Geographic latitude letter. What is latitude and longitude in geography? How to determine geographic coordinates
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.
Latitude and longitude
The need to find a point according to 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. 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.
Lines of latitude
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 are in 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 lines
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.
- Measure with a ruler in cm the distance from given point to the nearest parallel, as well as the distance between this line and the neighboring one, we 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 best services for finding a place by coordinates
The easiest way to find out your location is by going to the PC version of the service that works directly with Google Maps. Many utilities simplify the process of entering latitude and longitude in the browser. Let's consider the best of them.
Map & Directions
In addition, Maps & Directions allows you to determine the coordinates of your position on the map for free with just one click. Click on "Find my coordinates", and the service will immediately put a marker and determine the latitude, longitude up to many thousandths, and also the height.
On the same site you can measure the distance between settlements or the area of any given territory, draw a route or calculate the travel time. The service is useful for both travelers and just curious users.
mapcoordinates.net
The useful Mapcoordinates.net utility allows you to find out the coordinates of a point in any region of the world. The service is also integrated with Google Maps, but has a simplified interface, thanks to which even an unprepared user can use it.
In the address bar of the utility, where it says "Search", enter the address of the place, the latitude and longitude of which you want to get. A map with coordinates will appear along with a marker at the desired location. The latitude, longitude, and altitude of the selected point will be displayed above the marker.
Unfortunately, Mapcoordinates.net is not suitable for looking up points by knowing their coordinates. However, for the reverse procedure, this is a very convenient utility. The service supports many languages, including Russian.
Search by coordinates on the map through a browser using the Google Maps service
If for some reason you prefer to work not with simplified services, but directly with Google Maps, then this instruction will be useful for you. The process of searching by coordinates through Google Maps is a little more complicated than in the methods described earlier, but it can be mastered quickly and without much difficulty.
To find out the exact coordinates of a place, follow the following simple instructions:
Open the service on the PC. It is important that the full mode must be enabled, and not the lite (marked with a special lightning icon) mode, otherwise it will not work to get information;
Click on the area of the map where the point or point you need is located with the right mouse button;
Check the option "What's here?" in the menu that appears;
Look at the tab that appears at the bottom of the screen. It will display the latitude, longitude and altitude.
To determine a place by known geographical coordinates, a different procedure will be required:
Open Google Maps in full mode on your computer;
In the search bar at the top of the screen, you can enter the coordinates. This can be done in the following formats: degrees, minutes and seconds; degrees and decimal minutes; decimal degrees;
Press the "Enter" key, and a special marker will appear on the map at the desired location.
The most important thing when using the Google Maps service is to correctly specify geographic coordinates. Cards only recognize a few data formats, so be sure to keep the following input rules in mind:
When entering degrees, use the special character denoting it "°", not "d";
As a separator between the integer and fractional parts, you must use a dot, not a comma, otherwise the search string will not be able to give a place;
Latitude is listed first, then longitude. The first parameter must be written in the range from -90 to 90, the second - from -180 to 180.
Finding a special character on a PC keyboard is difficult, and to stick to required list rules, you need to put a lot of effort. It is much easier to use special utilities - we have listed the best of them in the section above.
Finding a place by latitude and longitude on Android OS
Often you need to find a place by coordinates away from the laptop or personal computer. The mobile application Google Maps, running on the Android platform, will help out. It is usually used to get directions or find out the schedule of vehicles, but the program is also suitable for finding the location of a point or point.
You can download the application for Android on the official page on Google Play. It is available in both Russian and English. After installing the program, follow the instructions below.
Latitude and longitude are coordinates on the globe that will help you find a specific place. When writing latitude and longitude, it's worth making sure you're using the correct format and the correct characters to make sure you're understood. You can determine the position various points latitude and longitude on the map and then write them down. You can write latitude and longitude using only the value of the parallel and meridian. For specific latitude and longitude points, you can write coordinates using degrees, minutes, seconds, and decimals.
Steps
Write down the main values of latitude and longitude
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Determine geographical longitude. A meridian is a line of longitude that runs vertically around the globe, from the North Pole to the South Pole. The zero (initial) meridian is the reference point of longitude. This is the zero point. It is also called the Greenwich Meridian. When writing longitude, the symbol is used ° to indicate degrees.
