Circle of latitude circle. There are 89 integral (whole degree) circles of latitude between the equator and the Poles in each hemisphere, but these can be divided into more precise measurements of latitude, and are often represented as a decimal degree (e.g. 34.637°N) or with minutes and seconds (e.g. 22°14'26"S). There is no limit to how precisely latitude can be measured, and so there are an infinite number of circles of latitude on Earth. On a map, the circles of latitude may or may not be parallel, and their spacing may vary, depending on which projection is used to map the surface of
Latitude ellipsoid and the distance . This height differs from the height above the geoid or a reference height such as that above mean sea level at a specified location. The direction of will also differ from the direction of a vertical plumb line. The relation of these different heights requires knowledge of the shape of the geoid and also the gravity field of the Earth. The geocentric latitude is the complement of the polar angle in conventional spherical polar coordinates in which the coordinates of a point are where is the distance of from the centre , is the angle