To determine the direction, or bearing, from one point to another, you need a compass as well as a map. Most compasses are marked with the four cardinal points - North, East, South, and West - but some are marked additionally with the number of degrees in a circle (360: North is 0 or 360; East is 90, South is 180, and West 270). Both kinds are easy to use with a little practice. The illustrations below show how to read direction on the map.

One thing to remember is that a compass does not really point north - not True North, except by coincidence in some areas. The compass needle is attracted by magnetic force, which varies in different parts of the world and is constantly changing. When you read north on a compass, you're really reading the direction of the magnetic north pole. A diagram in the map margin will show the difference between magnetic north and true north at the center of the map.

Draw a straight line on the map passing through your location and your destination and extending across any one of the map borders.

Center the compass where your drawn line intersects the map border, align the compass axis N-S or E-W with the border line and read on the compass circle the true bearing of your drawn line. Be careful to get the bearing in the correct sense because a straight line will have two values 180 apart. Remember north is 0, east is 90, etc.

To use this bearing, you must compensate for magnetic declination. If the MN arrow on the map magnetic declination diagram is to the right of the true north line, subtract the MN value. If the arrow is to the left of the line, add the value.