Circle of latitude

A circle on Earth’s surface connecting points with the same latitude. Circles of latitude run parallel to the equator and become smaller toward the poles.

Latitude: Latitude is the angular position of a point north or south of the equator, measured in degrees. Each circle gathers locations with one shared latitude value.
Great circle: A great circle is a circle on a sphere whose plane passes through the sphere’s center. Only the equator is a great circle among circles of latitude.
Graticule: A graticule is the network of latitude and longitude lines shown on a map or globe. Circles of latitude form the graticule’s east–west lines.
Parallel (geography): A parallel is a line or circle on a map or globe marking a constant latitude. “Parallel” is the common geographic name for a circle of latitude.
Equator: The equator is the great circle at 0° latitude, halfway between Earth’s poles. It is the largest circle of latitude and the reference for north and south.
Small circle: A small circle is a circle on a sphere whose plane does not pass through its center. Every non-equatorial circle of latitude is a small circle.
Tropic of Cancer: The Tropic of Cancer is the northernmost latitude at which the Sun can appear directly overhead. It is a named circle of latitude marking a solar boundary.
Latitude line: A latitude line is a mapped representation of a constant-latitude path across Earth. The term can mean a drawn map line, while the circle is the geographic feature it represents.
Earth's axis: Earth’s axis is the imaginary line through the planet’s center about which Earth rotates. Circles of latitude lie in planes perpendicular to this axis.
Meridian: A meridian is a half-circle running between the geographic poles, marking a constant longitude. Meridians cross circles of latitude at right angles on a globe.

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