Utah's Place in the World
Utah is part of the world, and as part of the world, it's important to know our place in it.
Watch the video below, which shows where Utah is- compared to the rest of the world.
Next, in order to understand Utah's place on earth, and how that placement effects Utah's climate, we need to understand Latitude, and while we're at it, we're going to learn about Longitude.
Read over the following information, and make sure to take note of the difference between longitude and latitude, and what they measure.
Longitude and Latitude are the two ways that we measure where things are on Earth. Longitude lines run "up and down" on the earth, and the "middle" line (the Prime Meridian) runs through London, UK. Latitude lines run "across" the Earth and the middle line is the Equator. The equator is in the middle of the North and South Poles. Longitude and latitude can get confusing-which ones run which way, and what do they measure. To help myself, I think of latitude lines as the rungs of a ladder. While latitude and ladder are spelt differently, the fact that they are similar helps me remember that latitude lines run across the Earth, leaving longitude lines to run up and down.
Boiled down, here what you need to know about longitude and latitude:
Longitude- the lines that run north and south, and MEASURE east and west. Numbered 0-180 degrees.
Latitude- the lines that run east and west, and MEASURE north and south. Numbered 0-90 degrees.
Now, look over the next couple of maps, making sure you understand where Utah is, and what longitude and latitude we line up with.
world-outlinemap-detail.pdfUSA_Detail.pdfUtah's western border is the 114th West longitude line
Take note that Utah's northern border is the 42nd/41st north latitude line
Utah's southern border is the 37th north latitude line
Utah's eastern border is the 109th West longitude line