Latitude and Longitude

International date line

The line measuring 180 degrees (east or west), opposite the Prime Meridian, where there is a change of day.

Tropic of Cancer

The line of latitude 23.5 degrees north of the equator.

Tropic of Capricorn

The line of latitude at 23.5 degrees south of the equator.

Arctic Circle

The line of latitude at 66.5 degrees north of the equator.

Antarctic Circle

The line of latitude located at 66.5 degrees south of the equator.

Climatic zones

The pattern of climate and vegetation on the earth determined by latitude. These are the polar, temperate and tropical zones.

degrees

The unit of measurement of latitude and longitude. This can also be broken up into minutes and seconds.

Time zones

There are 24 zones of the globe created by the meridians of longitude and measured from the observatory at Greenwich, England. The Earth turns 15 degrees in one hour (360 degrees divided by 24 hours). Each time zone is one hour before or after the one next to it.

hemisphere

Half of the earth. The earth can be divided into 4 hemispheres (northern, southern, eastern, western).

latitude

Imaginary lines drawn around the earth from west to east, parallel to the Equator. Latitude ranges from 0 to 90 degrees.

meridian

Imaginary meridians (curved lines) drawn around the earth from the North Pole to the South Pole. Longitude ranges from 0 to 180 degrees.

Equator

Line measuring 0 degrees that runs around the middle of the earth, dividing the earth into the northern and southern hemispheres.

Prime Meridian

Line measuring 0 degrees, dividing the earth into the eastern and western hemispheres.