There are many various systems coordinates. All of them serve to determine the position of points on the earth's surface. This includes mainly geographical coordinates, flat rectangular and polar coordinates. In general, coordinates are usually called angular and linear quantities that define points on any surface or in space.

Geographic coordinates are angular values ​​- latitude and longitude that determine the position of a point on globe. Geographic latitude is the angle formed by the equatorial plane and a plumb line at a given point on the earth's surface. This angle value shows how far a particular point on the globe is north or south of the equator.

If a point is located in the Northern Hemisphere, then it geographic latitude will be called northern, and if in the Southern Hemisphere - southern latitude. The latitude of points located on the equator is zero degrees, and at the poles (North and South) - 90 degrees.

Geographic longitude is also an angle, but formed by the plane of the meridian, taken as the initial (zero), and the plane of the meridian passing through a given point. For uniformity of definition, we agreed to consider the prime meridian to be the meridian passing through the astronomical observatory in Greenwich (near London) and call it Greenwich.

All points located to the east of it will have eastern longitude (up to the meridian 180 degrees), and to the west of the initial one will have western longitude. The figure below shows how to determine the position of point A on the earth's surface if its geographic coordinates (latitude and longitude) are known.

Note that the difference in longitude of two points on Earth shows not only their mutual arrangement in relation to the prime meridian, but also the difference in these points at the same moment. The fact is that every 15 degrees (24th part of the circle) in longitude is equal to one hour of time. Based on this, it is possible to determine the time difference at these two points using geographic longitude.

For example.

Moscow has a longitude of 37°37′ (east), and Khabarovsk -135°05′, that is, lies east of 97°28′. What time do these cities have at the same moment? Simple calculations show that if it is 13 hours in Moscow, then in Khabarovsk it is 19 hours 30 minutes.

The figure below shows the design of the frame of a sheet of any card. As can be seen from the figure, in the corners of this map the longitude of the meridians and the latitude of the parallels that form the frame of the sheet of this map are written.

On all sides the frame has scales divided into minutes. For both latitude and longitude. Moreover, each minute is divided into 6 equal sections by dots, which correspond to 10 seconds of longitude or latitude.

Thus, in order to determine the latitude of any point M on the map, it is necessary to draw a line through this point, parallel to the lower or upper frame of the map, and read the corresponding degrees, minutes, seconds on the right or left along the latitude scale. In our example, point M has a latitude of 45°31’30”.

Similarly, drawing a vertical line through point M parallel to the lateral (closest to this point) meridian of the border of a given map sheet, we read the longitude (eastern) equal to 43°31’18”.

Application to topographic map points at given geographic coordinates.

Drawing a point on a map at specified geographic coordinates is done in the reverse order. First, the indicated geographic coordinates are found on the scales, and then parallel and perpendicular lines are drawn through them. Their intersection will show a point with the given geographic coordinates.

Based on materials from the book “Map and Compass are My Friends.”
Klimenko A.I.

The ability to determine where latitude or longitude is on a map is important for a person. Especially when an accident occurs and you need to quickly make a decision and transfer coordinates to the police. They recognize her different methods. They mean the angle that is the plumb line and the 0 parallel at a predetermined point. The value is only up to 90 degrees.

Don't forget that the equator divides the earth into the northern and southern hemispheres. Therefore, the latitude of points on earth that are higher than the longest parallel is northern, and if they are located lower, then southern.

How to find out the latitude of any object?

You can determine latitude and longitude on a map. Look at which parallel the object is indicated. If it is not indicated, 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 on the same parallel will have the same latitude. If you take a map, you will see it on the frames; if it is a globe, then where the parallels with the 0° and 180° meridians intersect. Geographic latitudes range from 0° and only up to 90° (at the poles).

5 main latitudes

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

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 parallels are calculated towards the south or north. The area that starts from the equator and extends to the tropics is the equatorial region. The northern tropic is the main parallel. It is always marked on world maps.

