Reading and correct use of maps is associated with knowledge of the basic elements that make up them, among which are imaginary lines. These traditional lines (that is, their parameters are the same all over the world) along with cardinal points are fundamental to the location in the geographical space.
Imaginary lines and hemispheres
Imaginary lines used in maps fall into two broad categories: parallels and longitudes. Parallels are those lines located horizontally on the map, exactly parallel to the line of Ecuador or the line 0 ° a – the longest imaginary line on the planet because it encloses it in its widest part -; While meridians are imaginary lines that travel from one pole to another. The 0° longitude is known as the Greenwich Meridian, which is the name of the city through which the aforementioned meridian passes.
These two imaginary lines of 0°, Ecuador and Greenwich, are used as reference to be able to perform geolocation. These imaginary lines allow us to divide the globe into quadrants called hemispheres. The northern and southern hemispheres (relative to the equator) and the western and eastern hemispheres (relative to Greenwich).
Cardinal points
The cardinal points are a system of reference that indicates four directions of direction, with respect to the position of the Sun in relation to the planet Earth during the process of Earth’s rotation.
Basic points, four in total
east (Where the sun rises, which is why it was also called Levante).
West (Where the sun sets, that is why it is also called the West).
The north and the South They are intermediate regions, created from the previous two regions.
For the location of the north-south, it is enough to put the right hand pointing to where the sun rises and the left where it sets, so that the front shows us the north and behind it the south.