- Meridians are counted east and west from zero. When moving east, the value of geographic longitude increases by one degree for each subsequent meridian. You can use the abbreviation "c. etc." ("east longitude"; the letter "E" is used for international designation - East) to indicate the longitude located east of the prime meridian. For example, geographic longitude might be 30°E. (30°E).
- If you move west, then the value of geographic longitude also increases by one degree at each next meridian. The geographical longitude located to the west of the zero meridian is indicated by the abbreviation "z. etc." ("west longitude"; the letter "W" is used for international designation - West). For example, geographic longitude might be 15°W. (15°W).
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Determine geographic latitude. Geographic latitude is a horizontal line (parallel) dividing the globe. Parallels stretch from east to west, starting from the equator. The geographic latitude of the equator is 0 degrees. When writing latitude, the symbol used to represent degrees is ° .
- If you move north from the equator, then the geographical latitude increases by 1 degree with each parallel until it reaches 90 degrees. The North Pole is at 90 degrees. Geographic latitude above the equator is indicated by the abbreviation "s. sh.” ("northern latitude"; the letter "N" is used for international designation - North). For example, the geographic latitude may be 15°N. sh. (15°N).
- If you move south from the equator, then the geographic latitude also increases by 1 degree for each successive parallel until it reaches 90 degrees. This is the South Pole. For south latitude, use the abbreviation "s. sh.” (for international designation, the letter "S" is used - South). For example, the geographic latitude might be 30°S. sh. (30°S).
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Write down the latitude and longitude coordinates. Pick a point and find out where the lines of latitude and longitude intersect. For example, a point can be found by the coordinates of the parallel 15 ° N. sh. and meridian 30° E. e. When writing coordinates, latitude comes first, then longitude (in international writing they are separated by a comma).
- The geographic latitude and longitude given above are written as 15° N sh. 30° in. (15°N, 30°E).
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Determine if the value is negative or positive. In a tenths-degrees-minutes system, north, south, east, and west directions are not used. Instead, positive or negative numbers to locate a point on the map.
- Remember that the parallels run north or south of the equator. When using tenths to indicate latitude and longitude, positive values are north of the equator and negative values are south. A point with a value of 23.456 will be higher from the equator, and a point with a value of -23.456 will be lower.
- Meridians are located east or west of the prime meridian (Greenwich). Positive values indicate a point east of Greenwich, and negative values indicate a point to the west. For example, a point with a value of 10.234 will be east of the prime meridian, and a point with a value of -10.234 will be west.
It is possible to determine the location of a point on the planet Earth, as well as on any other spherical planet, using geographical coordinates- latitude and longitude. Right-angled intersections of circles and arcs create a corresponding grid, which makes it possible to uniquely determine the coordinates. A good example is an ordinary school globe lined with horizontal circles and vertical arcs. How to use the globe will be discussed below.
This system is measured in degrees (degree angle). The angle is calculated strictly from the center of the sphere to a point on the surface. Relative to the axis, the degree of the angle of latitude is calculated vertically, longitude - horizontally. To calculate the exact coordinates, there are special formulas, where one more value is often found - the height, which serves mainly to represent three-dimensional space and allows you to make calculations to determine the position of a point relative to sea level.
Latitude and longitude - terms and definitions
The earth's sphere is divided by an imaginary horizontal line into two equal parts of the world - the northern and southern hemispheres - into the positive and negative poles, respectively. This is how the definitions of northern and southern latitudes are introduced. Latitude is represented as circles parallel to the equator, called parallels. The equator itself with a value of 0 degrees is the starting point for measurements. The closer the parallel is to the upper or lower pole, the smaller its diameter and the higher or lower the angular degree. For example, the city of Moscow is located at 55 degrees north latitude, which determines the location of the capital as approximately equidistant from both the equator and the north pole.
Meridian - the so-called longitude, represented as a vertical arc strictly perpendicular to the circles of the parallel. The sphere is divided into 360 meridians. The starting point is the zero meridian (0 degrees), the arcs of which pass vertically through the points of the north and south poles and spread in east and west directions. In this way, the angle of longitude is determined from 0 to 180 degrees, calculated by values from the center to extreme points to the east or south.
