Latitudes and Longitudes — Flashcards

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Earth is an oblate spheroid, called the Geoid. It is flattened at the poles and slightly bulged at the equator because of centrifugal force and gravity. A globe shows this shape best.

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The Equator is the 0° latitude. It is an imaginary circle equidistant from the poles and passes through the centre of the Earth. It divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphe…

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Latitude is the angular distance of a place north or south of the Equator, measured from the centre of the Earth. It is shown by parallels of latitude.

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There are 180 parallels of latitude in total: 90 north of the Equator and 90 south of the Equator, at 1° intervals. The Equator is 0° latitude.

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The radius and length of parallels decrease from the Equator to the poles. The Equator is the largest latitude, and at the poles a latitude becomes only a point.

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The distance between each degree of latitude is approximately 111 km. This comes from 40,000 / 360° = 111 km, using Earth’s circumference of about 40,000 km.

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The five main parallels are: Equator, Tropic of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn, Arctic Circle, and Antarctic Circle. These mark the main climatic zones of Earth.

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The Tropic of Cancer is 23½°N latitude. The Sun is overhead here on 21st June, which makes it the longest day in the Northern Hemisphere.