Latitude and Longitude Game at a Glance
Latitude says how far north or south of the Equator a place is, and longitude how far east or west of the Prime Meridian. This free game teaches both on a world map with a line every 15°: find the named lines, read the coordinates of a dot, click the spot for a pair of coordinates, and name the city at them. No sign-up.
- Rounds
- Lines, Read the coordinates, Find the spot, Which city?
- Grid
- A line every 15°, labels every 30°
- Named lines
- Equator, tropics, polar circles, Prime Meridian, 180°
- Cities
- 48, on every continent
- Scoring
- Find the spot: up to 100 points by distance
- Cost
- Free, no sign-up, printable worksheet
How to Play the game
- Click anywhere on the map before you start: the line under the map reads out the latitude and longitude of that point.
- Lines: a line is named, like the Tropic of Cancer or 45°N, and you click it. The line nearest your click counts.
- Read the coordinates: a yellow dot sits on a city; pick its latitude and longitude from four.
- Find the spot: you get coordinates and click the place. Within 500 km is right and scores 100; a miss scores up to 90, less the farther it is.
- Which city? You get coordinates and pick the city from four. Use the + button or pinch to zoom on a phone.
What latitude and longitude are
Latitude is the angle north or south of the Equator, from 0° at the Equator to 90° at the North and South Poles. Its lines, the parallels, run east to west and never meet. Longitude is the angle east or west of the Prime Meridian, the line through Greenwich in London, from 0° to 180°. Its lines, the meridians, run from pole to pole and meet at both ends. Together they give every place on Earth an address: Tokyo is about 36°N 140°E, Rio de Janeiro about 23°S 43°W.
Degrees, minutes and decimals
A degree splits into 60 minutes (′), and a minute into 60 seconds (″), so New York's 40°42′N is 40 + 42/60 = 40.7°N. Phones and maps online use decimal degrees instead, with no letters: north and east are positive, south and west negative, so New York is 40.71, −74.01. One degree of latitude is about 111 km everywhere. A degree of longitude is also 111 km at the Equator, but the meridians close in towards the poles, so it shrinks: about 56 km at 60°N, and nothing at the pole.
The named lines
The Equator (0°) splits the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. The Tropic of Cancer (23°26′N) and the Tropic of Capricorn (23°26′S) mark the farthest the Sun is ever straight overhead, because the Earth's axis is tilted by about 23.4°; the hot band between them is the tropics. The Arctic Circle and Antarctic Circle (66°34′) mark where the Sun can stay up, or down, for a whole day. The Prime Meridian (0°) splits the Eastern and Western Hemispheres; it was chosen at a conference in Washington in 1884. Opposite it is the 180th meridian, which the International Date Line follows, bending round countries so that none is split between two dates.
The Named Lines of Latitude and Longitude
Each line in the Lines round with where it is and what it marks.
| # | Line | Where | What it marks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Equator | 0° latitude | Halfway between the poles; it splits the Earth into the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. |
| 2 | Tropic of Cancer | 23°26′N latitude | The farthest north the Sun is ever straight overhead, at the June solstice. |
| 3 | Tropic of Capricorn | 23°26′S latitude | The farthest south the Sun is ever straight overhead, at the December solstice. |
| 4 | Arctic Circle | 66°34′N latitude | North of it, the Sun stays up all day at least once a year, and stays down all day at least once. |
| 5 | Antarctic Circle | 66°34′S latitude | The same as the Arctic Circle, for the south. |
| 6 | Prime Meridian | 0° longitude | Longitude 0°, through Greenwich in London; it splits the Eastern and Western Hemispheres. |
| 7 | 180th meridian | 180° longitude | Opposite the Prime Meridian. The International Date Line follows it, with bends round island countries. |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between latitude and longitude?
Latitude measures north or south of the Equator (0° to 90°); longitude measures east or west of the Prime Meridian (0° to 180°). Lines of latitude run east to west, lines of longitude run from pole to pole.
Which comes first, latitude or longitude?
Latitude. 51°N 0° is London and 40°N 74°W is New York. In decimal form the order is the same: 40.71, −74.01.
Where do the Equator and the Prime Meridian cross?
At 0° 0°, in the Atlantic Ocean in the Gulf of Guinea, about 600 km south of Ghana. There is no land there, only a weather buoy.
How many kilometres is one degree?
One degree of latitude is about 111 km (69 miles) everywhere. One degree of longitude is 111 km at the Equator and gets shorter towards the poles: about 79 km at 45° and 56 km at 60°.
Why is the Tropic of Cancer at 23.4°?
Because the Earth's axis is tilted about 23.4° from upright. At the June solstice the Sun is straight overhead at 23.4°N, the Tropic of Cancer; in December it is overhead at 23.4°S, the Tropic of Capricorn.
Is the International Date Line the same as 180° longitude?
Mostly. It follows the 180th meridian across the open Pacific but bends round Russia's far east, Kiribati, Samoa and other islands so that no country is split between two dates.
How do I write south and west in decimal degrees?
As negative numbers. 33.87°S 151.21°E (Sydney) becomes −33.87, 151.21, and 22.91°S 43.17°W (Rio de Janeiro) becomes −22.91, −43.17.
Made by Kashif Sulehria in Lahore, Pakistan. Updated November 1, 2026.