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Earth is divided into various sections in society. In some places we have water and in some places we have land. But the locations and positions of places on land and water are difficult to determine. The shape of our planet is partway ellipsoid which makes certain unequal regions on the Planet. It is due to the shape of our planet which makes it difficult to locate a point on the earth. This is where the use of latitude and longitude comes into being.
Latitudes, Longitudes and time zones are very substantial geographical parameters that play a major role in the estimation of distances on the planet. The concept of time zone is based on longitudes only. Time zone is distinguished by the Earth’s Rotation which undergoes rotation through 15° of longitude every hour. It is necessary that these lines are used to describe and locate various places on our planet.
Define Longitude
Longitude is a vertical imaginary line that moves from north to south direction and is present on the east-west side of the Prime Meridian, used to calculate distance between two points. In this case, the angle formed between various longitudinal lines is between 0° to 180° (either positive or negative).
Also known as meridians, these lines along with the latitudes can form coordinates and pinpoint numerous whereabouts on the surface of the Earth. Usually, the vertical imaginary line is expressed in degrees where we use eastward or westward, in addition to minutes and seconds used in the case of the latitudes.
The meridians move from north to south pole. As the longitude moves towards the poles, the distance between the nearby longitude decreases and they all can meet at the poles. The length of the different latitudes is not the same, but in this case, various longitudes have the same length. Coordinates are formed with the intersection of the imaginary lines of longitude and latitude.
Interestingly, we have the Greenwich Mean Time Meridian (GMT) that is contemplated as the reference one to all the other longitudes. Thus, due to this, the earth gets divided into two halves, where one is the Eastern Hemisphere and the other one is known as the Western Hemisphere.
What is a time zone?
Time zone is distinguished by the Earth’s Rotation which undergoes rotation through 15° of longitude every hour. These time zones are 24 in number. The onset point for these time zones is the Greenwich Mean time, where movement 15° west or east of this prime meridian at Greenwich would refer to as one hour.
Essentially, the use of these time zones doesn’t go through the middle of the countries. Larger countries that have a huge area have various distinctive time zones. We can take an instance of the United States and Russia in this case. Interestingly, China initially had various time zones, but after World War II, the Chinese communist party decided to transfer and shift that to only one time zone acceptable throughout the country.
Characteristics of Longitude
Definition
Longitude is a vertical imaginary line that moves from north to south and is present on the east-west side of the Prime Meridian, used to calculate distance between two points.
Denoted by Greek Letters
For the case of longitudes, they are represented by a Greek Letter, known as a ‘lambda’.
Running Direction
Longitudes are imaginary lines that run from north to south.
Parallel to each other
The horizontal imaginary lines are not parallel to each other and they intersect each other at the north and south poles. Coordinates are formed with the intersection of the imaginary lines of longitude and latitude.
Other names
In the case of longitudes, the meridians are present in the east-west direction of the Prime Meridian.
The central line of Reference
Longitudes use prime meridians as their reference points.
Ranges of imaginary lines
The angle formed between various longitudinal lines is between 0° to 180° (either positive or negative).
Value of the lines
The longitudinal lines increase as one moves in the eastward direction from the Greenwich Meridian.
Conclusion
In addition, the above-mentioned facts about the latitudes and longitude help in categorising temperature zones and classifying time zones at the global level respectively. Both of these are interdependent upon each other, this is because one cannot pinpoint places on the map without each other. These geographical coordinates help in easily determining the position of the locations on the globe. Along with that is the concept of time zone. Time zone is distinguished by the Earth’s Rotation which undergoes rotation through 15° of longitude every hour.
