Compare Latitude Map

[Jonathan]

Hard to know where to post this, but I think all you climate nerds might find it interesting!

https://www.bytemuse.com/post/interactive-equivalent-latitude-map/

This map allows you to overlay the continents across each other and compare latitudes. Using the control tabs you can choose which layer to move or flip the southern over the northern etc. Useful for figuring which areas might have similar climates...for example in the snip below, my city, Hobart, is almost identical to Bilbao in Spain, and the climates are very similar. However if I slide across to Asia we're level with Vladivostok, and that's a whole other story!

Enjoy.

 

[Jonathan]

Quite enjoyed putting NZ in Mongolia...not too many Rhopies there guys!

Not so keen having Hobart in Eastern Canada, a bit on the cool side for me.

Interesting to see that the tip of Florida barely  makes it halfway up the coast of Australia, and NZ is firmly in the Midwest,as I always suspected, lol!

[Jonathan]

Our friends in the UK are at a similar latitude to Tierra Del Fuego, amazing that they can grow as many palms as they do!

Sydney, Santiago and Buenos Aires are all very close.  It's very addictive!

[Silas_Sancona]

This is about as mindless as Koppen.. 

Comparing latitude is just a broad - brush generality when it comes to plant ( ..and animal ) evolution.. Tiny piece is a big and complicated  puzzle..

For one,  when you flip hemispheres, No way Mexico would be a shoe in when placing over E. Central Africa. Similar idea when Mexico is laid out over the northern side of Africa..  All the reasons why are easy to figure out..

Gulf Coast ( of the U.S. ) lining up w/ South Africa...  I couldn't laugh any harder at how bad of a comparison that is. 


🤦🏼‍♂️
 

[Jonathan]

11 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

This is about as mindless as Koppen.. 

Comparing latitude is just a broad - brush generality when it comes to plant ( ..and animal ) evolution.. Tiny piece is a big and complicated  puzzle..

For one,  when you flip hemispheres, No way Mexico would be a shoe in when placing over E. Central Africa. Similar idea when Mexico is laid out over the northern side of Africa..  All the reasons why are easy to figure out..

Gulf Coast ( of the U.S. ) lining up w/ South Africa...  I couldn't laugh any harder at how bad of a comparison that is. 


🤦🏼‍♂️
 

Well I guess you'll have to excuse my mindlessness...but...

If you actually read my initial posts mate, then you'd obviously have noticed that I was comparing my city with others at similar latitudes and commenting on the DIFFERENCES, except for Bilbao, which has a very similar climate!

It's literally just a diagram of overlaid continents at their actual latitudes, or hemispherical opposite. It's kind of fun to play with, and possibly educational, but no one is claiming it's a guide to the evolutionary history of the earth's biota!

 

[tim_brissy_13]

13 hours ago, Silas_Sancona said:

This is about as mindless as Koppen.. 

Comparing latitude is just a broad - brush generality when it comes to plant ( ..and animal ) evolution.. Tiny piece is a big and complicated  puzzle..

For one,  when you flip hemispheres, No way Mexico would be a shoe in when placing over E. Central Africa. Similar idea when Mexico is laid out over the northern side of Africa..  All the reasons why are easy to figure out..

Gulf Coast ( of the U.S. ) lining up w/ South Africa...  I couldn't laugh any harder at how bad of a comparison that is. 


🤦🏼‍♂️
 

What a strange reply. Overlaying latitudes is simply that. It is what it is. Jonathan even repeatedly noted some of the odd comparisons and honestly I find it fascinating how climates can be so different with similar latitudes. What they grow in parts of Western continental Europe and the UK has always amazed me considering how far from the equator they are. 

[Jonathan]

8 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

What a strange reply. Overlaying latitudes is simply that. It is what it is. Jonathan even repeatedly noted some of the odd comparisons and honestly I find it fascinating how climates can be so different with similar latitudes. What they grow in parts of Western continental Europe and the UK has always amazed me considering how far from the equator they are. 

