Question

Name the longest parallel of latitude.

Answer 1

Hint:
- The Length of Longitudes all around the globe is the same.
- The Distance between latitudes keeps on getting shorter at the poles.
- The Latitudes are basically the horizontal lines that are circling the spheroid earth and this is the reason that they tend to be short towards either side of the sphere.

Complete answer:
Latitude: Latitude is defined as the distance measurement to the north or the south of the Equator. It is represented by the 180 imaginary lines which are forming circles east-west around the Earth and parallel to the Equator. These lines are referred to as the parallels. An imaginary ring which is connecting all the points sharing a parallel is the circle of latitude.

Equator: The Equator is basically the line around the centre of a planet that is imaginary in nature. At a latitude of 0 degrees, it is exactly between the North Pole and the South Pole. The whole world is divided into the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere by this equator.

Longest latitude: Latitude lines run east-west across the whole globe and they are mainly used for calculating the equator's north and south distances. Since the equator is present at 0 degrees, 90 degrees N will be considered as the latitude of the north pole, 1/4 of the way around the globe going in a northerly direction. It is the longest possible latitude.

The equator is centred at the latitude of 0 degrees which means that it is centred at the circumference of the earth. As the sphere is in the shape of the earth, this is the reason why the equator is the longest parallel of latitude.

Note:
- There are not so many special lines and points in latitude when it is compared to longitude. So, it is important to note that all the latitude lines are of the same length. The only latitudes which are unique in nature are 0 degrees and 180 degrees.

- The largest circle which is present on the globe is the equator at an angle of 0 degrees, i.e. as an equatorial area, the region surrounding it is known to obtain similar amounts of sun rays during the year. This is the hottest region of the Earth's other two regions.