What Is Latitude?

Latitude describes how far north or south a place is from the equator. Together with longitude, it creates a coordinate pair that identifies a position on Earth. You can look up both values for an address with our location finder.

How Latitude Works

The equator is 0 degrees latitude. Latitude increases to 90 degrees at the North Pole and decreases to -90 degrees at the South Pole. On maps and globes, lines of latitude run east to west and remain parallel to the equator, which is why they are also called parallels.

• A positive latitude is north of the equator, often written with an N.
• A negative latitude is south of the equator, often written with an S.
• Every valid latitude falls between -90 and 90 degrees.

How to Read a Latitude Coordinate

Coordinates are commonly shown as decimal degrees, such as 39.9526, or as degrees, minutes, and seconds. In a standard latitude-longitude pair, latitude comes first. More decimal places describe a more precise position, although the accuracy still depends on how the location was measured or matched to an address.

Why Latitude Is Useful

Latitude is used in navigation, GPS, digital maps, weather reporting, scientific research, and emergency coordination. It also helps explain broad patterns in daylight and climate because locations at similar latitudes receive similar seasonal changes in sunlight.

Latitude from an Address

An address lookup converts a written address into map coordinates, a process called geocoding. The returned point may represent a rooftop, an estimated street position, or the center of an area, so it should not be treated as a surveyed property boundary.

Latitude is only half of a location. Read our guide to how longitude coordinates work to understand the complete coordinate pair.

Additional Resource

The National Ocean Service latitude guide explains the history and science behind measuring latitude.