The exact coordinates of 23° 26 min can be detected. and 16 sec. north of the equator. This parallel is also called the Tropic of Cancer. The Tropic of the 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 towards the equator is tropical regions.

At 66° 33 min. and 44 sec. The Arctic Circle is located just above the equator. This is the border, beyond which the length of the night increases. Near the pole it is 40 calendar days.

Latitude of the southern polar 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.

Instructions

Step #1

Everyone knows that the equator divides the earth into the southern and northern hemispheres. There are parallels beyond the equator. These are circles that are parallel to the equator itself. Meridians are conventional lines that are perpendicular to the equator.

The Prime Meridian passes through the observatory, it is called Greenwich and is located in London. That’s why they say: “Greenwich Meridian”. The system, which includes parallels with meridians, creates a coordinate grid. It is used when they want to determine where an object is located.

Step #2

Does geographic latitude indicate that a given point is south or north of the equator? It defines an angle of 0° and 90°. The angle begins to be calculated from the equator and towards the south or north pole. This way you can determine the coordinates; they say that the latitude is southern or northern.

Step #3

Geographic coordinates are measured in minutes and seconds, and most importantly - in degrees. A degree of a certain latitude is 1/180 from 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 using the described method, you need a plumb line with a protractor. You can make a protractor yourself. Take several rectangular planks. Clamp them together like a compass so that they change the angle between them.

Step #5

Take the thread. Hang a weight (plumb) on it. Secure the string to the center of your protractor. Point the base of the protractor at the Polaris star. Do some geometric calculations. Specifically, from the angle 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 for finding the coordinates. It's not like the first one. Wake up before sunrise and time its beginning, and then sunset. Take a monogram in your hands to find latitude. On the left side of the monogram, write down how long the daylight hours lasted, and on the right side, write the date.

Back in the middle of the 18th century. similar coordinates could be determined on the basis of astronomical observations. In the 20s 20th century it is already possible to contact by radio and determine coordinates special tools.

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

Geographic latitude- arc length in degrees from the equator to a 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 like this: Moscow 55°45" N; latitude of New York - 40°43" N; Sydney - 33°52" S

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

Geographic longitude- length of the equatorial arc in degrees from the prime meridian (0 degrees) to the meridian of a given point.

The prime meridian is considered to be the Greenwich meridian (0 degrees).

Rice. 2. Determination of longitudes ()

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

For example, the longitude of Moscow is 37 degrees and 37 minutes east longitude, it is written like this: 37°37" east; the longitude of Mexico City is 99°08" west.

Rice. 3. Geographical latitude and geographic longitude

For precise definition To locate 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 First the latitude value is recorded.

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

Homework

Paragraphs 12, 13.

1. What are geographic latitude and longitude?

Bibliography

Main

1. Basic course in geography: Textbook. for 6th grade. general education institutions / T.P. Gerasimova, N.P. Neklyukova. - 10th ed., stereotype. - M.: Bustard, 2010. - 176 p.

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

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

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

Encyclopedias, dictionaries, reference books and statistical collections

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

Literature for preparing for the State Exam and the Unified State Exam

1. Geography: initial course. Tests. Textbook manual for 6th grade students. - M.: Humanite. ed. VLADOS center, 2011. - 144 p.

2. Tests. Geography. 6-10 grades: Educational and methodological manual/ A.A. Letyagin. - M.: LLC "Agency "KRPA "Olympus": "Astrel", "AST", 2001. - 284 p.

Materials on the Internet

1. Federal Institute of Pedagogical Measurements ().

2. Russian Geographical Society ().

A system of geographic coordinates is necessary in order to accurately determine the location of an object on the Earth's surface. As you know, this system consists of geographic latitude and longitude. The first element of this system is the angle between the local zenith (noon) and the equatorial plane, ranging from 0 to 90 degrees west or east of the equatorial boundary. Longitude is the angle formed by two planes: the meridian passing through a given point in the area and the Greenwich meridian, i.e. zero point. From the latter, the longitude count begins, ranging from 0 to 180 degrees east and west (eastern and western longitude). Knowing how to navigate the terrain using latitude and longitude will help you communicate your exact coordinates in the event of an emergency, when you find yourself in an unfamiliar place that is not indicated on the map, or lost in the forest. You can learn more about how you can determine the latitude and longitude of your location.

