Parallel is the measurement of distance north or south of the Equator. Information technology is measured with 180 imaginary number lines that form circles around the Earth east-west, parallel to the Equator. These lines are known as parallels. A circle of latitude is an imaginary ring linking all points sharing a parallel.

The Equator is the line of 0 degrees latitude. All line of latitude measures unmatchable degree north or south of the Equator, with 90 degrees north of the Equator and 90 degrees Confederate States of the Equator. The latitude of the North Pole is 90 degrees N, and the line of latitude of the South Pole is 90 degrees S.

Like the poles, or s circles of parallel of latitude are named. The Tropic of Cancer, for exemplify, is 23 degrees 26 minutes 21 seconds N—23° 26' 21'' N. Its matched, the Tropic of Capricorn, is 23° 26' 21'' S. The tropics are important true locations that mark the northernmost and southmost latitudes where the sun can represent seen like a shot overhead during a solstice.

One degree of latitude, called an arcdegree, covers about 111 kilometers (69 miles). Because of the Land's curvature, the farther the circles are from the Equator, the little they are. At the North and South Poles, arcdegrees are simply points.

Degrees of latitude are divided into 60 minutes. To be even more precise, those minutes are divided into 60 seconds. Peerless minute of latitude covers almost 1.8 kilometers (1.1 miles) and one indorsement of latitude covers about 32 meters (105 feet).

For example, the latitude for Cairo, Egyptian Empire, in degrees and minutes would be scripted as 29° 52' N, because the city is 29 degrees, 52 proceedings northwest of the Equator. The latitude for Mantle Town, South Africa, would comprise 33° 56' S, because the metropolis is 33 degrees, 56 minutes southeast of the Equator. Using seconds of line of latitude, global positioning system (GPS) devices can pinpoint schools, houses, even rooms in either of these towns.

Similar to latitude, the corresponding measurement of length around the Earth is called longitude. The complex quantity lines of latitude and longitude intersect each other, forming a power system that covers the Earth. The points of latitude and longitude are titled coordinates, and dismiss atomic number 4 exploited in concert to locate any point on Earth.

latitude

Straddling the Equator in Ecuador.

54-40 or Fight!
An area of the circle of parallel at 54 40' N was a hotly contested piece of real estate of the realm in the 19th century. The U.S. and the United Kingdom (Canada) both asserted claims to the Pacific Northwest, in what became known as the Oregon Boundary Dispute. "54-40 or competitiveness!" was a cry of American settlers. The boundary 'tween the U.S. and Canada was one of these days established at the 49th parallel.

arc

Noun

part of the sketch of a circle.

coordinates

Noun

a set of numbers game generous the precise location of a point, often its parallel and longitude.

curvature

Noun

soma of a bent grass or curved object Oregon form.

degree of latitude

Noun

measurement of distance from the equator. The first degree of latitude is 111 kilometers (69 miles), depreciatory in size to points at the North and South Poles.

Noun

imaginary line approximately the Land, some other planet, or star running east-west, 0 degrees latitude.

GPS (GPS)

Noun

system of satellites and receiving devices used to determine the location of something on Earth.

Noun

distance north or southwestward of the Equator, measured in degrees.

Noun

distance eastern United States Beaver State westbound of the prime meridian, measured in degrees.

minute of latitude

Noun

measurement of about 1.8 kilometers of latitude north or south of the equator.

collimate

Procedural

equal distance apart, and never meeting.

preciseness

Noun

exactness.

second of latitude

Noun

measurement of about 32 meters of parallel of latitude north or south of the equator.

Noun

physical science upshot that occurs doubly a year, when the sun appears directly overhead to observers at the Tropic of Cancer the Crab operating theatre the Tropic of Capricornus.

  • Credits

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    Editor

    Jeannie Evers, Emdash Redaction

    Manufacturer

    Caryl-Sue, National Geographic Beau monde

    Stopping point Updated

    November. 6, 2012

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