Compass: North, East, South and West
Directions on the "Compass Rose"
Compass Bearings
A Compass Bearing tells us Direction
The 4 main directions are North, East, South and West, going clockwise.
How to remember?
With North pointing ahead, "West" and "East" make the word "WE"
| N | ||
| W | E | |
| S | ||
Clockwise they go NESW: "Never Eat Soggy Waffles" or "Now Explore Some Wonders"
Example: Finding Your Way in a Forest
Imagine you're hiking in a forest and want to reach a lake to the North.
By holding a compass, you can see which way is North and walk in that direction.
Look around you. Can you point to where North is? If you're unsure, try guessing, then check with a compass or a map app on your phone.
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Play The GameTry the Direction Game. |
In Between
Halfway between North and East is northeast (NE).
There is also southeast (SE), southwest (SW) and northwest (NW).
And in between all of those are:
- NNE (north-northeast)
- ENE (east-northeast)
- ESE (east-southeast)
- SSE (south-southeast)
- SSW (south-southwest)
- WSW (west-southwest)
- WNW (west-northwest)
- NNW (north-northwest)
Example: in the morning there was a strong northerly wind, but later it swung around to the northeast.
Example: they were sailing mainly southwest, but sometimes a little towards south-southwest.
Example: Navigating a City
Suppose you're in a city, and a park is to the northeast of your location. That means it's halfway between North and East.
Using a map, you can walk toward the park by heading slightly to the right of North!
Three-Figure Bearings
Three-figure bearings are an alternative to compass bearings that are much more precise. They are measured in a special way:
- Start measuring from the direction North
- Measure clockwise
- Give the bearing using three figures (or more than three if there's a decimal)
It is common to put extra "0"s to make a full 3 digits, so:
| North is 000° | ||
| West is 270° | East is 090° | |
| South is 180° | ||
Airline pilots and ships' helmsmen use three-figure bearings so that they can point their craft in exactly the right direction to safely reach their destination.
Examples
The four main compass bearings (North, East, South and West) are multiples of 90°:
The advantage of three-figure bearings is that they describe any direction uniquely:
Note that the last one has four figures (three in front of the decimal point and one after) but it is still a "three-figure bearing", the .4 just gives more accuracy.
The degree symbol is not always used:
Example: Southwest is 225 (in other words 225° clockwise from North)
Magnetic North
A compass needle points to the Magnetic North Pole because the Earth acts like a giant magnet, and the compass needle aligns with that magnetic field.
But this is different from true north where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface (also called the Geographic North Pole).
The angle between Magnetic North and True North (from where you are) is called magnetic declination.
The Magnetic North Pole moves a little over time!
Types of North
There are 3 types of North:
- Magnetic North: Where a compass needle points. It changes location because it's based on Earth's magnetic field.
- True North: The direction to the top of the Earth, the point it spins around (the Geographic North Pole).
- Grid North: The direction to the top of a map when using a grid system like in map or GPS. Usually close to true north.