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A geographic coordinate system ( GCS) is a spherical or geodetic coordinate system for measuring and communicating positions directly on Earth as latitude and longitude. [ 1] It is the simplest, oldest and most widely used of the various spatial reference systems that are in use, and forms the basis for most others.
Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pole, with 0° at the Equator. Lines of constant latitude, or parallels, run east–west as circles parallel to the equator. Latitude and longitude are used together as a coordinate pair to specify a location on the surface of the Earth.
Longitude ( / ˈlɒndʒɪtjuːd /, AU and UK also / ˈlɒŋɡɪ -/) [ 1][ 2] is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east – west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek letter lambda (λ). Meridians are imaginary ...
The history of longitude describes the centuries-long effort by astronomers, cartographers and navigators to discover a means of determining the longitude of any given place on Earth. The measurement of longitude is important to both cartography and navigation. In particular, for safe ocean navigation, knowledge of both latitude and longitude ...
Geographic coordinate conversion has applications in cartography, surveying, navigation and geographic information systems . In geodesy, geographic coordinate conversion is defined as translation among different coordinate formats or map projections all referenced to the same geodetic datum. [ 1] A geographic coordinate transformation is a ...
The Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) is a map projection system for assigning coordinates to locations on the surface of the Earth.Like the traditional method of latitude and longitude, it is a horizontal position representation, which means it ignores altitude and treats the earth surface as a perfect ellipsoid.
Figure 1. This BLM map depicts the principal meridians and baselines used for surveying states (colored) in the PLSS. The following are the principal and guide meridians and base lines of the United States, with the year established and a brief summary of what areas' land surveys are based on each.
v. t. e. The North American Datum ( NAD) is the horizontal datum now used to define the geodetic network in North America. A datum is a formal description of the shape of the Earth along with an "anchor" point for the coordinate system. In surveying, cartography, and land-use planning, two North American Datums are in use for making lateral or ...