How to determine longitude and latitude in geography. Solving problems on a topographic map

With such concepts as longitude and latitude, many of us met in childhood thanks to the adventure novels of Stevenson and Jules Verne. People have been studying these concepts since ancient times.

In an era when there were no perfect navigational instruments in the world, it was the geographical coordinates on the map that helped sailors determine their location in the sea and find their way to the desired land areas. Today, latitude and longitude are still used in many sciences and allow you to accurately determine the position of any point on the earth's surface.

What is latitude?

Latitude is used to set the location of an object relative to the poles. At the same distance from and passes the main imaginary line of the globe - the equator. It has a zero latitude, and parallels stretch on both sides of it - similar imaginary lines that conditionally cross the planet at regular intervals. To the north of the equator are the northern latitudes, to the south, respectively, the southern ones.

The distance between the parallels is usually measured not in meters or kilometers, but in degrees, which allows you to more accurately determine the position of the object. There are 360 degrees in total. Latitude is measured north of the equator, that is, points lying in the Northern Hemisphere have a positive latitude, and those located in the Southern Hemisphere have a negative one.

For example, the north pole lies at a latitude of +90°, the south pole at -90°. Additionally, each degree is divided into 60 minutes, and minutes into 60 seconds.

What is longitude?

To find out the location of an object, it is not enough to know this place on the globe relative to the south or north. In addition to latitude, longitude is used for a complete calculation, which sets the position of the point relative to east and west. If in the case of latitude the equator is taken as the basis, then longitude is calculated from the zero meridian (Greenwich), passing from the North to the South Pole through the London area of Greenwich.

On the right and left sides of the Greenwich meridian, ordinary meridians are drawn parallel to it, which meet each other at the poles. East longitude is considered positive, and west longitude is negative.

Like latitude, longitude has 360 degrees divided into seconds and minutes. To the east of Greenwich is Eurasia, to the west - South and North America.

What are latitude and longitude for?

Imagine that you are sailing on a ship lost in the middle of the ocean, or moving through the endless desert, where there are no signs and indicators at all. How could you explain your location to rescuers? It is latitude and longitude that help to find a person or other object anywhere in the world, wherever he is.

Geographic coordinates are actively used on maps of search engines, in navigation, on ordinary maps. They are present in geodetic instruments, satellite positioning systems, GPS navigators and other tools needed to determine the location of a point.

How to set geographic coordinates on the map?

To calculate the coordinates of an object on the map, you must first determine in which of the hemispheres it is located. Next, you should find out between which parallels the desired point is located, and set the exact number of degrees - usually they are written on the sides of the geographical map. After that, you can proceed to the determination of longitude, first establishing in which of the hemispheres the object is located relative to Greenwich Mean Time.

Determination of degrees of longitude is carried out similarly to latitude. If you need to find out the location of a point in three-dimensional space, its height relative to sea level is additionally used.

The ability to determine where the latitude or longitude is on the map is important for a person. Especially when there was an accident and you need to quickly make a decision and transfer the coordinates to the police. She is recognized in a variety of ways. They mean the angle that is a vertical line and 0 parallel at a predetermined point. The value is only up to 90 degrees.

Do not forget that the equator divides the earth into northern and southern hemispheres. Therefore, the latitude of earthly points that are higher than the longest parallel are northern, and if they are located below, then southern.

How to find out the latitude of any object?

You can determine the latitude and longitude on the map. Look at which parallel the object is marked. If it is not specified, then independently calculate the distance between neighboring lines. Then find the degree of parallel you are looking for.

At the equator, geographic latitude is 0°. Points that are on the same parallel will have the same latitude. If you take a map, you will see it on the frames, if a globe, then where the parallels intersect with 0° and 180° meridians. Geographic latitudes range from 0° and only up to 90° (near the poles).

5 major latitudes

Take a map, there you will see the main parallels. Thanks to them, the coordinates are easier to recognize. From the latitudinal line to the line, territories are located. They belong to one of the areas: temperate or equatorial, arctic or tropics.

The equator is the longest parallel. Lines that are lower or higher decrease towards the poles. The latitude of the equator is 0°. This is the point from which the parallels are counted towards the south or north. The area that starts from the equator and stretches to the tropics is the equatorial region. Tropic north - the main parallel. It is always marked on the maps of the world.

You can find the exact coordinates of 23° 26 min. and 16 sec. north of the equator. This parallel is also called the Tropic of Cancer. Tropic South is a parallel located at 23° 26 min. and 16 sec. south of the equator. It is called the Tropic of Capricorn. The area that is located in the middle of the line and to the equator are tropical regions.

At 66° 33 min. and 44 sec. Just above the equator is the Arctic Circle. This is the border, beyond it the duration of the night increases. Near the Pole it is 40 calendar days.

Latitude of the Antarctic Circle -66° 33 min. and 44 sec. And this is the border, and beyond it there are polar days and nights. The regions between the tropics and the described lines are temperate, and those beyond them are called polar.

