World Maps

The only “fixed” points on a globe are the North and South Pole. The lines you see are called the lines of longitude. They all run directly north and south from the poles, around the sphere, and meet again at the opposite pole. The lines of longitude are sometimes also referred to as the meridians of the Earth.

The lines of longitude do not run parallel (next to each other at the same width apart from each other). They run north and south on the globe, meeting at the North and South Poles, just as spokes meet at the center of a wheel. This means that degrees of longitude are not the same width. Near the poles, the longitude lines are closer together. As you move away from the poles, you get farther apart as they go along the curve of the Earth. At the equator, they are as far apart as they can get. Lines of longitude are drawn in big circles through both poles and around the globe, and are all the same length.

Lines of latitude may be a little easier to understand. Latitudinal lines are imaginary lines that circle the globe in the opposite direction from lines of longitude. They run east and west. They go around the globe in the same way that the equator does, running parallel to it. The further away they go from the equator, the closer they get to the poles. As they get closer and closer to the poles, the circles they make around the globe get smaller and smaller. However, they stay parallel to each other the whole time. Lines of latitude are also called parallels because they all run parallel--side by side--without crossing.

Write down the following sentence (Find the degree of longitude and latitude on a globe or world map to fill in the blanks):

“We live in __________. The closest longitude to us is __________. The closest latitude is __________ on the world map.”