Personal growth      04/18/2020

How latitude and longitude are indicated on the map. Geographical coordinates. Latitude and longitude. Literature for preparing for the GIA and the Unified State Examination

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.

Latitude and longitude

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. 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.

Lines of latitude

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 lines

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 value 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.

The best services for finding a place by coordinates

The easiest way to find out your location is by going to the PC version of the service that works directly with Google Maps. Many utilities simplify the process of entering latitude and longitude in the browser. Let's consider the best of them.

Map & Directions

In addition, Maps & Directions allows you to determine the coordinates of your position on the map for free with just one click. Click on "Find my coordinates", and the service will immediately put a marker and determine the latitude, longitude up to many thousandths, and also the height.

On the same site you can measure the distance between settlements or the area of ​​any given territory, draw a route or calculate the travel time. The service is useful for both travelers and just curious users.

mapcoordinates.net

The useful Mapcoordinates.net utility allows you to find out the coordinates of a point in any region of the world. The service is also integrated with Google Maps, but has a simplified interface, thanks to which even an unprepared user can use it.

In the address bar of the utility, where it says "Search", enter the address of the place, the latitude and longitude of which you want to get. A map with coordinates will appear along with a marker on right place. The latitude, longitude, and altitude of the selected point will be displayed above the marker.

Unfortunately, Mapcoordinates.net is not suitable for looking up points by knowing their coordinates. However, for the reverse procedure, this is a very convenient utility. The service supports many languages, including Russian.

Search by coordinates on the map through a browser using the Google Maps service

If for some reason you prefer to work not with simplified services, but directly with Google Maps, then this instruction will be useful for you. The process of searching by coordinates through Google Maps is a little more complicated than in the methods described earlier, but it can be mastered quickly and without much difficulty.

To find out the exact coordinates of a place, follow the following simple instructions:

    Open the service on the PC. It is important that the full mode must be enabled, and not the lite (marked with a special lightning icon) mode, otherwise it will not work to get information;

    Click on the area of ​​the map where the point or point you need is located with the right mouse button;

    Check the option "What's here?" in the menu that appears;

    Look at the tab that appears at the bottom of the screen. It will display the latitude, longitude and altitude.

To determine a place by known geographical coordinates, a different procedure will be required:

    1. Open Google Maps in full mode on your computer;

      In the search bar at the top of the screen, you can enter the coordinates. This can be done in the following formats: degrees, minutes and seconds; degrees and decimal minutes; decimal degrees;

    Press the "Enter" key, and a special marker will appear on the map at the desired location.

The most important thing when using the Google Maps service is to correctly specify geographic coordinates. Cards only recognize a few data formats, so be sure to keep the following input rules in mind:

    When entering degrees, use the special character denoting it "°", not "d";

    As a separator between the integer and fractional parts, you must use a dot, not a comma, otherwise the search string will not be able to give a place;

    Latitude is listed first, then longitude. The first parameter must be written in the range from -90 to 90, the second - from -180 to 180.

Finding a special character on a PC keyboard is difficult, and in order to adhere to the required list of rules, you need to put in quite a lot of effort. It is much easier to use special utilities - we have listed the best of them in the section above.

Finding a place by latitude and longitude on Android OS

Often you need to find a place by coordinates away from a laptop or personal computer. The mobile application Google Maps, running on the Android platform, will help out. It is usually used to get directions or schedules. Vehicle, however, the program is also suitable for finding the location of a point or point.

You can download the application for Android on the official page on Google Play. It is available in both Russian and English. After installing the program, follow the instructions below.

The concept of "Coordinates"

Remark 1

At all, coordinates- these are quantities that determine the position of any point on the surface or in space relative to the accepted coordinate system.

In geodesy and topography, systems of geographic, rectangular and polar coordinates are widely used.

To determine the position of the Earth's points on an ellipsoid or ball, is used, where the initial planes are the initial meridian and the equator. The coordinates in this system are angular quantities - the longitude and latitude of the point.

