Definition of geographic coordinates

The concept of geographic coordinates is a more specific version of the term coordinate that can be applied or used in many different situations or cases. Geographic coordinates are those that particularly serve the science of geography and that allow locating or locating with great precision various spaces on the surface of planet Earth. Geographic coordinates can become more or less specific and exact according to the needs of those who study this type of knowledge.

The geographical coordinates are mainly composed of two axes: the parallels and the meridians. While the parallels are those that measure the latitude north or south, that is, they are projected horizontally over the total surface of the globe, the meridians are all those that are established vertically on the same surface, thus measuring the east or west longitude. By combining both elements, we can easily draw a network of intersecting lines that have a specific numbering so that we can specifically locate each space on Earth.

As the picture that one possesses on the Earth gets closer and more exact, it also increases the accuracy of the coordinates. In global terms, the most important parallels are the Equator (the one that crosses the Earth in the middle dividing it into two hemispheres, north and south) and the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn (one in each hemisphere). Then he meridian Greenwich vertically crosses the Earth dividing it into two equal halves or hemispheres, east and west. However, these great parallels and meridians are accompanied by thousands of other lines that are come closer to the image and provide very accurate data on the location of an element or territory.

Each of these lines receives a number in degrees that is established from the distance that you can have from Ecuador (assuming it is a parallel) or the distance it can be from the Greenwich meridian (if it is a meridian). Thus, the combination of both data becomes the coordinate of a place, for example a city that has that location according to the conjunction of its parallel and corresponding meridian.