On this occasion I will present how to find latitude and longitude coordinates on the desktop and Android versions of Google Maps. The latitude and longitude coordinates can be used to determine a location anywhere on the map. Although we can easily determine and share locations in map applications, latitude and longitude coordinates are still important in many scenarios.
For example, if you don’t share your location from maps app to other apps or maybe you need to physically provide coordinates to a location, then you can do it with latitude and longitude coordinates.
Read also: How to Measure Land Area Using Google Maps
Fortunately, if you need to find the exact latitude and longitude coordinates of a location, then Google Maps can easily provide it. In this article I will show you how to find latitude and longitude coordinates of any location on Google Maps desktop and Android app.
What are Latitude and Longitude coordinates?
Just as every real house has its own address (which includes a number, street name, city, etc.), any point on the Earth’s surface can be defined by latitude and longitude coordinates. Therefore, using latitude and longitude we can determine virtually any point on the earth.
Latitude has the symbol phi, and it indicates the angle between a straight line at a given point and the plane of the equator. Latitude is determined by degrees, starting at 0° and ending with 90° on either side of the equator making up latitudes North and South. The equator is the line with 0° latitude. Longitude has the symbol lambda and is the angular coordinate that determines the position of a point on the earth’s surface.
Longitude is defined as the angle pointing west or east from the Greenwich Meridian, which is taken as the Prime Meridian. Longitude can be defined as a maximum of 180° east from the Prime Meridian and 180° east from the Prime Meridian.
Both latitude and longitude coordinates are measured in degrees which in turn are divided into minutes and seconds. For example, the tropical zone that lies south and north of the Equator is defined by the boundaries of 23° 26’13.7” S and 23° 26’13.7” N.
Find latitude and longitude coordinates on Google Maps Desktop
On the lite version of Google Maps desktop, you cannot find the latitude and longitude coordinates, therefore make sure there is no lightning icon at the bottom which represents the lite mode. Now right click on the area you need to find the latitude and longitude coordinates and from the context menu select “What happen?“.
A small card at the bottom will open where you can see the latitude and longitude (which I gave the red underline). You can take notes from here.
However, if you want to copy the values, you have to click on the latitude and longitude coordinates. This will open a panel on the right side where you can see the latitude and longitude in DMS and DD format. You can highlight the values here and copy them.
Find latitude and longitude coordinates on Google Maps Android
On the Google Maps Android app, tap and hold on the location you want to find the latitude and longitude. This will drop the pin and you will see the latitude and longitude coordinates in the search bar.
However, if you tap on the coordinates to copy them, the search bar will show the details of known addresses nearby. Hence, you will not be able to copy the coordinates. One solution I found for this problem is to tap and hold to drop the pin and then immediately tap the search bar. If you do it fast enough, the search bar will not fill in any addresses and instead fill in the latitude and longitude coordinates that you copied.
I know it will be a little difficult to copy the coordinates on the app, but just try it quick enough and it will work.
Red Thread | I believe it should be easier to copy the coordinates on an Android app, but I think the actual address details are more useful for general users. Once you find the coordinates you need, you can enter them in the search bar of supported map apps and it will instantly open the exact location.