If geographic coordinates are obtained on the basis of astronomical observations, then they are called astronomical, and if they are obtained on the basis of geodetic measurements, then they will be geodetic. The values ​​of astronomical and geodetic geographical coordinates are somewhat different from each other, because the projection of points onto the surface is carried out in different ways: in the first case - plumb lines, in the second case - normals.

In geography, coordinates are geographic latitude and geographic longitude. Both concepts arose in ancient times, when it was necessary to describe the size of the Mediterranean Sea. The map clearly shows that the sea is elongated from west to east and its length is twice as long in this direction than from north to south. Thus, new concepts appeared - longitude - the distance from west to east and latitude - the distance from north to south.

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Geographic latitude

Latitude is a geographic coordinate that defines the position of a point on the Earth's surface relative to the equator. Geographic latitude is northern and southern, the latitude of objects in the northern hemisphere is considered positive, and the southern hemisphere is considered negative.

The primary task in the era of the great geographical discoveries was to determine the coordinates of the place of travel. To this end, all ships had astronomers who used the simplest instruments to determine the latitude and longitude of the ship, i.e., its location. At that time, they used a tool called Jacobsshtab. It was a long graduated bar equipped with a short movable cross bar. When sighting, the crossbar was moved until its lower end touched the horizon, and the upper end touched the Sun or some given star. So the height of the luminary was determined, and with its help the latitude of the place was calculated. This device was used until the middle of the $XVIII$ century. Later, he was replaced by an astronomical goniometric instrument - the sextant.

Determining what latitude a particular point on the surface of the Earth has is quite simple - any point located north of the equator will have a northern latitude, and any south of it will have a southern latitude.

Remark 2

The latitude of points is expressed not in kilometers, but in degrees and is depicted on maps by lines parallel to the equator. These lines are called parallels. Distances between parallels are signed along the edge of the map frame. On physical map hemispheres, these distances are given in $10$ degrees. Degrees can be divided into minutes and seconds. The equator itself is zero latitude, latitude North Pole will be $90$ degrees N.S., and South Pole respectively - $90$ degrees Yu. Sh.

Latitudes close to the poles are called high latitudes, and those close to the equator are called low or zero latitudes. In addition to geographical maps, the latitude of points can be determined using astronomical instruments such as a sextant or gnomon.

Definition 1

Thus, geographical latitude of a place is the distance from the equator to the north or south, expressed in degrees.

The algorithm for performing work to determine the geographical latitude:

  • Find the equator on the map;
  • Find the degree values ​​of the parallels along the edge of the map frame;
  • Define any object on the map, for example Vladivostok;
  • Moving from the equator to the north, i.e. up, reach the desired object (Vladivostok);
  • From the object (Vladivostok) move along the parallel to the edge of the map frame and determine the degree measure of the parallel, which will show the latitude of the object;
  • In our case, the point denoting Vladivostok is located slightly to the north (above) of the $40$ parallel. This means that the latitude of Vladivostok will be $44$ degrees north of the equator.

Geographic longitude

Longitude is a geographic coordinate that determines the position of a point on the surface of the Earth relative to the prime meridian.

Geographic longitude is western and eastern. All points located on the surface of the Earth in the western hemisphere have western longitude, and all points located in the eastern hemisphere have eastern longitude. The longitude of the points, like the latitude, is expressed in degrees and is measured along the meridians, starting from the zero meridian. This meridian is called the initial and Greenwich meridian.

The meridians run perpendicular to the equatorial line and intersect at the poles. Most of the continents are located in the region of eastern longitude, with the exception of North and South America. The longitude of points located on the same meridian will be the same, but the latitude will be different. The east longitude will be positive and the west longitude will be negative. The distances between the meridians are signed in degrees along the equatorial line, starting from the zero meridian. One degree of longitude is equal to 1/360 of the length of the equator. The local time of the object depends on the longitude of the point.

Definition 2

Thus, geographical longitude of a place- this is the distance from the prime meridian to the west or east, expressed in degrees.