Instruction

Step #1

Everyone knows that the equator divided the earth into southern and northern hemispheres. In addition to the equator, there are parallels. These are circles that are parallel to the equator itself. Meridians are conditional lines that are perpendicular to the equator.

The zero meridian passes through the observatory, it is called the Greenwich observatory and it is located in London. That's why they say so: "Greenwich Meridian". The system, which includes parallels with meridians, creates a grid of coordinates. It is used when they want to determine where an object is located.

Step #2

Does the geographic latitude show this point to the south or north of the equator? It defines the angle 0° and to 90°. The angle begins to count from the equator and to the south or north pole. So you can determine the coordinates, they say that the latitude is southern or northern.

Step #3

Geographic coordinates are measured in minutes with seconds, and most importantly - in degrees. A degree of a certain latitude is 1/180 of any of the meridians. The average length of 1 degree is 111.12 km. A minute in length is 1852 m. The diameter of Mother Earth is 12713 km. This is the distance from pole to pole.

Step #4

To find out latitude 1 in the described way, you need a plumb line with a protractor. You can make a protractor yourself. Take a few rectangular planks. Fasten them like compasses so that they change the angle between them.

Step #5

Take the thread. Hang a load (plumb) on it. Anchor the thread in the center of your protractor. Point the base of the protractor at the polar star. Do some geometric calculations. Specifically, from the angle that is between the plumb line and the base of your protractor, immediately subtract 90 °. This result is the angle that passes between the polar star and the horizon. This angle is the geographic latitude where you are.

Another way

There is another option, how you can find the coordinates. It doesn't look like the first one. Wake up before sunrise and spot its beginning, and then the sunset. Pick up a monogram to find the latitude. On the left of the monogram, set aside how long the daylight hours lasted, and write the date on the right.

Even in the middle of the XVIII century. such coordinates could be learned on the basis of astronomical observations. In the 20s. The 20th century can already be contacted by radio and determine the coordinates with special tools.

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
Yekaterinburg	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

Video lesson “Geographical latitude and geographical longitude. Geographical coordinates" will help you get an idea of the geographic latitude and geographic longitude. The teacher will tell you how to correctly determine the geographical coordinates.

Geographic latitude- the length of the arc in degrees from the equator to the given point.

To determine the latitude of an object, you need to find the parallel on which this object is located.

For example, the latitude of Moscow is 55 degrees and 45 minutes north latitude, it is written as follows: Moscow 55 ° 45 "N; New York latitude - 40 ° 43" N; Sydney - 33°52"S

Geographic longitude is determined by meridians. Longitude can be western (from 0 meridian west to 180 meridian) and eastern (from 0 meridian east to 180 meridian). Longitudes are measured in degrees and minutes. Geographic longitude can have values from 0 to 180 degrees.

Geographic longitude- length of the arc of the equator in degrees from the initial meridian (0 degrees) to the meridian of the given point.

The prime meridian is the Greenwich meridian (0 degrees).

Rice. 2. Definition of longitudes ()

To determine longitude, you need to find the meridian on which the given object is located.

For example, the longitude of Moscow is 37 degrees and 37 minutes of east longitude, it is written as follows: 37 ° 37 "E; the longitude of Mexico City is 99 ° 08" W.

Rice. 3. Geographic latitude and geographic longitude

To accurately determine the location of an object on the surface of the Earth, you need to know its geographic latitude and geographic longitude.

Geographical coordinates- quantities that determine the position of a point on the earth's surface using latitudes and longitudes.

For example, Moscow has the following geographic coordinates: 55°45" N and 37°37" E. The city of Beijing has the following coordinates: 39°56′ N 116°24′ E The latitude value is written first.

Sometimes you need to find an object by already given coordinates, for this you must first assume in which hemispheres this object is located.

Homework

Paragraphs 12, 13.

1. What is geographic latitude and longitude?

Bibliography

Main

1. Initial course of geography: Proc. for 6 cells. general education institutions / T.P. Gerasimova, N.P. Neklyukov. - 10th ed., stereotype. - M.: Bustard, 2010. - 176 p.

2. Geography. Grade 6: atlas. - 3rd ed., stereotype. - M.: Bustard, DIK, 2011. - 32 p.

3. Geography. Grade 6: atlas. - 4th ed., stereotype. - M.: Bustard, DIK, 2013. - 32 p.

4. Geography. 6 cells: cont. cards. - M.: DIK, Bustard, 2012. - 16 p.

Encyclopedias, dictionaries, reference books and statistical collections

1. Geography. Modern illustrated encyclopedia / A.P. Gorkin. - M.: Rosmen-Press, 2006. - 624 p.

Literature for preparing for the GIA and the Unified State Examination

1. Geography: an initial course. Tests. Proc. allowance for students 6 cells. - M.: Humanit. ed. center VLADOS, 2011. - 144 p.

2. Tests. Geography. Grades 6-10: Teaching aid / A.A. Letyagin. - M .: LLC "Agency" KRPA "Olimp": "Astrel", "AST", 2001. - 284 p.

Materials on the Internet

1. Federal Institute of Pedagogical Measurements ().

2. Russian Geographical Society ().