WHAT ARE GEOGRAPHIC COORDINATES FOR? - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

The geographic coordinate system is used to define the location of any point on the earth using numbers in relation to reference geographic sites, such as the Equator (midpoint between the north pole and south pole) and the Greenwich Meridian.

The geographic coordinates are expressed in a set of two numbers and / or letters with respect to these geographic references: the latitude would then be the value with respect to the Equator and the longitude the value in relation to the Meridano de Greenwich.

Both values ​​can be denoted in radians (degrees, minutes and seconds) or decimal system. In the case of latitude, it can be north or south (above or below the equator) and longitude can be west or east (to the left or right of Greenwich).

The uses of geographic coordinates include all the things for which locations can be useful, such as locating places on the map, calculating distances, navigation and transportation, among others. Here are some examples.

Locating a point on the map

The geographical coordinates of Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, are: 10 ° 28′50 ″ N 66 ° 54′13 ″ W.

In other words, Caracas is located approximately 10 degrees north of the equator (latitude) and 66 degrees west longitude.

Using a world map or globe that has latitude and longitude markings we can get this city slightly north of the equator, just above the first line, and several lines to the left or west.

The Top of Everest

By adding the elevation value to the coordinate system we have a three-dimensional coordinate system that allows us to know the height of a location with respect to sea level.

The top of Mount Everest, for example, is the highest place on the planet and its exact location is 27 ° 59′17 ″ N 86 ° 55′31 ″ E at 8,848 meters.

Decimal System

In the two previous examples of coordinates, they were expressed in radians, a numbering system based on the circumference.

Since the earth is round, using radians works best for locations, but using the decimal system can be even more precise.

For example, the location of Caracas would become 10.4805556, -66.9057998 and that of Mount Everest would be 27.9880556,86.9230891.

Since in this system there is no limit on the number of decimal places after the point, the decimal system can be much more precise since the margin of approximation is much smaller than that of the seconds in radians.

In its smallest scale, radians represent 1/60 of a number while in decimal system there is no limit on the number of times a number can be divided.

Also, using subzero numbers for south latitude and west longitude eliminates the need to use letters for latitude and longitude.

Global Positioning System (GPS)

Among modern uses of the coordinate system, its use in GPS devices is very common today.

Thanks to a series of satellites orbiting the earth, the devices can know the current location of themselves at any time, which has a practical use for professional applications such as maritime or aeronautical navigation, or as common as sharing the current location with family members. and friends via mobile phone.

It is also very useful for traveling, because modern systems locate the receiver in real time on an updated map, including roads, routes and tourist sites.

References

1. Penn State University - Department of Geography: Geographic Coordinate System. Taken from e-education.psu.edu
2. Quora - Why does the geographic coordinate systems use degrees, minutes, and seconds? Taken from quora.com
3. IBM Knowledge Center - Geographic coordinate systems. Taken from ibm.com
4. Wikipedia - Global Positioning System. Taken from en.wikipedia.org.