Algorithm for performing work on determining geographic longitude:

  • Find the prime meridian on the map. It crosses Africa and is shown in brighter color on the map;
  • Find the degree values ​​of the meridians at the equator. They start from the zero meridian;
  • Identify any object on the map, for example, Vladivostok;
  • Moving from the zero meridian to the east, i.e. to the right, reach the point marking Vladivostok;
  • From this point, move along the meridian down to the equator and determine the degree measure of this meridian;
  • In our case, the point denoting Vladivostok is located on the meridian $132$ degrees east of the zero meridian.

Or a map of the desired object, you need to know its geographical coordinates -.

Remember how you found a point on the coordinate plane in math lessons? In the same way, you can find any point on the planet using the system of parallels and meridians, or, as it is also called,.

First, set the geographic latitude of the point. That is, determine how far it is from the equator. To do this, calculate the value of the meridian arc from the equator to this point in degrees. Geographic latitude can vary from 0° to 90°. All points in the Northern Hemisphere have a northern latitude (abbreviated north latitude), and in the southern hemisphere they have a southern latitude (abbreviated south latitude).

Determination of geographical coordinates

To determine the geographic latitude of any point on the globe and map, you need to find out on which parallel it is located. For example, if Moscow is located on the parallel between 50° and 60° N. latitude, then its latitude is approximately 56 ° N. sh. All points of the same parallel have the same latitude. In order to establish the geographic longitude of a point, you need to find out how far it is from the initial (zero) meridian. It is conducted through the old building of the Greenwich Observatory, built in 1675 near London. This meridian is chosen conditionally as the zero meridian. It's called Greenwich. The magnitude of the arc of the parallel from it to a given point is measured in the same way as the geographic latitude - in degrees. If you move from the zero meridian to the east, then the longitude will be east (abbreviated east), and if you move west, west (abbreviated west). The value of longitude can be from 0° to 180°. To determine the geographical longitude of any point means to establish the longitude of the meridian on which it is located. So, Moscow is located at 38 ° E. d., and at 30 ° E. e. Latitude and longitude are signed on the top and bottom frames of the map. On a map of the hemispheres, longitude is marked at the equator.

The latitude and longitude of any point on the surface of the Earth is its geographical coordinates. For example, the geographic coordinates of Moscow are 56° N. sh. and 38° E. d.

Since the time of man's entry into the seas, the need to determine longitude and latitude has been a vital human skill. Epochs changed, and a person became able to determine the cardinal directions in any weather. More and more new methods of determining one's position were required.

The captain of a Spanish galleon in the eighteenth century knew exactly where the ship was due to the position of the stars in the night sky. A 19th-century traveler could determine a deviation from an established route in the forest from natural clues.

Now it's the twenty-first century and many have lost the knowledge gained in geography lessons. Smartphones based on Android or iPhone can serve as a tool, but they will never replace the knowledge and ability to determine your location.

What is latitude and longitude in geography

Determination of geographical coordinates

Applications that users install on iPhones read location coordinates to provide services or data based on where the person is located. After all, if the subscriber is in Russia, then he has no reason to read sites on English language. Everything happens in the background.

While the average user will never deal with GPS coordinates, knowing how to get and read them can be valuable. In some cases, they can save a life when there is no card nearby.

At any geographical system There are two indicators: latitude and longitude. Geodata from a smartphone shows exactly where the user is located relative to the equator.

How to determine the latitude and longitude of your location

Consider two options for determining geographic coordinates:

  1. Via Android the simplest is the Google Maps application, perhaps the most complete collection of geographical maps in one application. After launching the Google maps application, the location on the road map will be accurately determined, so that the user can get the best idea of ​​the surrounding area. The app also offers an extensive list of features, including real-time GPS navigation, traffic status, and transit information, as well as detailed information about nearby places, including popular food and holiday spots, photos, and reviews.
  2. Through iPhone you don't need any third party app to view latitude and longitude data. The location is determined only with the maps application. To find out the current coordinates, just run the "maps". Touch the arrow in the upper right corner of the screen, then touch the blue dot - this is the designation of the location of the phone and the user. Next, we swipe up the screen, and now the user can see the GPS coordinates. Unfortunately, there is no way to copy these coordinates, but you can get such data.

