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- The meridians are lines that join the North Pole and the South Pole
- They are used to locate places in the east and west directions
- The meridian that passes through Greenwich , a place near London, is taken as the Prime Meridian
- The distance of a place east or west of the Prime Meridian is measured as an angle, which is the longitude of that place
- The longitude of a place is expressed in degrees, from 0° to 180° E or 180° W
- The meridians have the following characteristics:
- They are all semi-circles of equal length
- They form great circles when joined with their opposite meridians
- They are farthest apart at the equator and converge at the poles
- They divide the earth into two hemispheres: the Eastern Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere
