During the winter, the region experiences 24 hours of darkness in a day and 24 hours of sunlight in a day during the summers. Another reference for the Tropic of Cancer is the Northern Tropic. The Northern Tropic is the parallel at which the Summer or Nothern or June Solstice occurs when once a year the sun appears directly overhead the most northerly parallel. This event happens in the month of June. The Southern Tropic is another reference for the Tropic of Capricorn.
The Tropic of Capricorn is the parallel at which the Winter or Southern or December Solstice occurs when once a year the sun appears directly overhead the most southerly parallel. This event happens in the month of December.
These two parallels enclose the area of the Earth known as The Tropics characterized by warm to hot weather and lush vegetation. It is identified as the latitude that falls at the point that is equidistant from the North Pole and the South Pole. Longitudes are angular distances east or west of the prime meridian. Longitudes are also called Meridians. The Prime Meridian passes through Greenwich, in England.
Some Important Longitudes include :. International Date Line Longitude o. Characteristics of Longitudes. Each meridian is half of a great circle. They run in a true north-south direction from. They are spaced farthest apart at the equator but. Meridians help us to determine standard time.
Latitudes are also called Parallels. Longitudes and Latitudes are expressed in degrees, minutes and seconds. Some Important Latitudes:. Equator Latitude 0 o. Tropic of Cancer Latitude Tropic of Capricorn Latitude Arctic Circle Latitude Antarctic Circle Latitude Characteristics of Latitudes:. Aside the equator, all latitudes are small circles. Always parallel to one another. True east-west lines. Important for the determination of the climatic.
Geographic Grid is used to identify locations on the earth. A modern instrument for determining locations is termed Global Positioning System.
A Great Circle is a plane that passes through the center of the earth. Equator and all Meridians. Absolute location is the exact x — and y — coordinate on the Earth. Relative location is the location of something relative to other entities.
For example, when you use your GPS in your smart phone or car, say Google Maps, you put in an absolute location. Or if you give directions to your house, you often use relative locations to help them understand how to get to your house. The plane of the equator is an imaginary horizontal line that cuts the earth into two equal halves.
This brings up the topic of great and small circles. A great circle is any circle that divides the earth into a circumference of two equal halves. The line connecting any points along a great circle is also the shortest distance between those two points. Examples of great circles include the Equator, all lines of longitude, the line that divides the earth into day and night called the circle of illumination , and the plane of ecliptic , which divides the earth into equal halves along the equator.
Small circles are circles that cut the earth, but not into equal halves. Examples of small circles include all lines of latitude except the equator, the Tropical of Cancer, Tropic of Capricorn, the Arctic Circle, and Antarctic Circle. Latitude is actually an angular measurement north or south of the equator. So 30 degrees north means a point that is 30 degrees north of the equator.
Latitude varies from 0 degrees equator to 90 degrees north and south the poles. A line connecting all points of the same latitude is called a parallel , because the lines run parallel to each other.
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