You will need another Compass application to copy them. It is already installed on the iPhone, you can immediately use it.

To view the latitude, longitude and altitude coordinates in the Compass app, just launch and find the data at the bottom.

Determine the geographical coordinates of Moscow

For this:

  1. Opening cards search engine yandex.
  2. Enter the name of our capital "Moscow" in the address bar.
  3. The city center (Kremlin) opens and under the name of the country we find the numbers 55.753215, 37.622504 - these are the coordinates, that is, 55.753215 north latitude and 37.622504 east longitude.

Worldwide GPS coordinates are defined by latitude and longitude according to the wgs-84 coordinate system.

In all situations, latitude is a point relative to the equator and longitude is a point relative to the meridian of the British Royal Observatory at Greenwich, UK. This defines two important parameters of online geography.

Finding the latitude and longitude of St. Petersburg

To consolidate the skill, let's repeat the same algorithm of actions, but for the Northern capital:

  1. We open "Yandex" maps.
  2. We write down the name northern capital"Saint Petersburg".
  3. The result of the request will be a panorama of the Palace Square and the desired coordinates 59.939095, 30.315868.

Coordinates of Russian cities and world capitals in the table

Cities of Russia Latitude Longitude
Moscow 55.753215 37.622504
Saint Petersburg 59.939095 30.315868
Novosibirsk 55.030199 82.920430
Ekaterinburg 56.838011 60.597465
Vladivostok 43.115536 131.885485
Yakutsk 62.028103 129.732663
Chelyabinsk 55.159897 61.402554
Kharkiv 49.992167 36.231202
Smolensk 54.782640 32.045134
Omsk 54.989342 73.368212
Krasnoyarsk 56.010563 92.852572
Rostov 57.185866 39.414526
Bryansk 53.243325 34.363731
Sochi 43.585525 39.723062
Ivanovo 57.000348 40.973921
Capitals of world states Latitude Longitude
Tokyo 35.682272 139.753137
Brasilia -15.802118 -47.889062
Kyiv 50.450458 30.523460
Washington 38.891896 -77.033788
Cairo 30.065993 31.266061
Beijing 39.901698 116.391433
Delhi 28.632909 77.220026
Minsk 53.902496 27.561481
Berlin 52.519405 13.406323
Wellington -41.297278 174.776069

Reading GPS data or where negative numbers come from

The object's geographic positioning system has changed several times. Now, thanks to it, you can accurately determine the distance to the desired object and find out the coordinates.

The ability to show the location is a vital necessity in the search activities of the rescue services. Different situations happen with travelers, tourists or extreme sportsmen. It is then that high accuracy is important, when a person is on the verge of life, and minutes count.

Now, dear reader, having such knowledge, you may have questions. There are many of them, but even from the table one of the most interesting arises - why is the number negative? Let's figure it out.

GPS when translated into Russian sounds like this - "global position system". Remember that the distance to the desired geographical object (city, village, village, and so on) is calculated according to two landmarks on the globe: the equator and the observatory in London.

At school they talked about latitude and longitude, but in yandex maps they are replaced by the left and right parts of the code. If the navigator has positive values, then you are heading north. Otherwise, the numbers become negative, which indicates the southern latitude.

Likewise with longitude. Positive values is east longitude and negative is west longitude.

For example, the coordinates of the Lenin Library in Moscow are: 55°45’08.1″N 37°36’36.9″E. It reads like this: “55 degrees 45 minutes and 08.1 seconds north latitude and 37 degrees 36 minutes and 36.9 seconds east longitude” (data from Google maps).

