Latitude and longitude are parameters or coordinates that help determine the location of any place on Earth. They are used to measure distances on the Earths surface and are expressed in degrees, minutes, and seconds. Here are some key points about latitude and longitude:

Latitude

• Latitude is a measurement of a location north or south of the Equator.
• It is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through (or close to) the center of the Earth.
• The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the Equator, which divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
• The North Pole is 90° N, and the South Pole is 90° S.
• Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the Equator and to each other.

Longitude

• Longitude is a measurement of location east or west of the prime meridian at Greenwich, London.
• It is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point.
• All meridians are halves of great ellipses (often called great circles), which converge at the North and South Poles.
• Longitude is measured 180° both east and west of the prime meridian.
• Meridians are plotted and drawn from pole to pole where they divide the Earth into Eastern and Western Hemispheres.
• The International Reference Meridian (IRM) was established as the precise location of 0 degrees longitude in the 1980s.

Together, latitude and longitude enable cartographers, geographers, and others to locate points or places on the globe and show the angular distance of any place from the Earths center. Latitude and longitude are used in GPS systems, maps, and other location-based technologies to help people navigate and find their way around the world.