1. the complement of latitude; the angular distance from a point on Earth’s surface to the North Pole, measured along a meridian
Usage: geography; astronomy

Examples

• The colatitude of New York City is approximately 49 degrees.
• Astronomers use colatitude when calculating celestial coordinates.
• At the equator, the colatitude equals 90 degrees.
• The colatitude decreases as you move toward the North Pole.
• Navigation systems sometimes express position using colatitude instead of latitude.
• The relationship between latitude and colatitude is complementary, always summing to 90 degrees.