latitude lines
Globe's horizontal stripes
Latitude lines are imaginary horizontal circles that wrap around Earth parallel to the equator, used to measure position north or south.
The equator sits at zero degrees; the poles at ninety.
The ship crossed the latitude lines one by one as it sailed toward the Arctic.
Also called parallels.
Compare longitude lines, which run north-south.
- degreesUnits of measurement
- equatorMidpoint circle of rotation
- poleCylindrical shaft or extremity
- graticuleOptical measuring grid
- parallelEquidistant at all points
coordinates · Antarctic Circle · globe · hemispheres · temperate zones · great circles · tropics · portolan charts · geodesy · cartography · map projections · world map · zones · sextant · map · astrolabe · meridian · horizontal
- map featurescompass, compass rose, legend, scale, scale bar
- navigation termsnautical charts, GPS, north, road signs, maps
- coordinateslongitude, coordinates, lat, long, ordinate
- historical mapshistorical maps, atlas, ancient maps, atlases, antique maps
- map symbolscompass rose, scale bar, map key, north arrow, symbols
- mapping toolscompass rose, scale bar, graticule, coordinate grid, coordinates
geographic coordinate orientation
latitude lineslongitude lines
North-south globe stripes
meridians · lines of longitude · longitude · prime meridian · Greenwich meridian