Latitude and longitude are parameters or coordinates that help determine the location of any place on Earth. They are a spherical or geodetic coordinate system for measuring and communicating positions directly on the Earth.
Latitude is a measurement on a globe or map of location north or south of the Equator. It is a horizontal line that measures distance north or south of the equator, and it is given in degrees, minutes, and seconds. The equator is the starting point for measuring latitude, marked as 0 degrees latitude, and the number of latitude degrees will be larger the further away from the equator the place is located, all the way up to 90 degrees latitude at the poles.
Longitude, on the other hand, is a vertical line that measures east or west of the meridian in Greenwich, England. It is a numerical way to show/measure how far a location is east or west of a universal vertical line called the Prime Meridian. The Prime Meridian is numbered 0 degrees longitude and runs vertically, north and south, right over the British Royal Observatory in Greenwich England, from the North Pole to the South Pole. Longitude is also given in degrees, minutes, and seconds.
Together, latitude and longitude constitute a coordinate system or scheme to locate or identify geographic positions anywhere on the Earths surface. They enable cartographers, geographers, and others to locate points or places on the globe and show the angular distance of any place from the Earth's center.
