latitude

Also known as angle of latitude

thumb|Earth model with circles of latitude in black and indications of the North Pole, [[Equator, and the northern and southern hemispheres.]] thumb|upright=0.9|right|Earth's Graticule (cartography)|graticule. The vertical lines from pole to pole are lines of constant [[longitude, or meridians. The circles parallel to the equator are lines of constant latitude, or parallels. The graticule shows the latitude and longitude of points on the surface. In this example meridians are spaced at 6° intervals and parallels at 4° intervals.]]

AI overview

Latitude is a measurement system that uses imaginary circles running parallel to the Earth's equator to identify locations on the planet's surface. It matters because, when combined with longitude lines, latitude allows us to pinpoint the exact geographic position of any place on Earth.

AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.

Wikidata facts

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Commons category: Latitudes
quantity symbol (string): ϕ

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~34 min read

Article

32 sections

Contents

Background
Determination
Latitude on the sphere{{anchor|Spherical}}
The graticule on the sphere
Named latitudes on the Earth
Latitude on the ellipsoid
Ellipsoids
The geometry of the ellipsoid
Geodetic and geocentric latitudes
Meridian distance{{anchor|Length of a degree of latitude}}
Meridian distance on the sphere
Meridian distance on the ellipsoid
Auxiliary latitudes
Geocentric latitude
Parametric latitude (or reduced latitude){{anchor|Parametric latitude|Reduced latitude}}
Rectifying latitude
Authalic latitude
Conformal latitude
Isometric latitude
Inverse formulae and series
Numerical comparison of auxiliary latitudes
Latitude and coordinate systems
Geodetic coordinates
Spherical polar coordinates
Ellipsoidal-harmonic coordinates
Coordinate conversions
Astronomical latitude
See also
References
Footnotes
Citations
External links

In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pole, with 0° at the Equator. Lines of constant latitude, or parallels, run east-west as circles parallel to the equator. Latitude and longitude are used together as a coordinate pair to specify a location on the surface of the Earth.