A map is divided in sections, which allow you to look for a place. When we would make sections for the whole world it becomes very unclear. A lot of sections are needed!. That’s why we use Geographical Coordinates. This is a long number which we use to measure where someone or something is. But how does it work?

Exactly between the North and South Pole lies the Equator. This line is used to divide the globe in two parts: The Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere. Just like the equator, there are multiple lines running east to west. These are the circles of latitude or Parallels. At every spot, they are at exactly the same distance from the equator. There are 90 parallels, each lying 1 degree further from the equator. This is how the northern hemisphere is divided in 90 degrees. At the northern hemisphere, we can for example say that we are at 40 degrees of northern latitude. It’s called northeren latitude, because it’s located north of the equator and because it’s a latitude circle.

Between every circle of latitude is a distance of approximately 70 miles or 110 kilometer. This is not really accurate. So, all circles of latitude are divided in 60 smaller parts. Just as an hour is divided in 60 minutes, so are the circles of latitude. Between every minute is still a distance of a mile, so that’s why the minutes are divided in 60 seconds. Now we exactly know how distant someone or something is from the equator, we can say that we are, for example at 53 degrees, 1 minute and 23 seconds northern latitude. Although we know how far we are removed from the equator, we can’t say whether we are in the Germany or in Calgary, Canada.

That’s why we also use circles which are drawn from the north pole to the south pole. These are circles of longitude, because they run from north to south. To divide the world in 2 parts, there is a circle of longitude which runs exactly through London. This is called the prime meridian. The hemisphere east of the line is called the Eastern Hemisphere and the part west of the line is called the Western Hemisphere.

The world is from the prime meridian on, westward and eastward divided in 180 degrees. Every degree is once again divided in minutes and the minutes in seconds.
Now we can say that we are at 5 degrees, 39 minutes and 41 seconds eastern longitude. This is called eastern longitude, because we are in the eastern hemisphere and because it’s a circle of longitude.
So when you know your coordinates, in latitude and longitude, you know exactly where you are.

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