GIS Dictionary

Definitions for GIS terms related to operations such as analysis, GIS modeling and web-based GIS, cartography, and Esri software.

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longitude

See Also: great circle, latitude

  1. [coordinate systems] The angular distance, usually expressed in degrees, minutes, and seconds, of the location of a point on the earth's surface east or west of an arbitrarily defined meridian (usually the Greenwich prime meridian). All lines of longitude are great circles that intersect the equator and pass through the North and South Poles.
    longitude Illustration