Bearing Calculator

What is a Bearing?

A bearing is the compass direction from one point to another, expressed as an angle from 0° to 360°. Bearings are measured clockwise from north, where 0° (or 360°) is north, 90° is east, 180° is south, and 270° is west.

This tool calculates the initial bearing (direction to travel) and theback bearing (direction to look back) between two GPS coordinates.

How Bearing Calculation Works

The bearing between two points on Earth is calculated using spherical trigonometry:

Convert coordinates to radians
Calculate the difference in longitude
Apply the forward azimuth formula
Convert the result to degrees (0-360°)

The formula accounts for the Earth's curvature, making it accurate for any distance.

Forward vs Back Bearing

Forward bearing: The direction you face when traveling from Point A to Point B.

Back bearing: The direction you'd face at Point B to look back at Point A. This is always the forward bearing ± 180°.

Back bearings are useful for:

Confirming you're on the right path by looking back
Reverse navigation (returning to start)
Triangulation with multiple bearings

Bearings in Geocaching

Geocachers use bearings frequently in puzzle and multi-caches:

Common Uses

Waypoint projection: "From here, go 150m at bearing 045°"
Field navigation: Following compass directions to a cache
Reverse engineering: Finding the bearing used in a projection
Puzzle verification: Checking if calculated coordinates make sense

Puzzle Cache Clues

Multi-caches often provide bearings as clues:

"The cache is northeast of the posted coordinates"
"Walk toward bearing 270° for 100 meters"
"Find the bearing to the church steeple"

Compass Directions

Bearings correspond to compass points:

N (North): 0° or 360°
NE (Northeast): 45°
E (East): 90°
SE (Southeast): 135°
S (South): 180°
SW (Southwest): 225°
W (West): 270°
NW (Northwest): 315°

For more precision, use intercardinal directions like NNE (22.5°), ENE (67.5°), etc.

True North vs Magnetic North

True north: Points to the geographic North Pole. GPS and mapping tools use true north.

Magnetic north: Where a compass needle points. Varies by location due to Earth's magnetic field.

The difference between them is called magnetic declination. In geocaching, bearings from tools like this use true north. If using a physical compass, you may need to adjust for declination in your area.

Tips for Using Bearings

Round for navigation: When walking, ±5° is usually close enough. High precision bearings (like 127.35°) are more for verification.
Check reasonableness: If a cache page says "northeast" but your calculation shows south, double-check your coordinates.
Use back bearings: When navigating, periodically look back to verify you're on course.
Account for obstacles: Real-world navigation may require detours around obstacles while maintaining general bearing.

Bearing to Direction Conversion

Converting numeric bearings to compass directions:

0° - 22.5°: N
22.5° - 67.5°: NE
67.5° - 112.5°: E
112.5° - 157.5°: SE
157.5° - 202.5°: S
202.5° - 247.5°: SW
247.5° - 292.5°: W
292.5° - 337.5°: NW
337.5° - 360°: N

Related Navigation Tools

Waypoint Projection: Use a bearing and distance to calculate new coordinates.
Distance Calculator: Find the distance along with the bearing.
Coordinate Converter: Convert your coordinates between formats.
Midpoint Calculator: Find the center between multiple waypoints.