Locating Places

How do you find a city or other

location on a world map or
globe?
Where is the Philippines
exactly located?
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 basketball arena if you
know you are sitting in Section 107, Row M, Seat 9.
• Friends can find your house if they know you live at #24
Burgos St., Sikatuna Village, Quezon City.
Where on Earth?
All places on Earth have a specific
address. This address makes it easy to
find a place.
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°
The Equator is at 0° latitude. line of latitude
It is neither north nor south. north of the Equator.
It is at the center between
north and south.

40° S.L. is the 40°

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

[
Lines of latitude 90
80
are numbered 70
60
from 0° at the 50
40

Equator to 90° 30
20

N.L. at the
10

]
10 Lines of latitude
North Pole. 20
30 are numbered
40
50
60
from 0° at the
80
70
Equator to 90°
90 S.L. at the South
S
Pole.
The equator (0° latitude) splits the Earth into two
hemispheres - the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern
Hemisphere. N

Northern Hemisphere
EQUATOR
Southern Hemisphere

S
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°
line of longitude
west of the Prime W E 60° E.L. is the 60°
Meridian. line of longitude east of
the Prime Meridian.
 Longitude
North Pole
N
West Longitude

East Longitude
W E

S
180° 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 Eastern
Hemisphere 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.
LATITUDE
Latitudes are imaginary horizontal lines that extend east and west
across the Earth. Latitudes are divided into five lines that are parallel to the
equator. The equator is an imaginary line that measures 0° latitudes and
serves as a reference point that divides the Earth into the Northern and
Southern hemispheres. The first latitude line in the upper of the equator is
the Tropic of Cancer with a latitude of (23.5°N) followed by the Arctic
Circle at the uppermost part with a latitude of (66.5 °N). People who live
between the zone of the equator and the Tropic of Cancer experience a
warm and humid climate.
Below the Equator is the latitude of Tropic of Capricorn (23.5°S)
followed by the bottom-most part Antarctic Circle with a latitude of (66.5
°S). People who lived between the zone of the equator and the Tropic of
Capricorn experienced four seasons- winter, spring, summer, and autumn.
 Absolute Location describes precise locations of
a place based on a fixed point on earth. The most
common way to identify a location is by using
coordinates such as latitude and longitude. It is
expected to give the latitude of a place first, and
the longitude second.
For example, you would say "35 degrees
north, 77 degrees west". This eliminates the need
to say the words latitude and longitude.