`color{green}(•)` It is slightly flattened at the North and the South Poles and bulge in the middle.

`color{green}(•)` Can you imagine how it looks? You may look at a globe carefully in your classroom to get an idea.

`color{green}(•)` Globe is a true model (miniature form) of the earth (Figure 2.1).

`color{green}(•)` Globes may be of varying size and type – big ones, which cannot be carried easily, small pocket globes, and globe-like balloons, which can be inflated and are handy and carried with ease.

`color{green}(•)` The globe is not fixed. It can be rotated the same way as a top spin or a potter’s wheel is rotated.

`color{green}(•)` On the globe, countries, continents and oceans are shown in their correct size.

`color{green}(•)` It is difficult to describe the location of a point on a sphere like the earth.

`color{green}(•)` Now the question arises as to how to locate a place on it? We need certain points of reference and lines to find out the location of places.

`color{green}(•)` You will notice that a needle is fixed through the globe in a tilted manner, which is called its `color{red}("𝐚𝐱𝐢𝐬")`.

`color{green}(•)` Two points on the globe through which the needle passes are two poles – North Pole and South Pole.

`color{green}(•)` The globe can be moved around this needle from west to east just as the earth moves.

`color{green}(•)` But, remember there is a major difference.

`color{green}(•)` The real earth has no such needle.

`color{green}(•)` It moves around its axis, which is an imaginary line.

`color{green}(•)` Another imaginary line running on the globe divides it into two equal parts.

`color{green}(•)` This line is known as the `color{red}("𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫.")`

`color{green}(•)` The northern half of the earth is known as the Northern Hemisphere and the southern half is known as the Southern Hemisphere.

`color{green}(•)` They are both equal halves.

`color{green}(•)` Therefore, the equator is an imaginary circular line and is a very important reference point to locate places on the earth.

`color{green}(•)` All parallel circles from the equator up to the poles are called `color{red}("𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐥𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐬.")`

`color{green}(•)` Latitudes are measured in degrees.

`color{green}(•)` The equator represents the zero degree latitude.

`color{green}(•)` Since the distance from the equator to either of the poles is one-fourth of a circle round the earth, it will measure
¼th of 360 degrees, i.e. 90°.

`color{green}(•)` Thus, 90 degrees north latitude marks the North Pole and 90 degrees south latitude marks the South Pole.

`color{green}(•)` As such, all parallels north of the equator are called ‘north latitudes.’

`color{green}(•)` Similarly all parallels south of the equator are called ‘south latitudes.’

`color{green}(•)` The value of each latitude is, therefore, followed by either the word north or south.

`color{green}(•)` Generally, this is indicated by the letter ‘N’ or ‘S’.

`color{green}(•)` For example, both Chandrapur in Maharashtra (India) and Belo Horizonte in Brazil (South America) are located on
parallels of about 20° latitude.

`color{green}(•)` But the former is 20° north of the equator and the latter is 20° south of it.

`color{green}(•)` We, therefore, say that Chandrapur is situated at 20° N latitude and Belo Horizonte is situated at 20° S latitude.

`color{green}(•)` We see in Figure 2.2 that as we move away from the equator, the size of the parallels of latitude decreases.