Latitude

Latitude is the angular distance of a point north or south of the equator, 0 degrees at the equator to 90 degrees at the poles, measured at the center of the Earth and counted along a meridian. One minute of latitude equals one nautical mile (1,852 m) closely enough for navigation, which is why the latitude scale at the side of a Mercator chart is the distance scale. Positions are written degrees-minutes-decimal, for example 51 28.6’N, with the hemisphere suffix N or S.