Course / Latitude and the nautical mile

Part I · Foundations · Page 1 of 4

Latitude is an angle

Latitude says how far north or south of the equator you are. It is an angle measured at the center of the Earth: 0° at the equator, 90° at either pole. Drag the dot and watch the angle open and close.

35°YouN
Drag the dot to move north or south. Drag the globe to turn it.
Your latitude
N 35°00.0'
Angle at the Earth's center
35°00.0'
Distance from the equator
2,100 nm

35°00.0' × 60 nm per degree. Each minute of latitude is one nautical mile.

Navigators write it in degrees and minutes, with tenths of a minute: N 32°15.0′. There are 60 minutes in a degree, so 32°30.0′ is thirty-two and a half degrees, not 32.3.