Page 111 - Social Studies 7

Lesson An Introduction to Latitude and
5.1

Longitude

Africa is the only continent that is in all four hemispheres: East,
FACTS West, North and South. It is therefore also the only continent to
to Understand have land on the prime meridian and the equator.

You have already learnt about latitude and longitude in grade six. It was just an
introduction. Now, in this lesson you will learn about these imaginary lines in
detail and discuss their uses in day to day life.

Latitude

Latitude is an imaginary line drawn parallel to the equator. In other words it is an
angular distance of the earth from the equator to the south or the north. There are
lines drawn in this angular distance. There are five major lines of latitude. The
equator which divides the earth into two equal halves i.e. Northern and southern
hemisphere in 0° latitude. The Tropic of cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn passes
in 23.5°N and 23.5°S respectively. Another lines of 66.5°N and 66.5°S are called
Arctic circle and Antarctic circle in the northernmost part and the southern most
parts of the earth. These five lines of latitude are very important to locate the
important places of the world. These lines are shown in the figure.

111 Dynamic Social Studies and Population Education - Book VII