Maps in an atlas usually have lines of latitude and longitude printed on them.  Latitude and longitude are lines on a map used to help us find the exact location of place.

LATITUDE:  Lines of latitude are imaginary lines drawn around the Earth from east to west .  Each line runs parallel to the others and is measured in degrees.  These lines are called  parallels of latitude because they run parallel to each other.  The most important line of latitude is the Equator.  The Equator divies the Earth into two halves:  the Northern Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere.

LONGITUDE:  Lines of longitude are imaginary lines which run in a north-south direction from the North Pole to the South Pole.  The lines are also called meridians of longitude adn they are also measured in degrees.  The most important line of longitude is the Greenwich, of Prime Meridian.  This line runs through the Greenwich Observatory in London.   All the other lines of longitude are given a number between 0 degrees and 180 degrees.  The Earth is divided into two halves along the Greenwich Meridian: the Western Hemisphere and the Eastern Hemisphere.

FINDING A PLACE USING LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE

The intersection of the lines of latitude and longitude can pinpoint any position on the Earth's surface.  The lines of latitude and longitude form a grid pattern on the Earth's surface.

To help pinpoint particular locations each degree of longitude and latitude can be further divided into sixty small sections which are known as minutes.  For example, the latitude of the town of Bendigo is 36 degrees adn 46 minutes south of the Equator.  Its longitude is 144 degrees and 17 minutes east of the Prime Meridian.  When you look for the location of Bendigo in the index of an atlas, it will look something like this:  36.46S 144.17E.