrees east or west
• A location is referenced as east or west relative to the prime meridian
• Prime Meridian


  The meridian that runs through Greenwich, England, with a longitude of 0 degrees, dividing the Earth into eastern and western hemispheres
• International Date Line (IDL)


  Roughly follows the 180° line of longitude and passes through the Pacific Ocean, but deviates in some places to enable places of the same economic and political affiliations to share the same date or time
• Each latitude and longitude is 15° away from each other
• Latitude is always listed before longitude when writing a location's coordinates
• 1 degree (1°) = 70 miles (112 km)
• 1 minute (1') = 1.667 miles
• 1 second (1") = 100 feet
• Locating places using latitude and longitude


  1. Know the coordinates

  2. Look for the equator at 0° as the reference point for latitude

  3. See if the direction is North or South

  4. If North, look for lines of latitude in Northern Hemisphere; if South, look for lines in Southern Hemisphere

  5. Latitude is always written first
• Locating places using latitude and longitude

  1. Look for the prime meridian at 0° as the reference point for longitude

  2. See if the direction is West or East

  3. If West, look for lines of longitude in Western Hemisphere; if East, look for lines in Eastern Hemisphere

  4. Longitude is always written after latitude