Geographic coordinates how to determine the latitude. Video: Geographic coordinates and coordinates

Measured from 0° to 90° either side of the equator. The geographical latitude of points lying in the northern hemisphere (northern latitude) is considered to be positive, the latitude of points in the southern hemisphere is negative. It is customary to speak of latitudes close to the poles as high, and about those close to the equator - as about low.

Due to the difference in the shape of the Earth from the ball, the geographical latitude of the points differs somewhat from their geocentric latitude, that is, from the angle between the direction to a given point from the center of the Earth and the plane of the equator.

Longitude

Longitude- the angle λ between the plane of the meridian passing through the given point, and the plane of the initial zero meridian, from which the longitude is counted. Longitudes from 0° to 180° east of the prime meridian are called east, to the west - west. Eastern longitudes are considered to be positive, western - negative.

Height

To fully determine the position of a point in three-dimensional space, a third coordinate is needed - height. The distance to the center of the planet is not used in geography: it is convenient only when describing very deep regions of the planet or, on the contrary, when calculating orbits in space.

Within the geographic envelope, the "height above sea level" is usually used, measured from the level of the "smoothed" surface - the geoid. Such a system of three coordinates turns out to be orthogonal, which simplifies a number of calculations. Altitude above sea level is also convenient in that it is related to atmospheric pressure.

The distance from the earth's surface (up or down) is often used to describe a location, however Not serves coordinate

Geographic coordinate system

The main drawback in the practical application of the HCS in navigation is the large values of the angular velocity of this system at high latitudes, which increase up to infinity at the pole. Therefore, instead of HCS, a semi-free CS in azimuth is used.

Semi-free in azimuth coordinate system

The semi-free in azimuth SC differs from the HSC in only one equation, which has the form:

Accordingly, the system has the same initial position that the HCS and their orientation also coincide with the only difference that its axes and are deviated from the corresponding axes of the HCS by an angle for which the equation is valid

The conversion between the HCS and semi-free in the azimuth of the CS is carried out according to the formula

In reality, all calculations are carried out in this system, and then, to issue output information, the coordinates are transformed into the GCS.

Recording formats for geographic coordinates

The WGS84 system is used to record geographic coordinates.

Coordinates (latitude -90° to +90°, longitude -180° to +180°) can be written:

in ° degrees as a decimal fraction (modern version)
in ° degrees and "minutes with decimals
in ° degrees, " minutes and " seconds with a decimal fraction (historical notation)

The decimal separator is always a dot. Positive signs of coordinates are represented by the (in most cases, omitted) sign "+", or by the letters: "N" - north latitude and "E" - east longitude. Negative signs of coordinates are represented either by a "-" sign or by the letters: "S" - southern latitude and "W" - western longitude. Letters can stand both in front and behind.

There are no uniform rules for recording coordinates.

By default, search engine maps show coordinates in degrees with a decimal fraction with "-" signs for negative longitude. On Google maps and Yandex maps, latitude first, then longitude (until October 2012, the reverse order was adopted on Yandex maps: first longitude, then latitude). These coordinates are visible, for example, when laying routes from arbitrary points. The search also recognizes other formats.

In navigators, by default, degrees and minutes are more often shown with a decimal fraction with a letter designation, for example, in Navitel, in iGO. You can enter coordinates in accordance with other formats. The degrees and minutes format is also recommended for maritime communications.

At the same time, the original way of writing with degrees, minutes and seconds is often used. Currently, coordinates can be written in one of many ways or duplicated in two main ways (with degrees and with degrees, minutes and seconds). As an example, the options for recording the coordinates of the sign "Zero kilometer of the roads of the Russian Federation" - 55.755831 , 37.617673 55°45′20.99″ N sh. 37°37′03.62″ E d. / 55.755831 , 37.617673 (G) (O) (I):

55.755831°, 37.617673° -- degrees
N55.755831°, E37.617673° -- degrees (+ additional letters)
55°45.35"N, 37°37.06"E -- degrees and minutes (+ additional letters)
55°45"20.9916"N, 37°37"3.6228"E -- degrees, minutes and seconds (+ additional letters)

Notes

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010 .

