Skip to main content
2 of 5
added 1 character in body
Russell Borogove
  • 172k
  • 14
  • 608
  • 714

At any latitude, the Earth completes one rotation per day.

At the equator, the circumference of the Earth is about 40000 km, so the speed of rotation is 40000 km/day or 463 m/s.

If you pick a line of higher latitude and look at it on a globe, you will see that the line of latitude is smaller than the equator.

One rotation completed in a day is therefore a shorter distance; at 60 degrees latitude the line is about (cos 60 x 40000) = 34600 km long, so the speed of rotation is 34600 km/s or 400 m/s.

Russell Borogove
  • 172k
  • 14
  • 608
  • 714