You now know that parallels circle the globe east and west. Each parallel has a number, its latitude, measured in degrees (°).
Key idea
Latitude tells how many degrees north or south of the equator a place is. The equator is 0°. The North Pole is 90° N and the South Pole is 90° S. Every latitude needs its letter: N or S.
Why it works
Imagine a line from the center of Earth to the equator and another to your town. The angle between them is your latitude. Go all the way to a pole and the angle is a right angle, 90°. You cannot go farther north than the North Pole, so no latitude is more than 90°.
Worked example: Reading a latitude
A town is on the parallel halfway between the equator and the North Pole. What is its latitude?
- The equator is 0° and the North Pole is 90° N.
- Halfway between 0 and 90 is 45.
- The town is north of the equator, so the letter is N.
Answer: 45° N
Worked example: Same number, two places
Two cities are both 34° from the equator. One is Los Angeles, the other is Sydney, Australia. How do we write each latitude?
- Los Angeles is north of the equator: 34° N.
- Sydney is south of the equator: 34° S.
- Both are the same distance from the equator, on opposite sides.
Answer: Los Angeles about 34° N; Sydney about 34° S.
Common mistake
Writing "latitude 40°" without a letter. There are two parallels at 40°, one north and one south of the equator, so "40°" could be in Spain or in New Zealand. Always add N or S. And if you ever get a latitude above 90°, something is wrong: check whether you meant longitude.