See what "Geographic coordinates" are in other dictionaries:

See Coordinates. Mountain Encyclopedia. Moscow: Soviet Encyclopedia. Edited by E. A. Kozlovsky. 1984 1991 ... Geological Encyclopedia

- (latitude and longitude), determine the position of a point on the earth's surface. Geographical latitude j is the angle between the plumb line at a given point and the plane of the equator, counted from 0 to 90 degrees on both sides of the equator. Geographic longitude l angle ... ... Modern Encyclopedia

Latitude and longitude determine the position of a point on the earth's surface. Geographic latitude? the angle between the plumb line at a given point and the plane of the equator, counted from 0 to 90. in both directions from the equator. Geographic longitude? angle between ... ... Big Encyclopedic Dictionary

Angular values that determine the position of a point on the surface of the Earth: latitude - the angle between the plumb line at a given point and the plane of the earth's equator, measured from 0 to 90 ° (northern latitude north of the equator and southern latitude south); longitude ... ... Marine dictionary

Geographic longitude and latitude are used to accurately determine the physical location of any object on the globe. The easiest way to find geographic coordinates is to use a geographic map. This method requires some theoretical knowledge for its implementation. How to determine the longitude and latitude is described in the article.

Geographical coordinates

Coordinates in geography are a system in which each point on the surface of our planet is assigned a set of numbers and symbols that allows you to accurately determine the position of this point. Geographical coordinates are expressed in three numbers - this is latitude, longitude and height above sea level. The first two coordinates, that is, latitude and longitude, are most often used in various geographical tasks. The origin of the report in the geographic coordinate system is at the center of the Earth. Spherical coordinates are used to represent latitude and longitude, which are expressed in degrees.

Before considering the question of how to determine longitude and latitude by geography, you should understand these concepts in more detail.

The concept of latitude

The latitude of a particular point on the surface of the Earth is understood as the angle between the equatorial plane and the line connecting this point with the center of the Earth. Through all points on having the same latitude, you can draw a plane that will be parallel to the plane of the equator.

The plane of the equator is the zero parallel, that is, its latitude is 0 °, and it divides the entire globe into the southern and northern hemispheres. Accordingly, the north pole lies on parallel 90° north latitude and the south pole lies on parallel 90° south latitude. The distance that corresponds to 1° when moving along a particular parallel depends on which parallel it is. With increasing latitude when moving north or south, this distance decreases. Thus is 0°. Knowing that the circumference of the Earth at the latitude of the equator has a length of 40075.017 km, we obtain a length of 1 ° along this parallel equal to 111.319 km.

Latitude indicates how far north or south of the equator a given point lies on the Earth's surface.

The concept of longitude

The longitude of a particular point on the surface of the Earth is understood as the angle between the plane passing through this point and the axis of rotation of the Earth, and the plane of the prime meridian. According to the settlement agreement, the meridian is supposed to be zero, which passes through the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, located in the southeast in England. The Greenwich meridian divides the globe into east and

Thus, each line of longitude passes through the north and south poles. The lengths of all meridians are equal and amount to 40007.161 km. If we compare this figure with the length of the zero parallel, then we can say that the geometric shape of the planet Earth is a ball flattened from the poles.

Longitude shows how far west or east of the zero (Greenwich) meridian lies a specific point on Earth. If latitude has a maximum value of 90° (latitude of the poles), then the maximum value of longitude is 180° west or east of the prime meridian. The 180° meridian is known as the international date line.

One can ask an interesting question, the longitude of which points cannot be determined. Based on the definition of the meridian, we get that all 360 meridians pass through two points on the surface of our planet, these points are the south and north poles.

Geographic degree

From the above figures it can be seen that 1 ° on the Earth's surface corresponds to a distance of more than 100 km, both along the parallel and along the meridian. For more accurate coordinates of the object, the degree is divided into tenths and hundredths, for example, they talk about 35.79 north latitude. In this form, information is provided by satellite navigation systems such as GPS.

Ordinary geographical and topographic maps represent fractions of a degree in the form of minutes and seconds. So, each degree is divided into 60 minutes (denoted by 60"), and each minute is divided into 60 seconds (denoted by 60""). Here you can draw an analogy with the representation of the measurement of time.