Tim, I found this interesting - looking at where southern Madagascar sits in relation to Qld, its possible to understand why some of those higher elevation Mad species, R glauca, B alfredii, etc. have some hardiness.

I've camped in winter at the Blackdown Tablelands at 800m on the Tropic of Capricorn, it was bloody cold! The southern highlands of Madagascar are at a similar latitude, possibly slightly more moderated by the ocean, but also higher elevation, so I'm thinking its a pretty good analogy.

I've found Australian highland subtropical species from as far north as Eungella do pretty well down here in general, I've got a couple of Bangalows from 900m at Peases Lookout near Eungella, 21S, they need to go in the ground! Kicking myself for not collecting any Alex seeds from slightly lower elevation in that area too. I did manage to get a heap of the Eungella L australis, which is a very nice variety.

[tim_brissy_13]

1 hour ago, Jonathan said:

Tim, I found this interesting - looking at where southern Madagascar sits in relation to Qld, its possible to understand why some of those higher elevation Mad species, R glauca, B alfredii, etc. have some hardiness.

I've camped in winter at the Blackdown Tablelands at 800m on the Tropic of Capricorn, it was bloody cold! The southern highlands of Madagascar are at a similar latitude, possibly slightly more moderated by the ocean, but also higher elevation, so I'm thinking its a pretty good analogy.

I've found Australian highland subtropical species from as far north as Eungella do pretty well down here in general, I've got a couple of Bangalows from 900m at Peases Lookout near Eungella, 21S, they need to go in the ground! Kicking myself for not collecting any Alex seeds from slightly lower elevation in that area too. I did manage to get a heap of the Eungella L australis, which is a very nice variety.

Have you noticed any clear correlation between locality of collection of seed to hardiness? I only ask because I haven’t really noticed anything. For A cunninghamiana they all seem to be similar for me. I guess it’s species dependent though; some species are reported to be highly variable and different types/variabts/subspecies with different hardiness is documented (I’m thinking Caryoya maxima, Geonoma sp). 

[Tyrone]

3 hours ago, Jonathan said:

Tim, I found this interesting - looking at where southern Madagascar sits in relation to Qld, its possible to understand why some of those higher elevation Mad species, R glauca, B alfredii, etc. have some hardiness.

I've camped in winter at the Blackdown Tablelands at 800m on the Tropic of Capricorn, it was bloody cold! The southern highlands of Madagascar are at a similar latitude, possibly slightly more moderated by the ocean, but also higher elevation, so I'm thinking its a pretty good analogy.

I've found Australian highland subtropical species from as far north as Eungella do pretty well down here in general, I've got a couple of Bangalows from 900m at Peases Lookout near Eungella, 21S, they need to go in the ground! Kicking myself for not collecting any Alex seeds from slightly lower elevation in that area too. I did manage to get a heap of the Eungella L australis, which is a very nice variety.

That’s exactly true Jonathan. Every 1000m asl on average drops the temp around 6C. If a palm can thrive at elevation anywhere in the tropics or subtropics I’m all ears. 

[Hombre de Palmas]

Thanks for the link. This is a very intriguing website!

I was just reading up on the "discovery" of Wodyetia Bifurcata in the early 1980s, a fascinating topic it is. I had read about it before, but I delved into the subject a little more deeply this time around.

Wodyetia, as many here know, comes from the Melville Range in Queensland. It was only relatively recently introduced into South Florida where it is now ubiquitous. The native range is 14° South and it thrives around my area 27° North. It was interesting to see a graphic representation of the relative locations.

Of course my landscape is littered with specimens that seem out of place from a latitudal reckoning.

[Jonathan]

22 hours ago, tim_brissy_13 said:

Have you noticed any clear correlation between locality of collection of seed to hardiness? I only ask because I haven’t really noticed anything. For A cunninghamiana they all seem to be similar for me. I guess it’s species dependent though; some species are reported to be highly variable and different types/variabts/subspecies with different hardiness is documented (I’m thinking Caryoya maxima, Geonoma sp). 