Unlike latitude, which is based on the equatorial line, any meridian can be zero. But for convenience, namely the convenience of counting time, the Greenwich meridian was determined.
Geographic coordinates - place and time
Latitude and longitude allow you to assign to a particular place on the planet an exact geographical address, measured in degrees. Degrees, in turn, are divided into smaller units, such as minutes and seconds. Each degree is divided into 60 parts (minutes), and each minute is divided into 60 seconds. On the example of Moscow, the record looks like this: 55° 45′ 7″ N, 37° 36′ 56″ E or 55 degrees, 45 minutes, 7 seconds north latitude and 37 degrees, 36 minutes, 56 seconds south longitude.
The interval between the meridians is 15 degrees and about 111 km along the equator - this is the distance the Earth rotates in one hour. It takes 24 hours for a full turn, which is a day.
Use the globe
The model of the Earth is accurately reproduced on a globe with a realistic rendering of all continents, seas and oceans. As auxiliary lines, parallels and meridians are drawn on the map of the globe. Almost any globe has in its design a sickle-shaped meridian, which is installed on the base and serves as an auxiliary measure.
The meridian arc is equipped with a special degree scale, which determines the latitude. Longitude can be found using another scale - a hoop, horizontally installed at the level of the equator. Marking the desired place with your finger and rotating the globe around its axis to the auxiliary arc, we fix the latitude value (depending on the location of the object, it will turn out to be either north or south). Then we mark the data of the equator scale at the place of its intersection with the meridian arc and determine the longitude. To find out whether it is east or south longitude, you can only relative to the zero meridian.
And to find the exact location of objects on the earth's surface allows degree network - a system of parallels and meridians. It serves to determine the geographical coordinates of points on the earth's surface - their longitude and latitude.
Parallels(from Greek. parallelos- walking nearby) - these are lines conditionally drawn on the earth's surface parallel to the equator; equator - a line of section of the earth's surface depicted by a plane passing through the center of the earth perpendicular to the axis of its rotation. The longest parallel is the equator; the length of the parallels from the equator to the poles decreases.
meridians(from lat. meridianus- midday) - lines conventionally drawn on the earth's surface from one pole to another along the shortest path. All meridians are equal in length. All points of a given meridian have the same longitude, and all points of a given parallel have the same latitude.
Rice. 1. Elements of a degree network
Geographic latitude and longitude
Geographic latitude of the point is the value of the meridian arc in degrees from the equator to the given point. It varies from 0° (equator) to 90° (pole). Distinguish between northern and southern latitudes, abbreviated n. and y.sh. (Fig. 2).
Any point south of the equator will have a south latitude, and any point north of the equator will have a north latitude. To determine the geographical latitude of any point means to determine the latitude of the parallel on which it is located. On maps, the latitude of parallels is signed on the right and left frames.
Rice. 2. Latitude
Geographic longitude of a point is the magnitude of the parallel arc in degrees from the prime meridian to the given point. The initial (zero, or Greenwich) meridian passes through the Greenwich Observatory, located near London. To the east of this meridian, the longitude of all points is east; to the west, it is west (Fig. 3). Longitude varies from 0 to 180°.
Rice. 3. Geographic longitude
To determine the geographical longitude of any point means to determine the longitude of the meridian on which it is located.
On the maps, the longitude of the meridians is signed on the upper and lower frames, and on the map of the hemispheres - on the equator.
