Start Searching the Answers
The Internet has many places to ask questions about anything imaginable and find past answers on almost everything.
The Question & Answer (Q&A) Knowledge Managenet
The Internet has many places to ask questions about anything imaginable and find past answers on almost everything.
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. These lines are known as meridians. The other half, the Western Hemisphere, in degrees west of the prime meridian.
A degree of longitude is widest at the equator with a distance of 69.172 miles (111.321 kilometers). The distance gradually shrinks to zero as they meet at the poles. At 40 degrees north or south, the distance between a degree of longitude is 53 miles (85 kilometers).
prime meridian
The prime meridian is the line of 0° longitude, the starting point for measuring distance both east and west around the Earth. The prime meridian is arbitrary, meaning it could be chosen to be anywhere.
Lines of latitude run east and west. Lines of latitude run horizontally around the Earth and tell you how far north or south you are from the Equator. The North Pole is at 90 degrees latitude (or 90.0° N) and the south poles is at -90 degrees latitude (or 90.0° S).
Longitude lines are a numerical way to show/measure how far a location is east or west of a universal vertical line called the Prime Meridian. This Prime Meridian line runs vertically, north and south, right over the British Royal Observatory in Greenwich England, from the North Pole to the South Pole.
Answer and Explanation: The longitude measures the distance east and west from the Prime Meridian. Lines of longitude (called meridians) are imaginary vertical lines that… See full answer below.
Longitude is defined as imaginary lines called meridians that run from the north to the south pole. There are a total of 360 meridians.
You have just answered your own question. It is measured east and west because it runs North and South. Likewise latitide is measured North and South because it runs East and West.