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Geographic Coordinate System Lat/Long

One of the most common coordinate systems in use is the Geographic Coordinate System,
which uses degrees of latitude and longitude to describe a location on the earths surface.
The earth is effectively a sphere, so how do we describe where a point is
on its surface?
The most common way to locate points on the surface of the Earth is by
standard, geographic coordinates called latitude and longitude. These
coordinates values are measured in degrees, and represent angular distances calculated from the
center of the Earth.
Geometry of Angles and the Circle
At this point it is useful to review some of the basic
geometry of angles and the circle as this forms the basis
for measurements of lines of longitude and latitude. The
basic unit of measuring angles is the degree (the symbol
used to designate degrees is a small superscript circle, -
don't confuse this with degrees of temperature). Degrees of
arc (the curve along the circle) are a measure of the size of
the angle created when two lines or two plane intersect.
Each degree can be further subdivided into smaller
fractions.
One degree of arc can be divided into 60 minutes (don't confuse this with the minutes that we use
to measure time - they are not the same thing). The symbol used to designate minutes is the
single tick mark. For example, 1 = 60'.
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One minute of arc can be further subdivided into yet smaller fractions of a degree called seconds
(again, don't confuse this with the seconds that we use to measure time - they are not the same
thing). One minute of arc is equal to 60 seconds of arc, 1' = 60" - the double tick mark is used to
designate seconds.
A full circle can be divided into 360 degrees. One quarter of the distance around the circle is 90.
This is also the angle of two lines which are perpendicular or at right angles to each other. Half
way around the circle is 180. Three quarters of the distance is 270 and a full circle makes 360.
Latitude

We can imagine the Earth as a sphere, with an axis around
which it spins. The ends of the axis are the North Pole at
90 north and the South Pole at 90 south. The Equator is a
line around the earth, an equal distance from both poles. The
Equator is also the latitude line given the value of 0 degrees.
This means it is the starting point for measuring latitude.
Latitude values indicate the angular distance between the
Equator and points north or south of it on the surface of the Earth.
A line connecting all the points with the same latitude value is called a line of latitude. This term
is usually used to refer to the lines that represent values in whole degrees. All lines of latitude are
parallel to the Equator, and they are sometimes also referred to as
parallels. Parallels are equally spaced. There are 90 degrees of
latitude going north from the Equator, and the North Pole is at 90
degrees N. There are 90 degrees to the south of the Equator, and
the South Pole is at 90 degrees S. To simplify the digitization of
maps (using for digital technology such as GPS ), degrees of
latitude in the southern hemisphere are often assigned negative values (0 to -90) and the values
for the northern hemisphere are positive with the use of a positive symbol (0 to 90). Wherever
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you are on the earths surface, the distance between lines of latitude is the same (60 nautical
miles,), so they conform to the uniform grid criterion assigned to a useful grid system.

Each degree of latitude is approximately 111 km apart (Each degree of latitude is approximately
69 miles (111 kilometers) apart. The range varies (due to the earth's slightly ellipsoid shape)
from 68.703 miles (110.567 km) at the equator to 69.407
(111.699 km) at the poles. This is convenient because each minute (1/60th of a
degree) is approximately one mile)

Longitude
Lines of longitude, called meridians, run perpendicular to
lines of latitude, and all pass through both poles. Each
longitude line is part of a great circle (see Properties of a
Great Circle at the end of the document).
There is no obvious 0-degree point for longitude, as there
is for latitude. Throughout history many different starting
points have been used to measure longitude. By
international agreement, the meridian line through
Greenwich, England, is currently given the value of 0 degrees of longitude; this meridian is
referred to as the Prime Meridian. Longitude values indicate the angular distance between the
Prime Meridian and points east or west of it on the surface of the Earth.
Lines of longitude run perpendicular to the equator and converge at the
poles. The reference line of longitude (the prime meridian) runs from the
North Pole to the South Pole through Greenwich, England. Subsequent
lines of longitude are measured from zero to 180 degrees east or west
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(values west of the prime meridian are assigned negative values for use in digital mapping
applications) of the prime meridian.
At the equator, and only at the equator, the distance represented by one line of longitude is
equal to the distance represented by one degree of latitude. As you move towards the poles, the
distance between lines of longitude becomes progressively less until, at the exact location of the
pole, all 360 of longitude are represented by a single point you could put your finger on. A
degree of longitude is widest at the equator at 69.172 miles (111.321) and gradually shrinks to
zero at the poles. At 40 north or south the distance between a degree of longitude is 53 miles
(85 km).

Increments of Degrees
Using the geographic coordinate system, we have a grid of lines dividing the earth into squares
that cover approximately 4,773.5 square miles at the equatora good start, but not very useful
for determining the location of anything within that square.

To be truly useful, a map grid must divided into small enough sections that they can be used to
describe with an acceptable level of accuracy the location of a point on the map. To accomplish
this, degrees are divided into minutes (') and seconds ("). There are sixty minutes in a degree,
and sixty seconds in a minute (3600 seconds in a degree). So, at the equator, one second of
latitude or longitude = 101.3 feet.