Tim, no I haven't noticed any difference either. I've just been lucky enough to collect a few seeds of cunninghamiana and L australis from near the extremes of their range. Both species just drift to higher altitudes as they go north, as you'd expect. Eungella is particularly fascinating, because you go from coconuts down at Finch Hatton, very quickly to cunninghamiana up the on the plateau, and there are mixed stands of L australis, cunninghamiana and alexandrae in between. Such a cool place to visit. Think I've been there three times now!

I met an old farmer up there who told me that they used to get an occasional big frost in winter, which surprised me. His farm was right next to the National Park entrance at Broken River, an area with lots of alexandrae. I suspect that the Alex's up there must have a bit of cold tolerance, but as I mentioned, I failed to collect any seed unfortunately.

[Jonathan]

19 hours ago, Hombre de Palmas said:

Thanks for the link. This is a very intriguing website!

I was just reading up on the "discovery" of Wodyetia Bifurcata in the early 1980s, a fascinating topic it is. I had read about it before, but I delved into the subject a little more deeply this time around.

Wodyetia, as many here know, comes from the Melville Range in Queensland. It was only relatively recently introduced into South Florida where it is now ubiquitous. The native range is 14° South and it thrives around my area 27° North. It was interesting to see a graphic representation of the relative locations.

Of course my landscape is littered with specimens that seem out of place from a latitudal reckoning.

Wodyetia is certainly an interesting story, amazing how such a charismatic species can evade detection for so long. Part of the reason I guess is the difficulty of reaching Cape Melville. I briefly contemplated driving up there for a look some years ago, until further research revealed deep water crossings of crocodile infested estuaries, amongst other delights. I sensibly chickened out! 

The story the of the Wollemi pine is even stranger if you like a good botanical mystery, certainly worth a google search.

[flplantguy]

Ive gone diving down this rabbit hole myself, and its fun and a little educational.  Comparing shows how other attributes change the climate and make it unique.  It can wake up the mind to more details about life and encourage better gardening if one puts thought into it.

[Xerarch]

Oh, heck yeah, I love messing with maps like this. Always makes me a little jealous though, as just about anywhere else in the world at this latitude and on the coast never gets hard freezes, most get no freezes at all. 

[Hombre de Palmas]

On 8/21/2025 at 8:12 AM, Jonathan said:

Wodyetia is certainly an interesting story, amazing how such a charismatic species can evade detection for so long. Part of the reason I guess is the difficulty of reaching Cape Melville. I briefly contemplated driving up there for a look some years ago, until further research revealed deep water crossings of crocodile infested estuaries, amongst other delights. I sensibly chickened out! 

The story the of the Wollemi pine is even stranger if you like a good botanical mystery, certainly worth a google search.

Wow! Almost brings tears to your eyes!

Many thanks for the lead. I like that even a living fossil such as I, can still learn something new about living fossils.

[Jonathan]

3 hours ago, Hombre de Palmas said:

Wow! Almost brings tears to your eyes!

Many thanks for the lead. I like that even a living fossil such as I, can still learn something new about living fossils.

Haha, yep, good to to know that there's still room in the world for something so ancient.  Particularly amazing that they are within 200km of a city of 5 million people!

[tim_brissy_13]

On 8/23/2025 at 8:20 AM, Jonathan said:

Haha, yep, good to to know that there's still room in the world for something so ancient.  Particularly amazing that they are within 200km of a city of 5 million people!

I’m still amazed that we’re discovering things like Tahina and Sabinaria even more recently. Such huge and/or distinctive plants. Exciting to think of how much more might be out there, but also sad to think of how much is already gone. 