Clock for determining location by latitude and longitude

How to determine a place by latitude and longitude

Determination of local geographic longitude is carried out using ordinary watches. To do this you need to install on them exact time location in this moment. Then you should determine the time of local noon, a time-tested method will help with this: you need to find a meter or one and a half meter stick and stick it vertically into the ground. The length of the line of the falling shadow will indicate the time intervals that need to be detected. The moment when the shadow is shortest is the local zenith, i.e. The gnomon shows exactly 12 noon, and the direction of the shadow is from south to north.

At this time, you need to check the time on your watch - this will be Greenwich Mean Time. From this value you need to subtract the indicator that is taken from the table of the equation of time. This correction arises due to the variability of the angular velocity of movement and the dependence on the time of year. Taking this correction into account, the average Greenwich time is converted to true solar time. The resulting difference between this solar time (i.e. 12 hours) and Greenwich time, taking into account the correction, must be converted into a degree value. To do this, you need to know that in one hour the Earth rotates by 15 degrees (if you divide 360 ​​degrees by 24 hours) of longitude, or by 1 degree in four minutes. If noon in a given area occurs before Greenwich, indicate eastern longitude in your calculations; if later, then western longitude. The closer the coordinates of the desired area are to the polar regions, the more accurate the longitude measurements will be.

Once the longitude value has been found, you can begin to determine the latitude value of a specific area. First you need to determine the length of daylight hours, which begins with sunrise and ends with sunset. Next, you need to create a nomogram, i.e. determination of latitude: on the left side the value of daylight hours is indicated, on the right - the date. If you combine these values, you can determine where latitude intersects with the midpoint. The location found will indicate the local latitude. When determining latitude relative to the southern hemisphere, it is necessary to add 6 months to the required date. The second method is to find latitude using a conventional protractor: for this, a plumb line (thread with a weight) is fixed in the center of this instrument, and its base is pointed at the North Star. The angle formed by the plumb line and the base of the protractor must be reduced by 90 degrees, i.e. subtract this value from its value. The value of this angle shows the height of the North Star, i.e. the height of the pole above the horizon. Since geographic latitude is equal to the magnitude of the pole above the horizon of a particular place, this value will indicate its degree.

And it allows you to find the exact location of objects on the earth’s surface degree network- a system of parallels and meridians. It serves to determine the geographic coordinates of points on the earth's surface - their longitude and latitude.

Parallels(from Greek parallelos- walking next to) are lines conventionally drawn on the earth's surface parallel to the equator; equator - a line of section of the earth's surface by a depicted plane passing through the center of the Earth perpendicular to its axis of 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 the degree network

Geographic latitude and longitude

Geographic latitude of a point is the magnitude of the meridian arc in degrees from the equator to a given point. It varies from 0° (equator) to 90° (pole). There are northern and southern latitudes, abbreviated as N.W. and S. (Fig. 2).

Any point south of the equator will have a southern latitude, and any point north of the equator will have a northern latitude. Determining the geographic latitude of any point means determining the latitude of the parallel on which it is located. On maps, the latitude of parallels is indicated on the right and left frames.

Rice. 2. Geographical latitude

Geographic longitude of a point is the magnitude of the parallel arc in degrees from the prime meridian to a given point. The prime (prime, or Greenwich) meridian passes through the Greenwich Observatory, located near London. To the east of this meridian the longitude of all points is eastern, to the west - western (Fig. 3). Longitude varies from 0 to 180°.

Rice. 3. Geographical longitude

Determining the geographic longitude of any point means determining the longitude of the meridian on which it is located.

On maps, the longitude of the meridians is indicated 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 geographical coordinates of Moscow are 56° N. and 38°E

Geographic coordinates of cities in Russia and CIS countries