Latitude-longitude maps are not square because lines of longitude come together at the poles.
If you have ever unsuccessfully attempted to flatten an orange peel, you've encountered the mapmaker's dilemma: displaying a sphere on a flat surface requires either distortion or a pair of scissors. Cartographers have addressed this problem with techniques called projections, the most familiar of which is the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) system. Instead of plotting latitude-longitude coordinates on a grid, the locations are mathematically converted to a reference grid of rectangular coordinates in meters.
Although the mathematics of conversion are quite complex, computer programs and websites that convert between latitude-longitude and a reference grid are widely available.
Instructions
1. Obtain the latitude and longitude of the point of interest. The values may be expressed in either degrees-minutes-seconds (for example, 39° 17' 23.4") or decimal degrees (for example, 42.44543°).
2. Enter the latitude-longitude pair in a computer program or website that provides the conversion and process (see References). By convention, west longitudes and south latitudes are negative numbers and east longitudes and north latitudes are positive.
3. Read the grid reference position in X (east) and Y (north). Make a note of the UTM zone, which is needed to locate the point on a projected map.
Tags: reference grid