The Earth is divided equally into 360 degrees of longitude. There are 180 degrees of longitude
to the east of the Prime Meridian; when the directional designator is omitted these longitudes
are given positive values. There are also 180 degrees of longitude to the west of the Prime
Meridian; when the directional designator is omitted these longitudes are given negative values.
The 180-degree longitude line is opposite the Prime Meridian on the globe, and is the same
going either east or west.
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How precise can we be with latitude and longitude? Degrees of latitude and longitude can be
further subdivided into minutes and seconds: there are 60 minutes (') per degree, and 60 seconds
(") per minute. For example, a coordinate might be written 65 32' 15". Degrees can also be
expressed as decimals: 65.5375, degrees and decimal minutes: 65 32.25', or even degrees,
minutes, and decimal seconds: 65 32' 15.275". All these notations allow us to locate places on
the Earth quite precisely to within inches.
A degree of latitude is approximately 69 miles, and a minute of latitude is approximately 1.15
miles. A second of latitude is approximately 0.02 miles, or just over 100 feet.
A degree of longitude varies in size. At the equator, it is approximately 69 miles, the same size
as a degree of latitude. The size gradually decreases to zero as the meridians converge at the
poles. At a latitude of 45 degrees, a degree of longitude is approximately 49 miles. Because a
degree of longitude varies in size, minutes and seconds of longitude also vary, decreasing in size
towards the poles.
DMS and DD
There are two methods of expressing fractions of degrees. The first method divides each degree
into 60 minutes (1 = 60), then each minute into 60 seconds (1= 60). This system is called
DMS (degrees, minutes, and seconds). The symbol for degrees is , for minutes is , and for
seconds is . For example Rome, Italy is located at the latitude 41 5300, longitude 12C3000.
The second method states the fraction as a decimal of a degree. This is the DD (decimal degree)
system. With this system the position of Rome is: latitude 41.88333, longitude 12.5.
To convert from the DMS system to decimal degrees (DD) you can use a simple
formula: (degrees)+(minutes/60)+(seconds/3600) = decimal degrees.
Example
123 45 30 = 123 + (45/60) + (30/3600) = 123. (.75 + .008333) or 123.758333 (rep)

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The conversion from DD to DMS is a little more complicated, and will be explained with the
following example. Suppose you have the decimal degree reading of 5.23456. To convert it to
the DMS system, you first subtract the whole degree. 5 is the whole degree, so 5.23456-
5=0.23456. Then you multiply the remaining fraction with 60 minutes (0.23456 *
60=14.0736), 14 is the whole minutes. After this you multiply the fraction of the minutes with
60 seconds (14.073614=0.0736, 0.0736*60=4.416), 4.416 are the remaining seconds.
The DMS version of 5.23456 is 5 14 4.416
123.75833 Reverse the process set aside the whole degree - 123
Then .75833*60 = 45.4998 -now you have 123 45
.4998* 60 = 29.98888 round up - now you have 30

Mapping Scale Converter
http://www.unit-converter.com/mapscale.html
Commonly Used Terms
EquatorThe line which encircles the Earth at an equal distance from the North and South
Poles.
Geographic coordinatesCoordinate values given as latitude and longitude.
Great circleA circle formed on the surface of a sphere by a plane that passes through the
center of the sphere. The Equator, each meridian, and each other full circumference of the Earth
forms a great circle. The arc of a great circle shows the shortest distance between points on the
surface of the Earth.
MeridianAn imaginary arc on the Earth's surface from the North Pole to the South Pole that
associates all locations running along it with a given longitude. The position of a point on the
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meridian is given by its intersecting latitude. Each meridian is perpendicular to all circles of
latitude at the intersection points.
ParallelA circle or approximation of a circle on the surface of the Earth, parallel to the
Equator and connecting points of equal latitude.
Prime MeridianThe meridian of longitude 0 degrees, used as the origin for the measurement
of longitude. The meridian of Greenwich, England, is the internationally accepted prime
meridian in most cases.
Properties of great circles:
1. They always result when a plane passes through the exact
center of a sphere, regardless of the plane's orientation when it
enters the sphere.
2. A great circle is the largest possible circle that can be drawn on
the surface of a sphere.
3. An infinite number of great circles can be drawn on any sphere.
4. One and only one great circle can be found that will pass through two specified points on the
surface of a sphere, unless those two points happen to be exactly opposite one another
(antipodes, pronounced "ant-TIP-id-dees"; the singular is antipode, pronounced ANTIE-pode").
An infinite number of great circles can be drawn through antipodes. For example, the North Pole
and the South Pole are antipodal and you can draw an infinite number of meridians (which are
sections of great circles) through them.
5. The arc of a great circle is the shortest surface distance between any two points on a sphere:
It's the analogy of the old adage about a straight line being the shortest distance between two
points (on a lane, that is).
6. Intersecting great circles always cut one another exactly in half.
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Practical uses of great circles:
1. They can be used to find the shortest route for a ship, airplane, or, less happily, a missile that
must cross great distances.
2. You can find the great circle route between two places on a globe by stretching a string or
rubber-band between any those two locations on the globe: It'll settle on the great circle.
3. When you sample headings for a variety of places on the great circle route and then transfer
the resulting line segments onto a flat map, like a wall map, you'll produce a weird-looking path
that forms an arc between the two places (instead of a straight line).
a. The reason it looks so bizarre is that a globe is a three- dimensional sphere, but a map is a
flat two-dimensional representation of that sphere: It is necessarily distorted, so your shortest
route looks like a long, circuitous route on the distorted flat map.
b. That's why, if you've ever flown from someplace like London to Los Angeles or from, say,
Tokyo to New York, they fly you over northern Canada and its Arctic climes!