Name
Date
In-Depth Resources: Unit 1
CHAPTER 2
Section 1 Finding Locations
2.1
Skillbuilder: Map & Geography
Pupil’s Edition,
pp. 28 –32
Finding Absolute Locations
places in a general area; minutes (') give you location
within about a mile or so; and seconds ('') help you
pinpoint a location within an area of a few yards.
Each degree is divided into 60 minutes, and each
minute is divided into 60 seconds.
To find the location on a map for 30°18'N,
97°42'W, put your finger on the line of latitude, indicated by the first set of numbers. Using your other
hand, put a finger on the line of longitude, indicated
by the second set of numbers. Now move your two
fingers along those lines until your fingers meet.
Which Texas city is located there?
Nearly 2,000 years after Ptolemy developed his
system, longitude and latitude lines are still used to
make locating places easier. Knowing the longitude
and latitude of any place on the earth will help you
find that place on a map.
H
ave you ever asked yourself, “Where am I?” The
answer to your question is your location. One
way to determine it is to use absolute location. As
you have learned, absolute location identifies exactly
where something is located on the earth.
To find a certain point, mapmakers use a network
of intersecting lines, called a grid. Claudius Ptolemy
(TAUL uh mee), a second-century Greek scholar,
developed this geographic grid system. He called the
horizontal lines across the map latitude, which means
“wide.” He did so because his map of the world was
wider than it was tall. Lines of latitude also are called
parallels because they are parallel to, or run in the
same direction as, the equator. The vertical lines on a
map are lines of longitude, a word that means “long.”
Latitude and longitude are measured in degrees,
minutes, and seconds. Degrees (°) help you locate
36˚N
112˚W
88˚W
Amarillo
34˚N
Lubbock
Wichita Falls
Dallas
Copyright © Lone Star Publishing J. V.
Fort Worth
32˚N
Abilene
Midland
El Paso
Odessa
Waco
San Angelo
TEXAS
30˚N
Austin
Beaumont
Houston
State capital
San Antonio
Other cities
28˚N
Corpus Christi
0
200 Miles
0
300 Kilometers
Laredo
26˚N
Brownsville
110˚W
108˚W
106˚W
104˚W
102˚W
100˚W
98˚W
96˚W
94˚W
92˚W
90˚W
Texas’s Place on the Earth ✯ 17
Finding Absolute Locations continued
Interpreting Maps and the Text
1. Which city is located at 33°55'N, 98°30'W?
2. Which city is located at 27°30'N, 97°20'W?
3. Which city is located at 26°N, 97°30'W?
4. Approximately how many degrees of longitude are there between Midland and Beaumont?
5. Approximately how many degrees of latitude are there between Brownsville and Amarillo?
6. What is the absolute location of Beaumont to the nearest degree?
7. What is the absolute location of Amarillo to the nearest degree?
Copyright © Lone Star Publishing J. V.
8. What is the absolute location of Waco to the nearest minute?
18 ✯ UNIT 1 CHAPTER 2