Getting to know the map

To understand how to determine the geographical latitude and longitude on the map, you must first familiarize yourself with it. In particular, you need to figure out how the coordinates of longitude and latitude are represented on it. First, the top of the map shows the northern hemisphere, the bottom shows the southern. The numbers on the left and right of the edge of the map indicate latitude, and the numbers at the top and bottom of the map are longitude coordinates.

Before you determine the coordinates of latitude and longitude, you must remember that they are presented on the map in degrees, minutes and seconds. Do not confuse this system of units with decimal degrees. For example, 15" = 0.25°, 30" = 0.5°, 45"" = 0.75".

Using a geographic map to determine longitude and latitude

Let us explain in detail how to determine longitude and latitude by geography using a map. To do this, you first need to purchase a standard geographic map. This map can be a map of a small area, region, country, continent, or the whole world. To understand which card to deal with, you should read its name. At the bottom, under the name, the limits of latitudes and longitudes, which are presented on the map, can be given.

After that, you need to select some point on the map, some object that needs to be marked in some way, for example, with a pencil. How to determine the longitude of an object located at a selected point, and how to determine its latitude? The first step is to find the vertical and horizontal lines that lie closest to the selected point. These lines are the latitude and longitude, the numerical values of which can be viewed at the edges of the map. Assume that the chosen point lies between 10° and 11° north latitude and 67° and 68° west longitude.

Thus, we know how to determine the geographic latitude and longitude of the object selected on the map with the accuracy that the map provides. In this case, the accuracy is 0.5°, both in latitude and longitude.

Determination of the exact value of geographical coordinates

How to determine the longitude and latitude of a point more precisely than 0.5 °? First you need to find out what scale the map with which you are working is. Usually, a scale bar is indicated in one of the corners of the map, showing the correspondence of distances on the map to distances in geographical coordinates and in kilometers on the ground.

After the scale bar is found, it is necessary to take a simple ruler with millimeter divisions and measure the distance on the scale bar. Let in this example, 50 mm corresponds to 1 ° latitude and 40 mm - 1 ° longitude.

Now we position the ruler so that it is parallel to the longitude lines drawn on the map, and measure the distance from the point in question to one of the nearest parallels, for example, the distance to the 11 ° parallel is 35 mm. We make up a simple proportion and find that this distance corresponds to 0.3 ° from the 10 ° parallel. Thus, the latitude of the point under consideration is +10.3° (the plus sign means north latitude).

Similar actions should be done for longitude. To do this, place the ruler parallel to the lines of latitude and measure the distance to the nearest meridian from the selected point on the map, for example, this distance is 10 mm to the meridian of 67 ° west longitude. According to the rules of proportion, we obtain that the longitude of the object in question is -67.25 ° (the minus sign means longitude west).

Convert received degrees to minutes and seconds

As stated above, 1° = 60" = 3600"". Using this information and the rule of proportion, we find that 10.3° corresponds to 10°18"0"". For the longitude value, we get: 67.25 ° = 67 ° 15 "0"". In this case, the proportion was used for the conversion once for longitude and latitude. However, in the general case, when fractional minutes are obtained after using the proportion once, it follows use the proportion a second time to get the value of incremental seconds. Note that the accuracy of determining the coordinates to 1 "corresponds to an accuracy on the surface of the globe equal to 30 meters.

Recording received coordinates

After the question of how to determine the longitude of an object and its latitude has been resolved, and the coordinates of the selected point have been determined, they should be written down correctly. The standard notation is to indicate the longitude after the latitude. Both values must be specified with as many decimal places as possible, since the accuracy of the object location depends on this.

Certain coordinates can be represented in two different formats:

Using only the degree icon, e.g. +10.3°, -67.25°.
Using minutes and seconds, for example, 10°18"0"" North, 67°15"0"" West.

It should be noted that when representing geographic coordinates in degrees only, the words "North (South) latitude" and "East (West) longitude" are replaced by the appropriate plus or minus sign.

Each point on the planet's surface has a specific position, which corresponds to its own coordinate in latitude and longitude. It is located at the intersection of the spherical arcs of the meridian, which is responsible for longitude, with a parallel, which corresponds to latitude. It is denoted by a pair of angular values expressed in degrees, minutes, seconds, which has the definition of a coordinate system.

