Parallels of latitude are best described as:

• A. Great circles whose planes pass through the center.
• B. The equator only.
• C. Small circles on the Earth's surface parallel to the equator.
• D. Lines of longitude that converge at the poles.

Answer: (C)

Parallels of latitude are circles that wrap around the Earth parallel to the equator and define how far north or south you are. They lie in planes that do not pass through the Earth's center, so they are small circles except for the equator, which is a great circle. As you move toward the poles, those circles shrink, and at the poles they collapse to a point, while lines of longitude behave differently by converging at the poles.