Bearing and Distance · 3 min read

Bearing

Bearing and Distance

Bearing

Bearing is just a way to describe which way you are moving or looking from where you are to another place.

It means measuring how much you turned from the North to reach your destination.

True bearing is how we measure the angle starting from the North line and moving like a clock hand.

The true bearing to a point is the angle measured in degrees in a clockwise direction from the north line. We will refer to the true bearing simply as the bearing.

This means we always start looking North and turn to the right to find our angle.

We can write bearings in two main ways:

Cardinal Points: It is specified in reference to the north, south east and west. E.g. N45^oE, S60^oW

Three Digits Notation: Bearing is also specified in three digits notation. The angle is measured clockwise from the north. It is common to put an extra 0 in front to make it three digits. E.g. 060^o, 078^o, 135^o, 225^o etc.

Key points

•Bearing is the clockwise angular movement between two distant places.
•True bearing is measured clockwise from the North line.
•Bearings can be specified using Cardinal Points (e.g., N45oE, S60oW).
•Bearings can also be specified using Three Digits Notation (e.g., 060o, 135o), measured clockwise from North.