The latitude and longitude of any point on Earth make up its geographical coordinates. Thus, the geographic coordinates of Moscow are 56°N. and 38°E
Geographic coordinates of cities in Russia and CIS countries
| City | Latitude | Longitude |
| Abakan | 53.720976 | 91.44242300000001 |
| Arkhangelsk | 64.539304 | 40.518735 |
| Astana(Kazakhstan) | 71.430564 | 51.128422 |
| Astrakhan | 46.347869 | 48.033574 |
| Barnaul | 53.356132 | 83.74961999999999 |
| Belgorod | 50.597467 | 36.588849 |
| Biysk | 52.541444 | 85.219686 |
| Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) | 42.871027 | 74.59452 |
| Blagoveshchensk | 50.290658 | 127.527173 |
| Bratsk | 56.151382 | 101.634152 |
| Bryansk | 53.2434 | 34.364198 |
| Velikiy Novgorod | 58.521475 | 31.275475 |
| Vladivostok | 43.134019 | 131.928379 |
| Vladikavkaz | 43.024122 | 44.690476 |
| Vladimir | 56.129042 | 40.40703 |
| Volgograd | 48.707103 | 44.516939 |
| Vologda | 59.220492 | 39.891568 |
| Voronezh | 51.661535 | 39.200287 |
| Grozny | 43.317992 | 45.698197 |
| Donetsk, Ukraine) | 48.015877 | 37.80285 |
| Ekaterinburg | 56.838002 | 60.597295 |
| Ivanovo | 57.000348 | 40.973921 |
| Izhevsk | 56.852775 | 53.211463 |
| Irkutsk | 52.286387 | 104.28066 |
| Kazan | 55.795793 | 49.106585 |
| Kaliningrad | 55.916229 | 37.854467 |
| Kaluga | 54.507014 | 36.252277 |
| Kamensk-Uralsky | 56.414897 | 61.918905 |
| Kemerovo | 55.359594 | 86.08778100000001 |
| Kyiv(Ukraine) | 50.402395 | 30.532690 |
| Kirov | 54.079033 | 34.323163 |
| Komsomolsk-on-Amur | 50.54986 | 137.007867 |
| Korolev | 55.916229 | 37.854467 |
| Kostroma | 57.767683 | 40.926418 |
| Krasnodar | 45.023877 | 38.970157 |
| Krasnoyarsk | 56.008691 | 92.870529 |
| Kursk | 51.730361 | 36.192647 |
| Lipetsk | 52.61022 | 39.594719 |
| Magnitogorsk | 53.411677 | 58.984415 |
| Makhachkala | 42.984913 | 47.504646 |
| Minsk, Belarus) | 53.906077 | 27.554914 |
| Moscow | 55.755773 | 37.617761 |
| Murmansk | 68.96956299999999 | 33.07454 |
| Naberezhnye Chelny | 55.743553 | 52.39582 |
| Nizhny Novgorod | 56.323902 | 44.002267 |
| Nizhny Tagil | 57.910144 | 59.98132 |
| Novokuznetsk | 53.786502 | 87.155205 |
| Novorossiysk | 44.723489 | 37.76866 |
| Novosibirsk | 55.028739 | 82.90692799999999 |
| Norilsk | 69.349039 | 88.201014 |
| Omsk | 54.989342 | 73.368212 |
| Eagle | 52.970306 | 36.063514 |
| Orenburg | 51.76806 | 55.097449 |
| Penza | 53.194546 | 45.019529 |
| Pervouralsk | 56.908099 | 59.942935 |
| Permian | 58.004785 | 56.237654 |
| Prokopyevsk | 53.895355 | 86.744657 |
| Pskov | 57.819365 | 28.331786 |
| Rostov-on-Don | 47.227151 | 39.744972 |
| Rybinsk | 58.13853 | 38.573586 |
| Ryazan | 54.619886 | 39.744954 |
| Samara | 53.195533 | 50.101801 |
| St. Petersburg | 59.938806 | 30.314278 |
| Saratov | 51.531528 | 46.03582 |
| Sevastopol | 44.616649 | 33.52536 |
| Severodvinsk | 64.55818600000001 | 39.82962 |
| Severodvinsk | 64.558186 | 39.82962 |
| Simferopol | 44.952116 | 34.102411 |
| Sochi | 43.581509 | 39.722882 |
| Stavropol | 45.044502 | 41.969065 |
| Sukhum | 43.015679 | 41.025071 |
| Tambov | 52.721246 | 41.452238 |
| Tashkent (Uzbekistan) | 41.314321 | 69.267295 |
| Tver | 56.859611 | 35.911896 |
| Tolyatti | 53.511311 | 49.418084 |
| Tomsk | 56.495116 | 84.972128 |
| Tula | 54.193033 | 37.617752 |
| Tyumen | 57.153033 | 65.534328 |
| Ulan-Ude | 51.833507 | 107.584125 |
| Ulyanovsk | 54.317002 | 48.402243 |
| Ufa | 54.734768 | 55.957838 |
| Khabarovsk | 48.472584 | 135.057732 |
| Kharkov, Ukraine) | 49.993499 | 36.230376 |
| Cheboksary | 56.1439 | 47.248887 |
| Chelyabinsk | 55.159774 | 61.402455 |
| Mines | 47.708485 | 40.215958 |
| Engels | 51.498891 | 46.125121 |
| Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk | 46.959118 | 142.738068 |
| Yakutsk | 62.027833 | 129.704151 |
| Yaroslavl | 57.626569 | 39.893822 |
Latitude
Latitude- angle φ between the local direction of the zenith and the plane of the equator, counted from 0° to 90° on both sides of the equator. The geographical latitude of points lying in the northern hemisphere (northern latitude) is considered to be positive, the latitude of points in the southern hemisphere is negative. It is customary to speak of latitudes close to the poles as high, and about those close to the equator - as about low.
