LESSON 16:

Locating
Places on Earth
✘ How do you
find a city
or other
location on
a world map
or globe?
 Where on Earth?

✘ All places on Earth have a specific address. This address

makes it easy to find a place.

✘ The addresses of places on the Earth are given in latitude

and longitude
✘ Just about everyone is familiar with those "mysterious lines"
on maps and globes representing latitude and longitude. They
form a grid system by which any spot-on Earth can be precisely
pinpointed -- and there's nothing mysterious or difficult about it.

✘ To help us locate places on the earth’s surface, we use a

coordinate system. This coordinate system is like placing a
giant grid over the earth. This grid has lines extending from east
to west called lines of latitude and lines extending from north to
south called lines of longitude.
 WHAT IS LATITUDE?

✘ Lines of latitude extend east and west across the Earth. These lines
are imaginary. We cannot actually see a latitude line on the Earth.
Latitude is measured both north and south from the Equator and is
measured in degrees (°).
 Degrees of Latitude

Lines of latitude
are numbered
from 0° at the
Equator to 90° N.L.
at the North Pole.

Lines of latitude are

numbered from 0° at
the Equator to 90°
S.L. at the South
Pole.
✘ The equator (0° latitude) splits the Earth into two hemispheres -
the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere.

• Places located north of the Equator have a North Latitude (N.L.) address.

• Places located south of the Equator have a South Latitude (S.L.) address
 ✘ If you live at 40° N.L.,
do you live in the
northern hemisphere or
the southern
hemisphere?

Answer: You are leaving

on Northern Hemisphere
 WHAT IS LONGITUDE?

✘ Lines of longitude extend north and south. Like

lines of latitude, these lines are imaginary. We
cannot actually see a longitude line on the earth.
Longitude is measured in degrees (°) from the
Prime Meridian. Lines of longitude are evenly
spaced at the Equator, but meet at the poles

PRIME MERIDIAN - The

prime meridian separates the
eastern hemisphere from the
western hemisphere. Halfway
around the world, at 180
degrees longitude,
 Degrees of Longitude

75° W.L. is the 75°

line of longitude 75° E.L. is the 75°
west of the Prime line of longitude
Meridian. east of the Prime
Meridian.
 Lines of longitude are numbered east from the
Prime Meridian to the 180° line and west from the
Prime Meridian to the 180° line.
 The Prime Meridian (0° longitude) and the 180°
line split the earth into two hemispheres - the
Western Hemisphere and the Eastern
Hemisphere.

•Places located east of the Prime Meridian have

an east longitude (E.L.) address.
•Places located west of the Prime Meridian have a
west longitude (W.L.) address.
 Absolute location

✘ is the location of a place on the earth’s surface stated in terms of

latitude and longitude.

To find the absolute location of a place on the earth’s surface:

1. First, look to see if it is in the Northern Hemisphere or the

Southern Hemisphere.
2. Then, look to see if it is in the Western Hemisphere or the
Eastern Hemisphere.
3. Finally, find its exact location using lines of latitude and
longitude.
Example

Look for the circle around Mexico.

Were you correct?

Mexico’s global address is about

25° North Latitude and 110° West
Longitude.
So the absolute location for Mexico
is 25° North Latitude and 110° West
Longitude
✘ The Western Australia is
located at 25° North
Latitude and 117 ° West
Longitude.
Where is the Exact Location of the Philippines?

✘ The Philippines is a tropical country

located in the Northern Hemisphere
specifically 13 ° NL (North Latitude) ,
122° EL ( East Longitude). It is the
second largest archipelago in the
world with a total land area of
300,000 km2.