Locating Places

How do you find a city or other location on a world map or globe?

It might be easy to find Dallas, Texas, but what if you were asked to find
San Miguel, Argentina? Where would you begin to look?
 Where Do We Look?
Searching for places on a world map or a globe can be time
consuming and frustrating. Sometimes you don’t know
where to begin looking!

You can find a place more quickly if you know its address.
• You can find your seat in the football stadium if you know
you are sitting in Section 107, Row M, Seat 9.
• Friends can find your house if they know you live at 4120
Viola Drive.
 Where on Earth?
All places on Earth have a specific address. This address
makes it easy to find a place.

Places on Earth do not have addresses like Row M, Seat 9

or 4120 Viola Drive.

The addresses of places on the Earth are given in latitude

and longitude.
To help us locate places on the earth’s surface, we use a coordinate
system. This coordinate system is like placing a giant grid over the
earth. This grid has lines extending from east to west called lines of
latitude and lines extending from north to south called lines of
longitude.

The coordinates of a location are like an address for that place. If you
know the coordinates (like 34° North Latitude and 58° West
Longitude), you can easily find any place on the earth’s surface.
 About Latitude
Lines of latitude extend east and west across the Earth. These lines are
imaginary. We cannot actually see a latitude line on the Earth. Latitude
is measured both north and south from the Equator and is measured in
degrees (°).
The North Pole is
located at 90° N.L
40° N.L. is the 40° line of
The Equator is latitude north of the
Equator.
at 0° latitude. It is
neither north nor
south. It is at the
center between
north and south.

40° S.L. is the 40° line of

The South Pole latitude south of the
is located at 90° S.L Equator.
 Degrees of Latitude
N
90
80

[
70
Lines of latitude 60
are numbered 50
from 0° at the 40
30
Equator to 90° 20

]
N.L. at the North 10
Pole. Lines of latitude
10
20 are numbered from
30 0° at the Equator
40 to 90° S.L. at the
50 South Pole.
60
70
80
90

S
 The equator (0° latitude) splits the Earth into two hemispheres -
the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere.

Northern Hemisphere

EQUATOR

Southern Hemisphere

Places located north of the Equator have a North Latitude (N.L.) address.
Places located south of the Equator have a South Latitude (S.L.) address.
 Checking Up

1. If you live at 40° N.L., do you live in the northern

hemisphere or the southern hemisphere?
2. If you live at 20° N.L., do you live closer to the
Equator or the North Pole?
3. Do lines of latitude extend in an east-west or a north-
south direction?
 Longitude
Lines of longitude extend north and south. Like lines of latitude, these lines
are imaginary. We cannot actually see a longitude line on the earth.
Longitude is measured in degrees (°) from the Prime Meridian. Lines of
longitude are evenly spaced at the Equator, but meet at the poles.

Lines of longitude begin at the Prime Meridian. The Prime

Meridian is located at 0°. It is
neither east nor west. It is
between east and west.

60° W.L. is the 60° 60° E.L. is the 60°

line of longitude line of longitude
west of the W E east of the Prime
Prime Meridian. Meridian.
 Longitude
180°
N
West Longitude

East Longitude
North Pole W E

Prime Meridian

Lines of longitude are numbered east from the Prime Meridian to the 180°
line and west from the Prime Meridian to the 180° line.
 The Prime Meridian (0° longitude) and the 180° line split the earth into two
hemispheres - the Western Hemisphere and the Eastern Hemisphere.

Prime Meridian

Western Hemisphere
Eastern Hemisphere

Places located east of the Prime Meridian have an east longitude (E.L.) address.

Places located west of the Prime Meridian have a west longitude (W.L.) address.
 When geographers use the term “absolute location” they are
referring to the global address of a place.

Absolute location is the location of a place on the earth’s surface stated in

terms of latitude and longitude.

To find the absolute location of a place on the earth’s surface:

• First, look to see if it is in the Northern Hemisphere or the Southern
Hemisphere.
• Then, look to see if it is in the Western Hemisphere or the Eastern
Hemisphere.
• Finally, find its exact location using lines of latitude and longitude.
 For example: N

W E

S
Mexico is in the Northern Hemisphere because it is north of the Equator.
Mexico is in the Western Hemisphere because it is west of the Prime
Meridian. Point to the country of Mexico. (25° N.L., 110° W.L.)
 N

W E

S
Look for the circle around Mexico. Were you correct?
Mexico’s global address is about 25° North Latitude and 110° West Longitude.
So the absolute location for Mexico is 25° North Latitude and 110° West Longitude.
 Checking Up
1. The Equator is the imaginary line that separates
a. the Eastern Hemisphere from the Western Hemisphere.
b. the Northern Hemisphere from the Southern Hemisphere.

2. A location that has a global address of 35° N.L. and

110° E.L. is located in the
a. Southern and Western Hemispheres
b. Southern and Eastern Hemispheres
c. Northern and Western Hemispheres
d. Northern and Eastern Hemispheres