Page "Latitude" Paragraph 2

Latitude is used together with longitude to specify the precise location of features on the surface of the Earth.

Since the actual physical surface of the Earth is too complex for mathematical analysis two levels of abstraction are employed in the definition of these coordinates.

In the first step the physical surface is modelled by the geoid, a surface which approximates the mean sea level over the oceans and its continuation under the land masses.

The second step is to approximate the geoid by a mathematically simpler reference surface.

The simplest choice for the reference surface is a sphere, but the geoid is more accurately modelled by an ellipsoid.

The definitions of latitude and longitude on such reference surfaces are detailed in the following sections.

Lines of constant latitude and longitude together constitute a graticule on the reference surface.

The latitude of a point on the actual surface is that of the corresponding point on the reference surface, the correspondence being along the normal to the reference surface which passes through the point on the physical surface.

Latitude and longitude together with some specification of height constitute a geographic coordinate system as defined in the specification of the ISO 19111 standard.