All Topics  
Location (geography)

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Location (geography)
 
 
  Topics Location (geography) Topic Home

In geography
Geography

Geography is the study of the Earth and its lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth"....
, location is a position or point in physical space that something occupies on Earth
Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Earth is the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in diameter, mass and density. It is also referred to as the World and Wiktionary:Terra.Note that by International Astronomical Union convention, the term "Terra" is used for naming extensive land masses, rather...
s' surface. An Absolute
Reality

Reality, in everyday usage, means "the state of things as they actually exist". In a sense it is what is real. The term reality, in its widest sense, includes everything that being, whether or not it is observation or comprehension....
 location can often be designated using a specific pairing of latitude
Latitude

Latitude, usually denoted symbolically by the Greek letter phi gives the location of a place on Earth north or south of the equator. Lines of Latitude are the horizontal lines shown running east-to-west on maps ....
 and longitude
Longitude

Longitude , symbolized by the Greek character lambda , is the geographic coordinate most commonly used in cartography and global navigation for east-west measurement....
, a Cartesian coordinate
Cartesian coordinate system

In mathematics, the Cartesian coordinate system is used to determine each Point uniquely in a Plane through two numbers, usually called the x-coordinate or abscissa and the y-coordinate or ordinate of the point....
 grid (e.g., State Plane Coordinate System
State Plane Coordinate System

The State Plane Coordinate System is a set of 126 geographic zones or coordinate systems designed for specific regions of the United States. Each state contains one or more state plane zones, the boundaries of which usually follow county lines....
), a Spherical coordinate system
Spherical coordinate system

In mathematics, the spherical coordinate system is a coordinate system for representing geometric figures in three dimensions using three coordinates: the radial distance of a point from a fixed origin, the zenith angle from the positive z-axis to the point, and the azimuth angle from the positive x-axis to the orthogonal projection of the...
, or an ellipsoid-based system (e.g., World Geodetic System
World Geodetic System

The World Geodetic System is a standard for use in cartography, geodesy, and navigation. It comprises a standard Cartesian coordinates for the Earth, a standard spheroid reference surface for raw altitude data, and a gravitation equipotential surface that defines the "nominal sea level"....
).

A location may be described as either absolute location
Absolute location

Absolute location is the exact spot where something is on the earth. An example would be the longitude and latitude of a place. For instance, Lake Maracaibo of Venezuela is at 10?36' N latitude and 71?33' W longitude, which can be expressed as a decimal fraction: 10.6?N, 71.55?W....
, meaning the exact location of an object, or relative location, meaning the location of one object relative to another and another or in a general area.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Location (geography)'
Start a new discussion about 'Location (geography)'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


In geography
Geography

Geography is the study of the Earth and its lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth"....
, location is a position or point in physical space that something occupies on Earth
Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Earth is the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in diameter, mass and density. It is also referred to as the World and Wiktionary:Terra.Note that by International Astronomical Union convention, the term "Terra" is used for naming extensive land masses, rather...
s' surface. An Absolute
Reality

Reality, in everyday usage, means "the state of things as they actually exist". In a sense it is what is real. The term reality, in its widest sense, includes everything that being, whether or not it is observation or comprehension....
 location can often be designated using a specific pairing of latitude
Latitude

Latitude, usually denoted symbolically by the Greek letter phi gives the location of a place on Earth north or south of the equator. Lines of Latitude are the horizontal lines shown running east-to-west on maps ....
 and longitude
Longitude

Longitude , symbolized by the Greek character lambda , is the geographic coordinate most commonly used in cartography and global navigation for east-west measurement....
, a Cartesian coordinate
Cartesian coordinate system

In mathematics, the Cartesian coordinate system is used to determine each Point uniquely in a Plane through two numbers, usually called the x-coordinate or abscissa and the y-coordinate or ordinate of the point....
 grid (e.g., State Plane Coordinate System
State Plane Coordinate System

The State Plane Coordinate System is a set of 126 geographic zones or coordinate systems designed for specific regions of the United States. Each state contains one or more state plane zones, the boundaries of which usually follow county lines....
), a Spherical coordinate system
Spherical coordinate system

In mathematics, the spherical coordinate system is a coordinate system for representing geometric figures in three dimensions using three coordinates: the radial distance of a point from a fixed origin, the zenith angle from the positive z-axis to the point, and the azimuth angle from the positive x-axis to the orthogonal projection of the...
, or an ellipsoid-based system (e.g., World Geodetic System
World Geodetic System

The World Geodetic System is a standard for use in cartography, geodesy, and navigation. It comprises a standard Cartesian coordinates for the Earth, a standard spheroid reference surface for raw altitude data, and a gravitation equipotential surface that defines the "nominal sea level"....
).

A location may be described as either absolute location
Absolute location

Absolute location is the exact spot where something is on the earth. An example would be the longitude and latitude of a place. For instance, Lake Maracaibo of Venezuela is at 10?36' N latitude and 71?33' W longitude, which can be expressed as a decimal fraction: 10.6?N, 71.55?W....
, meaning the exact location of an object, or relative location, meaning the location of one object relative to another and another or in a general area. An example of location is where a place is, for example a bowling alley or a restaurant. And the Relative Location is the approximate location of a place or area.