What are the main features of Parallels?

Category: science geography
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Five characteristics of the parallels of latitudes are:
  • Latitude is the angular distance of a place north or south of the Equator.
  • There are 180 parallels of latitudes apart from the Equator.
  • Each parallel of latitude is a circle.
  • Only the Equator is a Great Circle, all the rest of the latitudes are Small Circles.



Similarly, you may ask, what are the features of longitude?

--Are farthest apart at the equator and meet at the poles. --Cross the equator at right angles. --Lie in planes that pass through the Earth's axis. --Are equal in length.

Secondly, what are the main properties of parallels and meridians? All meridians are of equal length; each is one-half the length of the equator. All meridians converge at the poles and are true north-south lines. All lines of latitude (parallels) are parallel to the equator and to each other. Parallels decrease in length as one nears the poles.

Correspondingly, what is a parallel write three features of Parallels?

Parallel lines are the lines having the same distance continuously between them. 2)The distance between the parallel lines will be same at all points. 3)Slope of parallel lines are same. 4)The angles formed when two parallel lines are cut by another line called transversal are same.

What are parallels in geography?

geography. Alternative Title: parallels of latitude. Parallel, imaginary line extending around the Earth parallel to the equator; it is used to indicate latitude. The 38th parallel, for example, has a latitude of 38° N or 38° S. See latitude and longitude.

35 Related Question Answers Found

What are the 2 main lines of longitude?

  • The Equator, Tropics, and Prime Meridian. Four of the most significant imaginary lines running across the surface of Earth are the equator, the Tropic of Cancer, the Tropic of Capricorn, and the Prime Meridian.
  • The Equator.
  • The Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.
  • Prime Meridian.

How is longitude determined?

Longitude is the measurement east or west of the prime meridian. Longitude is measured by imaginary lines that run around the Earth vertically (up and down) and meet at the North and South Poles. Each meridian measures one arcdegree of longitude. The distance around the Earth measures 360 degrees.

What is an example of longitude?

Longitude is the angular distance of a place east or west of the meridian at Greenwich, England. Zero degrees of longitude means you have to be either north or south of Greenwich. For example, New York and Miami have almost exactly the same longitudes: around 80 degrees west.

What is 0 degrees longitude called?

Zero degrees latitude is the line designating the Equator and divides the Earth into two equal hemispheres (north and south). Zero degrees longitude is an imaginary line known as the Prime Meridian.

Which is the longest longitude?

The longest is the equator, whose latitude is zero, while at the posts - at scopes 90° north and 90° south (or - 90°) the circles shrink to a point. All longitudes or meridians are equispaced lines of equivalent length, interfacing the north pole and the south pole.

What is the function of longitude?

The lines of longitude run north and south. They are used to define the East-West position of a location on the planet. They run perpendicular to the Equator and latitude lines. Half of a longitudinal circle is called a Meridian, which is where the term comes from in the name Greenwich Meridian or Prime Meridian.

What are the 5 major lines of longitude?

The five major parallels of latitudes from north to south are called: Arctic Circle, Tropic of Cancer, Equator, Tropic of Capricorn, and the Antarctic Circle. On a maps where the orientation of the map is either due north or due south, latitude appears as horizontal lines.

What are the main characteristics of the meridians?

Answer: Main characteristics of meridians:
  • The length of all the meridians is the same as each one is a semi-circle.
  • Any two opposite meridians, when taken together, form a complete circle form a great circle.
  • The maximum distance between any two meridians is at the equator, which is 111 km for one degree of longitude.

What is the importance of parallels of latitude?

Importance of parallels are following: The parallels are lies which are designed for marking locations on the earth surface. Since these are imaginary lines though the importance is explains the real geographical location of anything on the earth surface.

What are meridians of longitudes?

A (geographic) meridian (or line of longitude) is the half of an imaginary great circle on the Earth's surface, terminated by the North Pole and the South Pole, connecting points of equal longitude, as measured in angular degrees east or west of the Prime Meridian.

How do we number parallels on a globe?

We number the parallels on a globe starting with the equator,which is at 0 degrees. Lines of latitude to the north of equator are given 1 degree N to 90 degree N. Similarly to the south of equator.

How do the parallels differ from meridians?

Parallels run from east to west and never intersect with each other whereas meridians run from north to south and intersect at the north and south poles. This is the key difference between parallels and meridians.

What is an example of a meridian?

A meridian is defined as a large imaginary circle that passes through two poles, particularly on a globe, or the highest stage of development. An example of a meridian is the Prime Meridian. An example of a meridian is the height of a civilization.

What are the two meridians?

A great circle divides the Earth into the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. That circle is referenced by two Meridians. The Prime Meridian is the line of longitude at which longitude is defined to be 0°.

What are the two meridians called?

A prime meridian is the meridian (a line of longitude) in a geographic coordinate system at which longitude is defined to be 0°. Together, a prime meridian and its anti-meridian (the 180th meridian in a 360°-system) form a great circle. This great circle divides a spheroid into two hemispheres.