Determine the position, range, and direction of locations with longitude

We can find the location with the help of a coordinate system on the map of the Earth. It helps in coordinating the latitudes and longitudes on the map of the Earth. Geodesy is the study of measuring the size and shape of the Earth and the one who measures the size and shape of the Earth with the help of coordinate systems like NAD27, WGS84 and many more is the Geodesists. The two dimensional (2-D) coordinates is defined by this geographic system based on the surface of the Earth and is measured by an angular unit, datum and prime meridian. 

Latitudes are the lines which run from east to west to the equator as well as used to note the position of North to South on the surface of the Earth and all the lines are parallel to one another. It is represented by the Y-axis so often referred to as Y-values which range from -90° to +90° and approximately 111 kilometer or 69 miles is the distance between every latitude degree. Longitudes are the lines which run from north to south to the equator which at poles converge. It is represented by the X-axis so often referred to as X-values or X-coordinates which range from -180° to +180° and total have 360° of longitude. They both, longitude and latitude together make the coordinate system of geography and are always represented as a criss cross line on the map.

The Coordinate System of Map

The coordinate system helps in determining the position, range and direction of locations with longitude and latitude on the surface of the Earth in the map. With the help of this system we can easily get the location on a map. The current location can also be determined by locating the longitudinal and latitudinal lines. Latitude to represent the location is written first and after that longitude is written to represent the DMS (Degree Minutes and Seconds). Their coordinates can also be represented as the charges of decimal.

Types of Location on the Map

There are two types of locations which can be determined on the map with the help of the coordinate system of longitude and latitude and they are as follows;

• Absolute Location: It helps in determining the location or the place on the Earth’s fixed point and it can be done either with the longitude and latitude coordinate system or with the help of direct address of streets whenever available. It can be anything which is precise like the name of the postal code, region or city. It is basically the address of the street of the particular city or place. For example; 38 degrees 53 minutes 35 seconds North, 77 degree 00 minutes 32 seconds West is the absolute location of Washington DC. It explains the distances by using measurement units from one point to another.

• Relative Location: It helps in determining the location of one place in relation to that of another one and is not the fixed point location but will change time to time depending on the second location. This location varies depending on the second location which gives different directions to that same country. For example; For Canada the United States is located in the South while for Venezuela it is located in the North. It can be manifested in terms of cost, time of travel as well as the distance.

Conclusion

To determine the position, range, and direction of current locations or simply location with longitude or latitude we use a coordinate system with the help of locator maps. There are two types of locations that we can determine, one is the absolute location (determines the fixed point location) and the another one is the relative location (determines the location of one place in relation to the other).