What are Latitude and Longitude?

Latitude and longitude are coordinate systems used to describe locations on Earth. They work together like a global address system.

Latitude

Latitude measures how far north or south a place is from the equator. The equator is 0 degrees latitude, while the poles are 90 degrees north and south.

Longitude

Longitude measures how far east or west a place is from the prime meridian. Longitude also connects with time zones because Earth rotates from west to east.

With latitude and longitude, a location can be described precisely anywhere on the planet.