Longitude
Geography: KS3, topic 3.1.7
Longitude
Longitude and latitude are imaginary lines that we use to locate places on planet Earth. They help you to explain exactly where a place is. Lines of longitude run vertically ‘down’ the earth.
What is longitude?
- Lines of longitude run from north to south on a map.
- The longitude of a place determines the time in that place.
- You can picture the lines of longitude as dividing the world up into segments - like the inside of an orange.
Lines of longitude
- The lines are NOT parallel.
- They all meet at the north pole in the northern hemisphere and at the south pole in the southern hemisphere.
Prime Meridian
- The line at 0 degrees longitude is called the Prime Meridian.
- It runs through Greenwich in London.
Greenwich Mean Time
- This is where Greenwich Mean Time is calculated from.
- The further a place is from the Prime Meridian in Greenwich, the bigger the time difference.
Test yourself on Longitude
Where does the Prime Meridian run through?