Latitude vs Longitude: What Are the Differences

Every place on this earth has a very specific address and no it is not the house address but a geographic address. This address is made up of two numbers that can pinpoint exact location anywhere in the world. 

Whether it is a city, a mountain, or even the middle of an ocean, these points can identify the exact location. The points are known as latitude and longitude. Imagine our planet is a big round grid which has lines running both horizontally and vertically on it so as to create a global address system. This is the exact purpose of latitude and longitude. 

They offer a system which is used in maps, GPS devices, navigation, aviation, and even in Google Maps on your phone. Let’s understand what is the difference between the two. 

Key Differences Between Latitude and Longitude

What is Latitude?

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration mentions: “Lines of latitude, also called parallels, are imaginary lines that divide the Earth. They run east to west, but measure your distance north or south. The equator is the most well known parallel. At 0 degrees latitude, it equally divides the Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. From the equator, latitude increases as you travel north or south, reaching 90 degrees at each pole.”

To put it simply, latitudes are the lines that show how far North or South a place is from the Equator. It is measured in degrees. 

The lines of latitude are imaginary lines and they run horizontally around the earth parallel to each other and never intersect. There are a total of 181 latitude lines and here are some of the important ones:

• Equator: It is at 0° and is considered to be the starting point of latitude lines which divides Northern and Southern hemispheres. 

• Tropic of Cancer: It is at 23.5°N and the Northernmost point where the sun appears directly overhead every year on June 21. 

• Tropic of Capricorn: It is at 23.5°S and the Southernmost point where the Sun appears directly overhead every year around December 22. 

What is Longitude?

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration mentions: “Lines of longitude, also called meridians, are imaginary lines that divide the Earth. They run north to south from pole to pole, but they measure the distance east or west.”

These lines mention how far east or west is a place from Prime Meridian. The Prime Meridian is an imaginary line that runs from the North Pole to the South Pole. The line is at 0 degrees longitude. 

Longitudes are not parallel like latitudes. These lines start closely from the poles and are the widest near the equator. There are a total of 360 imaginary lines of longitude. 

How Longitude is Used to Calculate the Time Zones?

Longitude directly measures the time zones which are used by people all around the world. In simple terms it is a basic mathematical calculation. The earth rotates 360 degrees in 24 hours and if we divide 360 by 24 then we get 15 degrees per hour. 

This means that every 15 degrees of longitude, the time changes 1 hour. That is why the world is divided into 24 standard time zones.