Question

at two poles the lines of latitude are nearly two dotes why​

Answer 1

THE EARTH is nearly a sphere. It is because of the fact that the

equatorial radius and the polar radius of the earth is not the same.

The rotation of the earth over its axis produces bulging at the equator.

Hence, the actual shape resembles that of an oblate spheroid. The

shape of the earth presents some difficulties in positioning its surface

features, as there is no point of reference from which to measure the

relative positions of other points. Hence, a network of imaginary lines

is drawn on a globe or a map to locate various places. Let us find out

what are these lines and how are they drawn.

The spinning of the earth on its axis from west to east provides

two natural points of reference, i.e. North and South Poles. They form

the basis for the geographical grid. A network of intersecting lines is

drawn for the purpose of fixing the locations of different features.

The grid consists of two sets of horizontal and vertical lines, which

are called parallels of latitudes and the meridians of longitudes.

Horizontal lines are drawn parallel to each other in east-west

direction. The line drawn midway between the North Pole and the

South Pole is called the equator. It is the largest circle and divides

the globe into two equal halves. It is also called a great circle. All the

other parallels get smaller in size, in proportion to their distance

from the equator towards the poles and divide the earth into two

unequal halves, also referred to as the small circles. These imaginary

lines running east-west are commonly known as the parallels of

latitude.

The vertical lines running north-south, join the two poles. They

are called the meridians of longitude. They are spaced farthest apart

at the equator and converge at a point at each pole.