Rice. 2 Geographic coordinates

The position of various objects on the Earth's surface can be determined using geographic coordinates. To read the coordinates, a system of points and circles is conventionally plotted on the globe (Fig. 2). Let us introduce a number of definitions. An imaginary line around which diurnal rotation The earth is called the earth's axis. Its points of intersection with the earth's surface are called geographic or true poles: northern PN and southern PS. When a sphere is cut by a plane, a circle is obtained, and a circle is formed on the surface of the sphere. If the cutting plane passes through the center of the ball, then the circle has the largest dimensions and is called big. Circles formed from the section of a ball by planes that do not pass through its center are called small. The circumference of the great circle QQ /, whose plane is perpendicular to the earth's axis, is called equator. It divides the globe into northern and southern hemispheres. Circles of small circles, the planes of which are parallel to the plane of the equator, are called parallels(pp /). The circles of great circles, the planes of which pass through the axis of the Earth, are called geographic or true meridians. The half circle of the PnMPs meridian enclosed between the poles and passing through a given point M is called meridian of the observer (place). The PnGPs meridian passing through the astronomical observatory in Greenwich (England) is called Greenwich(initial or zero) meridian. The Greenwich meridian, together with the opposite meridian PnG / Ps, divides the globe into eastern and western hemispheres.

The geographic coordinate system includes two spherical coordinates: latitude and longitude.

Geographic latitude- this is the angle at the center of the Earth between the equatorial plane and a plumb line drawn through a given point (angle MOL, see Fig. 2). Latitude is measured by a meridian arc from the equator to the parallel of a given point. It is measured north or south of the equator from 0 to 90°. If the point is in the northern hemisphere, its latitude is assigned the name N (northern), if in the southern - S (south). Latitude is denoted by a Greek letter "" (fi). Example: j = 45 0 15¢.2 N; j = 55 0 05¢.1 S

Geographic longitude - is the angle at the center of the Earth between the plane of the Greenwich meridian and the plane of the meridian of the given point (angle GOL, see Fig. 2). Longitude is measured by the smaller of the arcs of the equator between the Greenwich meridian and the point meridian and is measured from the Greenwich meridian to the east or west from 0 to 180 °. If the point is in the eastern hemisphere, then the name E (eastern) is attributed to the longitude, if in the western - W (western). Longitude is denoted by a Greek letter "" (lambda). For example: l \u003d 125 0 16¢.9E; l \u003d 105 0 00¢,1W.


Latitude difference and longitude difference. The geographic coordinates of the vessel change as a result of movement. The changes in latitude and longitude of a ship are called latitude and longitude differences. Latitude difference(RSh) of two points on the earth's surface is measured by a meridian arc enclosed between the parallels of these points. Highest value RH can be 180°, which would correspond to the movement of the ship from one pole to another. If the ship was moving along any one parallel, then RSH is equal to 0°. The calculated RSH is assigned the name “to N” or “to S”, depending on the direction in which the ship was moving. Longitude difference(RD) of two points on the earth's surface is measured by the smaller of the arcs of the equator enclosed between the meridians of these points. Since the smaller of the arcs of the equator is always taken as the difference in longitudes, its value cannot exceed 180 °. If, when adding opposite longitudes, a value greater than 180 ° is obtained, then the addition of up to 360 ° is taken as a taxiway. Such a case may occur when the vessel crosses the 180° meridian. The calculated value of the taxiway is assigned the name of E or W, depending on the direction in which the ship moved. If the northern latitude and eastern longitude are conditionally assigned a plus (+) sign, and the southern latitude and western longitude (-), then the value of RH and RD can be calculated using algebraic formulas:

Rice. 3 Latitude difference and Longitude difference

The sign of the result obtained when calculating by formulas will show the names of RSH and RD. If the addition of up to 360 ° is taken when calculating the RD, then the name of the RD is changed. In order not to be mistaken in the meaning and name of the calculated RSH and RD, one should have a good idea mutual arrangement meridians and parallels the globe(see Fig. 3,). In practice, it may be necessary to find the coordinates of the point at which the ship arrived, if the coordinates of the point of departure are given, as well as the RS and TW characterizing the position of the point of arrival. Calculations can be made using algebraic formulas.