Latitude and longitude are the geographical aspect of a plane or sphere, carried over into topographic images. For a more accurate location of any point, its height above sea level is also taken into account, which allows you to find it in three-dimensional space.

The need to find a point by the coordinates of latitude and longitude arises on duty and by occupation among rescuers, geologists, military, sailors, archaeologists, pilots and drivers, but tourists, travelers, seekers, researchers may also need it.

What is latitude and how to find it

Latitude is the distance from an object to the equator line. It is measured in angular units (such as degrees, degrees, minutes, seconds, etc.). Latitude on a map or globe is indicated by horizontal parallels - lines that describe a circle parallel to the equator and converge in the form of a series of tapering rings to the poles.

Therefore, they distinguish between northern latitude - this is the entire part of the earth's surface north of the equator, and also southern - this is the entire part of the planet's surface south of the equator. Equator - zero, the longest parallel.

The parallels from the equator line to the north pole are considered to be a positive value from 0° to 90°, where 0° is the equator itself, and 90° is the top of the north pole. They are counted as north latitude (NL).
Parallels extending from the equator towards the south pole are indicated by a negative value from 0° to -90°, where -90° is the location of the south pole. They are counted as south latitude (S).
On a globe, parallels are depicted as circles encircling the ball, which decrease as they approach the poles.
All points on the same parallel will have the same latitude but different longitudes.
On the maps, based on their scale, the parallels have the form of horizontal, curved arc stripes - the smaller the scale, the straighter the parallel strip is shown, and the larger it is, the more curved it is.

Remember! The closer a given area is to the equator, the lower its latitude will be.

What is longitude and how to find it

Longitude is the amount by which the position of a given area is removed relative to Greenwich, that is, the zero meridian.

Longitude is similarly inherent in the measurement in angular units, only from 0 ° to 180 ° and with the prefix - east or west.

The zero meridian of Greenwich vertically encircles the globe of the Earth, passing through both poles, dividing it into the western and eastern hemispheres.
Each of the parts to the west of Greenwich (in the Western Hemisphere) will have a West Longitude (WL) designation.
Each of the parts east of Greenwich and located in the eastern hemisphere will carry the designation of east longitude (E.L.).
Finding each point along one meridian has a single longitude, but a different latitude.
The meridians are plotted on the maps in the form of vertical stripes, curved in the form of an arc. The smaller the scale of the map, the straighter the meridian strip will be.

How to find the coordinates of a given point on the map

Often you have to find out the coordinates of a point that is located on the map in a square between the two nearest parallels and meridians. Approximate data can be obtained by eye by successively estimating the step in degrees between the lines plotted on the map in the area of interest, and then comparing the distance from them to the desired area. For accurate calculations, you will need a pencil with a ruler, or a compass.

For the initial data, we take the designations of the parallels with the meridian closest to our point.
Next, we look at the step between their stripes in degrees.
Then we look at the size of their step on the map in cm.
We measure with a ruler in cm the distance from a given point to the nearest parallel, as well as the distance between this line and the neighboring one, translate into degrees and take into account the difference - subtracting from the larger one, or adding to the smaller one.
Thus we get the latitude.

Example! The distance between the parallels 40° and 50°, among which our area is located, is 2 cm or 20 mm, and the step between them is 10°. Accordingly, 1° is equal to 2 mm. Our point is removed from the fortieth parallel by 0.5 cm or 5 mm. We find degrees to our locality 5/2 = 2.5 °, which must be added to the value of the nearest parallel: 40 ° + 2.5 ° = 42.5 ° - this is our northern latitude of the given point. In the southern hemisphere, the calculations are similar, but the result has a negative sign.

Similarly, we find the longitude - if the nearest meridian is farther from Greenwich, and the given point is closer, then we subtract the difference, if the meridian is closer to Greenwich, and the point is further, then we add.

If only a compass was found at hand, then each of the segments is fixed with its tips, and the thrust is transferred to the scale.

Similarly, calculations of coordinates on the surface of the globe are made.

Hello, dear friends of the portal site!

