Circle of latitude Circle of latitude A circle of latitude on Earth is an abstract east–west circle connecting all locations around Earth (ignoring elevation) at a given latitude. Circles of latitude are often called parallels because they are parallel to each other; that is, any two circles are always the same distance apart. A location's position along a circle of latitude is given by its longitude. Circles of latitude are unlike circles of longitude, which are all great circles with the centre of Earth in the middle, as the circles of latitude get smaller as the distance from the Equator increases. Their length
Circle of latitude lying along this normal)—no longer lie within this plane. Rather, all points sharing the same latitude—but of varying elevation and longitude—occupy the surface of a truncated cone formed by the rotation of this normal around the Earth's axis of rotation. Circle of latitude A circle of latitude on Earth is an abstract east–west circle connecting all locations around Earth (ignoring elevation) at a given latitude. Circles of latitude are often called parallels because they are parallel to each other; that is, any two circles are always the same distance apart. A location's position along a circle of latitude is given