Compass Directions and Bearings

The Eight-Point Compass #

Quarter and eighth turns name eight directions.

The compass names eight directions, each an eighth of a full turn apart

North, east, south, west: the four main directions, a quarter turn apart.

Halfway between north and east sits northeast. Its name lists both neighbors.

8 points in all, so each step around the circle is 360 ÷ 8 = 45°.

From north, a quarter turn clockwise reaches east; an eighth stops at northeast.

Three-Figure Bearings #

Clockwise from north, always three figures.

A bearing measures a direction in degrees clockwise from north, in three figures

To name a direction exactly, face north and count the degrees turning clockwise.

The turn from north to this line is 115 degrees, so B is on a bearing of 115°.

A bearing is always written with three figures: 47 degrees becomes 047°.

Past south, keep counting clockwise. This is 250° — never 110° the other way.

Due east is 090°, due south 180°, due west 270°. North itself is 000°.

Back Bearings #

The way back is a half turn from the way out.

The bearing back along a journey is the outward bearing turned through 180 degrees

Walk from A to B on a bearing of 060°. The north line at B points the same way as A’s.

To face A again, the walker turns clockwise from B’s own north — that is a new angle.

060° is under 180°, so add half a turn: the bearing of A from B is 60 + 180 = 240°.

A new journey, from P to Q on 300°. That is over 180°, so subtract: 300 − 180 = 120°.