| Direction | ||||||||||
Maps would be of little use if we were lost in a desert or a dense forest, In that case we would need to find a way of deciding the direction in which we should travel. Direction is important because it shows where one place is in relation to other places. The best way of finding our direction is to use a magnetic compass. |
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| What is a Magnetic Compass |
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A magnetic compass is an instrument with a magnetised needle that will always point to the Earth's magnetic field situated near the North Pole. When one end of the compass needle points to the North Pole, the other end will point to the South Pole. Geographers use a compass to find direction. The end of the needle that points to the North is always labelled 'N'. Many maps have a north point clearly marked on them to show where north is. When you draw a map, always try to locate north at the top of the page and draw an arrow with an 'N' to indicate the correct direction. |
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| Points of the Compass |
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A compass has four main point or cardinal points: north, south, east and west. There are also four inter-cardinal or intermediate points on a compass. Geographers use all points of a compass to describe the direction of travel or the position of one place in relation to another. |
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| Compass Bearings |
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Apart from using compass points, geographers often give directions using compass bearings. A compass bearing is a compass direction given in degrees. Because a compass is a circle, it has been divided into in 360 equal parts. Each part of the circle is called a degree. Therefore, any compass has 360 degrees. Geographers are able to calculate compass bearings by measuring the angle from north in a clockwise direction. For example, the four cardinal points of the compass would have the following bearings in degrees:
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Watch classroom video on direction