Learn to measure latitude.
Latitude begins at the equator, which has a value of zero degrees, and then heads north or south to the North and South poles, which each have a value of 90 degrees. The poles are differentiated with an N or S suffix; in fact, all points off the equator get the same N or S depending, of course, on whether they are in the Northern or Southern hemisphere. Unlike longitude, latitude lines are evenly distributed across the globe.
Instructions
1. Go to terraserver-usa.com. This gets you started in a process that takes only a few steps and is valid for any street address or place in the United States. This method is somewhat similar to locating a terrestrial location by using a U.S. Geological Survey map.
2. Locate "Advanced Find" at the top of the page. It is right underneath the magnifying glass symbol, which is next to the house symbol. Click on the magnifying glass.
3. Choose between "Address" and "Place." Click on "Address" if you know the street address, or click on "Place" if the place is a landmark. For example, if you are trying to find the latitude of Mt. Katahdin, the highest point in Maine, click on place because there is no street address for a mountaintop.
4. Wait for the screen to change, and then fill Baxter State Park, for example, into the place search box along with the state (Maine in this case). Click on either "Aerial Photo" or "Topo Map." "Topo Map" is the recommended choice for finding places. If you have a street address, you can go directly to the address instead.
5. Locate Mt. Katahdin, for example, on the topographical map that comes up on the screen. You can enlarge or diminish the map if need be. And, you can move in any compass direction on the map if that is what is necessary. Without much difficulty, you can move the map around and place your cursor right on the summit of Mt. Katahdin. You may have to shrink the map first.
6. Read the latitude in degrees (0 to 90), and then the computer gives a partial reading in decimal points. Mt. Katahdin was located at 45.95 degrees N. If you have a topographical map of Baxter State Park, you can easily find the degree measurement with a ruler once you locate the actual peak on the topographical map. (The reading for longitude is also displayed at the same time.)
Tags: street address, Baxter State, Baxter State Park, degrees then, magnifying glass, State Park