Due to the difference in the shape of the Earth from the ball, the geographical latitude of the points differs somewhat from their geocentric latitude, that is, from the angle between the direction to given point from the center of the earth and the plane of the equator.
The latitude of a place can be determined using astronomical instruments such as a sextant or gnomon (direct measurement), you can also use GPS or GLONASS systems (indirect measurement).
Longitude
Longitude- dihedral angle λ between the plane of the meridian passing through the given point, and the plane of the initial zero meridian, from which the longitude is counted. Longitude from 0° to 180° east of the prime meridian is called east, to the west - west. Eastern longitudes are considered to be positive, western - negative.
Height
To fully determine the position of a point in three-dimensional space, a third coordinate is needed - height. The distance to the center of the planet is not used in geography: it is convenient only when describing very deep regions of the planet or, on the contrary, when calculating orbits in space.
Within the geographic envelope, it is usually used height above sea level, counted from the level of the "smoothed" surface - the geoid. Such a system of three coordinates turns out to be orthogonal, which simplifies a number of calculations. Altitude above sea level is also convenient in that it is related to atmospheric pressure.
Distance from the earth's surface (up or down) is often used to describe a location, but "not" serves as a coordinate.
Geographic coordinate system
ω E = − V N / R (\displaystyle \omega _(E)=-V_(N)/R) ω N = V E / R + U cos (φ) (\displaystyle \omega _(N)=V_(E)/R+U\cos(\varphi)) ω U p = VER tg (φ) + U sin (φ) (\displaystyle \omega _(Up)=(\frac (V_(E))(R))tg(\varphi)+U\sin(\ varphi)) where R is the radius of the earth, U is the angular velocity Earth's rotation, V N (\displaystyle V_(N)) is the speed of the vehicle to the north, V E (\displaystyle V_(E))- to the East, φ (\displaystyle \varphi )- latitude, λ (\displaystyle \lambda )- longitude.
The main disadvantage in practical application G.S.K. in navigation is the large values of the angular velocity of this system at high latitudes, increasing up to infinity at the pole. Therefore, instead of G. S. K., a semi-free SK in azimuth is used.
Semi-free in azimuth coordinate system
The semi-free in azimuth S.K. differs from the G.S.K. only by one equation, which has the form:
ω U p = U sin (φ) (\displaystyle \omega _(Up)=U\sin(\varphi))Accordingly, the system has the same initial position, carried out according to the formula
N = Y w cos (ε) + X w sin (ε) (\displaystyle N=Y_(w)\cos(\varepsilon)+X_(w)\sin(\varepsilon)) E = − Y w sin (ε) + X w cos (ε) (\displaystyle E=-Y_(w)\sin(\varepsilon)+X_(w)\cos(\varepsilon))In reality, all calculations are carried out in this system, and then, to issue output information, the coordinates are transformed into the GCS.
Recording formats for geographic coordinates
Any ellipsoid (or geoid) can be used to record geographic coordinates, but WGS 84 and Krasovsky (on the territory of the Russian Federation) are most often used.
Coordinates (latitude −90° to +90°, longitude −180° to +180°) can be written:
- in ° degrees as a decimal fraction (modern version)
- in ° degrees and ′ minutes s decimal
- in ° degrees, ′ minutes and ″ seconds with a decimal fraction (historical notation)
