Latitude, usually denoted symbolically by the Greek letter phi (Φ) gives the location of a place on Earth (or other planetary body) north or south of the equator. Lines of Latitude are the horizontal lines shown running east-to-west on maps. Technically, latitude is an angular measurement in degrees (marked with °) ranging from 0° at the equator (low latitude) to 90° at the poles (90° N for the North Pole or 90° S for the South Pole; high latitude). The complementary angle of a latitude is called the colatitude.

Circles of latitude

main: Circle of latitude All locations of a given latitude are collectively referred to as a circle of latitude or line of latitude or parallel, because they are coplanar, and all such planes are parallel to the equator. Lines of latitude other than the Equator are approximately small circles on the surface of the Earth; they are not geodesics since the shortest route between two points at the same latitude involves a path that bulges toward the nearest pole, first moving farther away from and then back toward the equator (see great circle).

Important named circles of latitude

Besides the equator, four other lines of latitude are named because of the role they play in the geometrical relationship with the Earth and the Sun:

• Arctic Circle — 66° 33′ 39″ N
• Tropic of Cancer — 23° 26′ 21″ N
• Tropic of Capricorn — 23° 26′ 21″ S
• Antarctic Circle — 66° 33′ 39″ S

Only at latitudes between the Tropics is it possible for the sun to be at the zenith. Only north of the Arctic Circle or south of the Antarctic Circle is the midnight sun possible.

The reason that these lines have the values that they do, lies in the axial tilt of the Earth with respect to the sun, which is 23° 26′ 21.41″.

Note that the Arctic Circle and Tropic of Cancer and the Antarctic Circle and Tropic of Capricorn are colatitudes since the sum of their angles is 90°.

Subdivisions

A degree is divided into 60 minutes. One minute can be further divided into 60 seconds. An example of a latitude specified in this way is 13°19'43″ N (for greater precision, a decimal fraction can be added to the seconds). An alternative representation uses only degrees and minutes, where the seconds are expressed as a decimal fraction of minutes: the above example would be expressed as 13°19.717' N. Degrees can also be expressed singularly, with both the minutes and seconds incorporated as a decimal number and rounded as desired (decimal degree notation): 13.32861° N. Sometimes, the north/south suffix is replaced by a negative sign for south (−90° for the South Pole).

Effect of latitude