In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate that specifies the north -- south position of a point on the Earth 's surface. Latitude is an angle (defined below) which ranges from 0 ° at the Equator to 90 ° (North or South) at the poles. Lines of constant latitude, or parallels, run east -- west as circles parallel to the equator. Latitude is used together with longitude to specify the precise location of features on the surface of the Earth. Without qualification the term latitude should be taken to be the geodetic latitude as defined in the following sections. Also defined are six auxiliary latitudes which are used in special applications.
what are the lines parallel to the equator called
Lines of constant latitude