The Earth is divided by lines of latitude and longitudes which are imaginary. The equator marks the centre of the globe; therefore, it is equidistant from the North Pole and the South Pole. Lines parallel to the equator are called parallel of latitudes, and they run from east to west. The prime meridian is an imaginary line used as the zero line, and it passes through Greenwich, England, and it is zero degrees. The maximum longitude is 180 degrees both in the east or west. The prime meridian converges at the poles same case as the other longitude lines. Both the latitudes and the longitudes are measured in degrees. The equator is zero degrees while the farthest parallel to the north is 90 degrees north and to the south is 90 degrees south (Tarbuck, &Frederick, 2012).
Parallel Latitude lines run horizontally, and they are parallel to each other. Therefore, the distance between latitudes is equal. The distance between two parallels is almost equal due to the spherical shape of the earth. The radii of each parallel reduce as latitude moves farther from the equator. Meridians, on the other hand, are imaginary lines that run from North Pole to South Pole of the globe (Tarbuck, &Frederick, 2012). This fact makes them widen as they move towards the equator and narrow as they move towards the poles. Therefore, the distance between two meridians varies depending on the distance from the poles.
The meridians are lines that go around the earth from North Pole to the South Pole. These lines are used to determine the time and position of a given place. Longitude is the distance either west or west of the green meridian (Tarbuck, &Frederick, 2012). Latitude is the distance on the globe from the equator, measured in degrees north or south. Parallels are the imaginary lines parallel to the equator which goes around the earth.
Work cited
Tarbuck, Edward J, and Frederick K. Lutgens. Earth Science. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice
Hall/Pearson, 2012. Print.