Tool - determination of geographical coordinates on the Google Maps map of the city, street, house, in real time. How to determine coordinates by address - latitude and longitude on the map, convenient search by coordinates in Google Maps. A world map with coordinates (longitude and latitude) will allow you to find any address using already known parameters, calculate the distance between two cities/points online

Fill out the Google Maps search form - enter the city, street, house number. Type the name of any geographical feature separated by a space. Or move the label to the right place yourself, and search (click "Find") by the coordinates of the object on the Google map. A similar search has already been used when searching in . Use the change in the scale of the diagram (the desired scale will appear in the third field from the top) to see in more detail the location of the house on the street.

As you may have noticed, when you move the label on the diagram, the geographic parameters change. We get a kind of map with latitudes and longitudes. Previously, we have already dealt with determining the coordinates on the Yandex map

Using the reverse method, everyone will be able to search for coordinates in Google using known parameters. Instead of the geographical name of the object, fill in the search form with known coordinates. The service will determine and show on the map the exact geographical location of the street, district.

Interesting places in Google Maps - online secrets from the satellite

Knowing the address of any city in the world, the latitude and longitude of Washington and Santiago, Beijing and Moscow is easily determined. available to both city visitors and local residents. We are sure that you have already mastered this tool on the page; by default, the center of the capital of Russia, the city of Moscow, is located on the map. Find your latitude and longitude on the map at the address.

We offer to learn the secrets of the Google Maps service online. The satellite will not fly past interesting historical places, each of which is popular in a certain part of the globe.

Below you can see for yourself that these interesting places of the earth deserve special attention. And the Google Maps Sputnik service is happy to offer to find and see the most famous geographical secrets of the world. We believe that the residents of the Samara region will also be interested. What it looks like - they already know.

You do not need to determine their geographical coordinates and look for the necessary Google maps of the service. It is enough to copy any parameters from the list below - latitude and longitude (CTRL + C).

For example, we will watch from a satellite (switch to the “Satellite” scheme type) the largest stadium in the world and Brazil - Maracana (Rio de Janeiro, Maracana). Copy the latitude and longitude from the list below:

22.91219,-43.23021

paste it into the search form of the Google Maps service (CTRL + V). It remains to start the search for the object itself. A label will appear on the diagram with the exact location of the coordinates. We remind you that you need to activate the "Satellite" scheme type. Everyone will choose a convenient +/- scale for themselves in order to better view the stadium in Brazil

Thank you for the provided data service Google Maps

Cartographic data of cities in Russia, Ukraine and the world

Geographic coordinates consist of two components: latitude and longitude, angular values, using which each person can determine the location of any object on the world map. The study of the latitude and longitude of the globe has been studied since ancient times.

The concept of geographic latitude

Latitude is a geographic coordinate in spherical coordinate systems that defines points located on the Earth's surface relative to the equator. The geographic latitude of objects that are located in the northern hemisphere is considered positive, in the southern hemisphere - negative.

In geography, there is a concept of southern and northern latitudes. Determining which latitude is south and which is north is simple: if a point moves from the equator towards the North Pole, it falls into the zone of northern latitudes.

Latitudes on the map are represented by lines running parallel to the equator and to each other, hence the name of these lines - parallels. The distance between parallels is measured not in kilometers, but in degrees, minutes and seconds.

Each degree consists of 60 minutes, 1 minute - of 60 seconds. The equator is zero latitude, the North and South Poles are located at 90 degrees north and 90 degrees south latitude, respectively.

One degree of longitude is equal to 1/360 of the length of the equator.

The concept of geographic longitude

Longitude is a coordinate in a geographic coordinate system that determines the location of a point relative to the prime meridian. Thanks to longitude, we can find out the position of an object relative to the west and east.

In geographical science, the zero point of reference for geographic longitude is considered to be the Greenwich Laboratory, which is located in east London (Greenwich meridian).

The lines that define longitude are called meridians. All meridians run perpendicular to the equator. All meridians intersect at two points - at the North and South Poles.

The territories that are located to the east of the Greenwich meridian are called the eastern longitude area, the territories to the west are called the western longitude area.

Most of the continents are located in the region of eastern longitudes, with the exception of only two continents - South and North America. Points that are located on the meridians have the same longitude, but different latitude.

1/180 of a meridian is one degree of latitude. The average length of one degree of latitude becomes approximately 111 km. East longitude is considered positive, west longitude is negative.