Location on maps

Position or location using geographic co-ordinate systems.

It is very important to locate places accurately on a map. We can use a grid of latitude
and longitude lines to locate places on a map. Geographic co-ordinates are given as
decimal degrees. Each location on the Earth has a latitude and a longitude co-
ordinate. The latitude is always given first.
Lines of latitude
Latitude is distance measured in degrees north or south of the equator.
Lines of latitude run right around the Earth and are parallel to the equator and one
another. Lines of latitude run from east to west across a map and they are parallel to
the equator. The equator is the 0º line of latitude. It divides the Earth into a northern
and southern half called hemispheres.
Latitude measures the angle of location between any point and the equator. The angle
run from 0º to 90º. The North Pole 90º N and the South Pole is 90º S.

Lines of longitude
Longitude is distance measured in degrees east or west of the Greenwich Meridian.
Lines of longitude run from the North Pole to South Pole and meet at these poles.
They indicate position east or west of the Prime Meridian, which is the 0º line of
longitude. Lines of longitude show the position of a place east or west of the Prime
Meridian.

LEARNING TIP

The Prime Meridian is also called the Greenwich Meridian because it runs through a town in the United
Kingdom called Greenwich

Zimbabwe lies to the South of the equator and to the east of the Prime Meridian.
Therefore, all co-ordinates for Zimbabwean places have a south latitude and east
longitude.

Grid references
Finding information on a map can be difficult or boring if it means searching all over.
A quick and easy system to accurately locate and describe position have been worked
out by makers (cartographers). It is called the grid system; it involves the use of
horizontal and vertical lines called grid lines. When joined together they form a pattern
of squares called grid squares.
Some important points about the grid
A grid is a set of horizontal and vertical lines which are evenly spaced. The lines are
numbered from south-western corner of a country, region, or continent, this is called
the grid origin.
Eastings are vertical lines on the map, and they increase in number the further you
move east (or right) (the numbers increase eastwards).
Northings are horizontal lines on the map, and they increase in number the further
you move north (or up the map) (the numbers increase northwards).
When northings and eastings are put together, they form perfect squares. The
numbers increase eastwards and northwards from the grid origin because this is the
general system among map makers.

Finding places and features on maps

In order to find out where a place or a feature is located on a map, we use the eastings
and the northings.
Four figure grid references
Four figure grid references are good for locating large places like a town, a golf course,
a farm, or a geographical feature like a headland. However, because a four-figure grid
reference covers a large area (normally 1km²), they are not very good for locating
specific places like a church or a post office.
 We should always remember to:
• Always start from the bottom left-hand corner of the map.
• To find the number of a square first use the eastings to go along the corridor
until you come to the bottom left-hand corner of the square you want. Then use
the northing to go up the stairs until you find the same corner.
• The eastings always come before the northings.

Bottom left-
hand corner

Steps for finding the grid reference.

1. Look at the bottom left-hand corner of the grid square.
2. Follow the line down to the bottom of the grid and write down these two numbers
(eastings)
3. Follow the line across to the side of the grid and write down these two numbers
(northings)

Try calculating the four-figure grid reference for this feature in this diagram.
(The four-figure grid reference of the feature is 0113 and this is read as zero, one, one,
three each figure must be read separately)

Activity
Find the four-figure grid reference of the following features below and write the answers
in your notebook.
The Six-Figure Grid References
If you want to pinpoint a more exact place on a map, such as your own house, you will
need to use a six-figure grid reference.
First find the four-figure grid reference for the square and write it down with a space
after each set of numbers, like this 12_ 01_.

The grid above shows the four-figure grid reference for the orange and blue balls is
1201.
Now measure the length of one of the Easting lines e.g., 12 to 13
Divide that number by 10 to get your intervals (10 equal parts). e.g., 2cm/10= 2mm or
0.2cm.

The Northings line will be the same length as the Eastings line, so e.g.: 01-02 will be
2cm.Using your ruler you will now mark your intervals on the map. Start with Eastings,
after every 2mm make a mark. Your 10th mark should fall on the next Eastings number
as shown in the diagram. Repeat this process with your Northings.

Eastings Northings

The six-figure grid reference for the blue is 12 1 01 1. Find the six-figure grid reference
for the orange ball: 12_01_
In your notes, using a pencil, draw a square which is 4cm x 4cm.
Then divide it into intervals (remember the magic number we divide by). Label the
intervals from 0-9 as shown in the diagram (you may use two different colours).
Label Northings and Eastings as shown in the diagram.
Label the grid references as shown in the diagram.

Activity
Find the 6 figure grid references for squares below:
1) the red square
2) the blue square.