Meridian facts for kids
A meridian is like an invisible line drawn on the Earth's surface. Imagine a line that goes all the way from the North Pole to the South Pole. These lines are also called lines of longitude.
Today, people who study maps and the Earth (called geographers) measure these lines from a special starting line called the Prime Meridian. This important line passes right through the Royal Greenwich Observatory in Greenwich, England. This location was chosen at a big meeting called the International Meridian Conference back in 1884.
Meridians, or lines of longitude, are measured in degrees. The Prime Meridian is the starting point, so it's marked as 0 (zero) degrees.
Contents
Finding Your Way: East and West
Meridians help us figure out how far east or west a place is.
West of the Prime Meridian
If a place is west of the Prime Meridian, its longitude can be described in two ways:
- As "west": For example, the city of Los Angeles, California, is about 118 degrees west.
- As a negative number: So, the longitude of Los Angeles could also be written as -118 degrees.
East of the Prime Meridian
When a place is east of the Prime Meridian, its longitude is always given as a positive number. For instance, the city of Mecca is about 40 degrees east, or simply 40 degrees.
Related Places on the Map
See also
In Spanish: Meridian para niños
