Latitude vs Altitude: The High and the Wide

Quito, Ecuador sits almost exactly on the equator, but the air up there is thin and chilly at 2,850 metres above sea level. Latitude is how far north or south you are from Earth’s equator on a map-zero degrees at the equator, ninety at the poles. But altitude is different-it’s your height above sea level, not a spot on a globe. Go north out of Quito and your latitude increases, but if you climb a volcano, your altitude rises even faster. A rainforest and a mountaintop might share the same latitude but feel nothing alike-because altitude changes temperature, air pressure and even the plants you see. Latitude is the wide, left to right lines on maps. Altitude is the high or low in the real world. Think: “lat” is flat-the lines stay flat on a map. That’s how Quito can be at the equator yet feel like autumn all year.