Define latitude and longitude and explain which reference points are used in each case. Explain what geographic coordinates are. Give examples of situations when it would be necessary to understand geographic coordinates. K E Y Q U E S T I O N S 15. Cape of Good Hope (South Africa) 1 Your turn Look at the map and find Quito, London, Rome, Kinshasa and St Petersburg. Note whether they are in the Northern or Southern Hemisphere and in the Western or Eastern Hemisphere. Give their approximate geographic coordinates. Find the ship on the map. The ship has broken down. Imagine you are the captain of the ship. Write the message you would send to the rescue teams to give them your position. Find the point with coordinates 40° N, 90° W on the map. Check the world map in your atlas and identify the country these coordinates refer to. Locate points on a map To find the exact position of a place: Find the latitude and longitude. Both coordinates are measured in degrees, minutes and seconds. For example, the exact coordinates of Rio de Janeiro (Brazil ) are 22° 54' 10'' S, 43° 12' 27'' W. There are places located at points where no parallel or meridian has been marked. In these cases, we make an approximation. For example, Rio de Janeiro is at approximately 22° S, 43° W. Approximations are allowed in a school activity, but not in reality. Each degree of error on a map corresponds to more than 100 km in reality. How to do it Tropic of Cancer Arctic Circle Equator Tropic of Capricorn Antarctic Circle Prime Merid ian 150º 180º 120º 90º 60º 30º 0º 30º 60º 90º 120º 150º 90º 60º 0º 30º 30º 60º 90º 120º 150º 60º 40º 20º 0º 20º 40º 60º 60º 60º 40º 40º 20º 20º 0º 120º 150º 180º Kinshasa Rio de Janeiro Sydney St Petersburg London Qu ito Rome 959069 _0 1_p19_mund i_localizacion 0 2.100 kilom etre s Scale Latitude is indicated by the numbers on the right and left of the map. Longitude is indicated by the numbers at the bottom and top of the map. B E A G E O G R A P H E R
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