How many nautical miles is 1 minute of Latitude equivalent to?

One minute of latitude is equivalent to one nautical mile. This relationship arises from the way latitude is measured on the Earth's surface. Latitude lines are measured in degrees, where each degree is divided into 60 minutes. Since the Earth is approximately a sphere, and the circumference of the Earth is about 21,600 nautical miles, this structure allows for the calculation that one minute of latitude corresponds to one nautical mile.

Understanding this relationship is essential for navigational purposes, particularly in aviation and marine contexts, where distances are frequently measured in nautical miles and involved significant calculations of route planning and positioning. The uniformity of one minute of latitude representing one nautical mile simplifies these calculations since it makes direct conversions easy and straightforward when navigating over larger distances.