Relative Location vs. Absolute Location: What’s the Difference?
The main difference is that relative location describes the position of a place or object in relation to other places or objects whereas absolute location provides a precise geographic location using latitude and longitude coordinates.
Before we move to more differences, let’s first understand Relative Location and Absolute Location:
- Relative Location: Relative location is a term used in geography to describe the position of a place or location in relation to other places or locations.
- Absolute Location: Absolute location is a term used in geography to describe the precise position of a point or location on the earth’s surface.
Now, let’s get to Relative Location vs Absolute Location:
Major differences between Relative Location and Absolute Location
| Relative Location | Absolute Location |
|---|---|
| Relative location is often described using directional language (such as north, south, east, or west). | Absolute location is described using specific numerical coordinates. |
| Relative location is often used to describe locations in a general or relative sense. | Absolute location is used to provide a precise and specific location. |
| Relative location can be useful for understanding a location’s position in relation to other places or landmarks. | Absolute location is essential for navigation and mapmaking. |
| Relative location is often based on subjective observations or perceptions. | Absolute location is based on objective geographic coordinates that can be measured and verified. |
| Relative location can be helpful for describing a location’s relationship to other places or objects. | Absolute location provides a specific and objective measurement of a location’s geographic coordinates. |
So, these are the main differences between the entities.
Also see:
You can see other “differences between…” posts by clicking here.
If you have a related query, kindly feel free to let me know in the comments below.
