What is latitude?

Latitude is like the imaginary lines that help us know how far north or south we are on Earth.

Imagine Earth is a big orange. If you slice it horizontally, like cutting a sandwich, each slice would be at a certain latitude. The equator is the biggest slice, right in the middle. That’s your starting line. If you go north from there, you’re moving to higher latitudes, just like climbing up a hill. If you go south, you're going to lower latitudes, like sliding down a slide.

Think of latitude as a number line wrapped around the Earth. The equator is 0°, and it goes up to 90° at the North Pole and down to -90° at the South Pole. So if you're in New York City, your latitude is about 40° north, not too high, not too low.

When we use maps or GPS, latitude helps us know where we are. It's one part of the address Earth gives every place. So next time you’re playing with a globe, remember: latitude is like a ruler that tells you how far north or south you are!