[Hu Palmeras]

El 18/8/2025 a las 18:05, Jonathan dijo:

Nuestros amigos del Reino Unido están en una latitud similar a Tierra del Fuego, ¡es sorprendente que puedan cultivar tantas palmeras!

Sídney, Santiago y Buenos Aires están muy cerca. ¡Es muy adictivo!

All the world's palm trees, even tropical ones, reach Europe, but remain protected in their homes during the winter. However, the cultivation of palm trees from colder climates is widespread. They have one option: Chilean palm trees: Juania Australis and Jubaea Chilensis. Europe is currently obsessed with Juania Australis palms. And what about Jubaea Chilensis, which is even cultivated in Scotland, Norway, Eastern Europe, etc. It's widespread throughout Europe. But the missing link is Juania Australis.

[Tyrone]

On 8/21/2025 at 6:35 AM, Jonathan said:

Tim, no I haven't noticed any difference either. I've just been lucky enough to collect a few seeds of cunninghamiana and L australis from near the extremes of their range. Both species just drift to higher altitudes as they go north, as you'd expect. Eungella is particularly fascinating, because you go from coconuts down at Finch Hatton, very quickly to cunninghamiana up the on the plateau, and there are mixed stands of L australis, cunninghamiana and alexandrae in between. Such a cool place to visit. Think I've been there three times now!

I met an old farmer up there who told me that they used to get an occasional big frost in winter, which surprised me. His farm was right next to the National Park entrance at Broken River, an area with lots of alexandrae. I suspect that the Alex's up there must have a bit of cold tolerance, but as I mentioned, I failed to collect any seed unfortunately.

I think at Eungella they’ve experienced a negative 6C one year and they lost their potatoe crops up there. They can get snow on rare occasions too and the tree ferns don’t like it but grow back. I’ve been up there twice but not in 18 years. I need to get back. The last time we went was mid winter in 2007. We were staying at Finch Hatton and had the heater cranked in the cabin. In the morning it felt like 2C outside. Walking in the rainforest at Eungella was a chilly experience and I remember being rugged up and the steam when you were breathing. I’ve got a few alexandrae growing down here from that trip. At the time I never thought they’d end up on the south coast of WA but I can see why they do well even in the cold. 

[SeanK]

Biggest difference between the hemispheres is land masses at high latitudes in the north. In the south, Antarctica is isolated, as is its cold.

South of Tasmania there is liquid water, which, moves and moderates air temps. In the north, water flow is restricted by land masses and so, freezes. Air gets colder and extends further into the middle latitudes.

[Austinpalm]

2 hours ago, SeanK said:

Biggest difference between the hemispheres is land masses at high latitudes in the north. In the south, Antarctica is isolated, as is its cold.

South of Tasmania there is liquid water, which, moves and moderates air temps. In the north, water flow is restricted by land masses and so, freezes. Air gets colder and extends further into the middle latitudes.

That is certainly important.  Also the fact that 40% of northern hemisphere is land while only 20% of southern hemisphere is land.

[Jonathan]

10 hours ago, SeanK said:

Biggest difference between the hemispheres is land masses at high latitudes in the north. In the south, Antarctica is isolated, as is its cold.

South of Tasmania there is liquid water, which, moves and moderates air temps. In the north, water flow is restricted by land masses and so, freezes. Air gets colder and extends further into the middle latitudes.

Yep, cold air masses from Antarctica have to cross 2500km of open ocean before they hit us or NZ, which takes the sting out of the cold here in Tasmania.

South America is an interesting case, because although the continent basically touches Antarctica, the narrowing shape reduces land mass and therefore continental influence. If it tapered in the opposite direction Chile and Argentina would be like Canada or Russia, climatically.

[Hu Palmeras]

Friends, Antarctica is waiting for us. I'm in the city of Temuco. Something close to Antarctica.

[SeanK]

2 hours ago, Hu Palmeras said:

Friends, Antarctica is waiting for us. I'm in the city of Temuco. Something close to Antarctica.

Just be careful at Cape Horn.