In
geography, location or place are used to denote a region (point, line, or area) on
Earth's surface or elsewhere. The term ''location'' generally implies a higher degree of certainty than ''place'', the latter often indicating an entity with an ambiguous boundary, relying more on human or social attributes of
place identity and
sense of place than on geometry.
Types
Locality
A
locality,
settlement, or populated place is likely to have a well-defined name but a boundary that is not well defined varies by context.
London, for instance, has a legal boundary, but this is unlikely to completely match with general usage. An area within a town, such as
Covent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...
in London, also almost always has some ambiguity as to its extent. In geography, location is considered to be more precise than "place".
Relative location
A relative location, or situation, is described as a displacement from another site. An example is "3 miles northwest of
Seattle".
Absolute location
An absolute location can be designated using a specific pairing of
latitude and
longitude in a
Cartesian coordinate grid (for example, a
spherical coordinate system
In mathematics, a spherical coordinate system is a coordinate system for three-dimensional space where the position of a point is specified by three numbers: the ''radial distance'' of that point from a fixed origin, its ''polar angle'' measu ...
or an ellipsoid-based system such as the
World Geodetic System
The World Geodetic System (WGS) is a standard used in cartography, geodesy, and satellite navigation including GPS. The current version, WGS 84, defines an Earth-centered, Earth-fixed coordinate system and a geodetic datum, and also describ ...
) or similar methods. For example, the position of
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...
in the United States can be expressed using the coordinate system as the location 40.7128°N (latitude), 74.0060°W (longitude).
Absolute locations are also relative locations, since even absolute locations are expressed relative to something else. For example, longitude is the number of degrees east or west of the
Prime Meridian
A prime meridian is an arbitrary meridian (a line of longitude) in a geographic coordinate system at which longitude is defined to be 0°. Together, a prime meridian and its anti-meridian (the 180th meridian in a 360°-system) form a great ...
, a line arbitrarily chosen to pass through
Greenwich
Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross.
Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwic ...
, England. Similarly, latitude is the number of degrees north or south of the
equator
The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can al ...
. Because latitude and longitude are expressed ''relative'' to these lines, a position expressed in latitude and longitude is also a relative location.
See also
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Locale (geographic)
As defined by the United States Geological Survey, a locale is a geographic place at which there is or was human activity. It does not include populated places (such as cities, settlements, towns, or villages), mines, and dams. Locale indica ...
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Location, Location, Location
''Location, Location, Location'' is a British reality property programme that has aired on Channel 4 since 17 May 2000 and is presented by Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer. The show follows Allsopp and Spencer as they try to find the perfect ...
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Location Location Location Australia
''Location Location Location Australia'' is an Australian television series presented by Bryce Holdaway and Veronica Morgan. It is an adaptation of the British series '' Location, Location, Location''. The series was announced in 2011 and premiere ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Location (Geography)
Cartography
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