I knew each degree of lat was ca 69 miles from equator to poles and each degree of long ca 69 miles at equator but at 46* N long is ca 50 miles so 141.8 long would be 890 miles west of coast N of Columbia river-still not a course from portland to Ningbo

sure would be nice to get a PR clearing this up

What is the distance between a degree of latitude and longitude?

Degrees of latitude are parallel so the distance between each degree remains almost constant but since degrees of longitude are farthest apart at the equator and converge at the poles, their distance varies greatly.

Each degree of latitude is approximately 69 miles (111 kilometers) apart. The range varies (due to the earth's slightly ellipsoid shape) from 68.703 miles (110.567 km) at the equator to 69.407 (111.699 km) at the poles. This is convenient because each minute (1/60th of a degree) is approximately one mile.

A degree of longitude is widest at the equator at 69.172 miles (111.321) and gradually shrinks to zero at the poles. At 40° north or south the distance between a degree of longitude is 53 miles (85 km).