Latitude and longitude

In short: With latitude and longitude any place on Earth can be described by two numbers. Latitude counts from the equator (0°) to the poles (90°), longitude from the prime meridian through Greenwich (0°) to 180° east and west.

In more detail: Circles of latitude run parallel to the equator, meridians from pole to pole.

In detail

• Latitude: 1° corresponds to about 111 km north-south.
• Longitude: The distance between two meridians shrinks towards the poles; at the equator also about 111 km per degree.
• Notation: For example Berlin about 52.52° N, 13.40° E.
• GPS: Coordinates are usually given in decimal degrees (navigation-gps-funktionsweise).
• Time zones: Every 15° of longitude corresponds to one hour (zeitzonen-und-datumsgrenze).
• Special circles: Tropics at 23.4° and polar circles at 66.6° (jahreszeiten-entstehung).