How to Find North
We all need to find our way to get somewhere. In places where there’s no one to ask directions from, you need to rely on navigational aids to help you find your way out of a wilderness. If you want to know how you can get back to the right direction, the North is your safest and most reliable bet.
Why It Pays to Look For North
North is considered the “primary direction” among navigators and explorers. The North is always highlighted and emphasized in compasses, maps and GPS systems. finding northNorth provides the easiest and most stable reference point for map-making, or for people finding their way in different locations.
The familiarity of the world with North is an effect of Western culture. The Europeans devised maps, sextants, quadrants, and compasses to explore and colonize the world. Mapmakers (cartographers) drew the map of the world so that Europe would be on top, and the rest of the world would be at the bottom. Over time, many astronomers and navigators corrected this assumption, but the notion stuck for thousands of years.
Magnetic North
Magnetic north is defined as the direction that uncorrected magnetic compasses point to. Magnetic north relies on the magnetic properties of the moving planet; in a magnetic compass, the needle points to the north pole of the geomagnetic field. While magnetic fields are different in many places and change over time, the magnetic north is a very reliable way to determine other directions with a compass.
Cartographic North
Cartographic north is the north direction defined by maps or globes, and is determined by the position of the North Star. Cartographic north is either the top of the globe, or the top edge of the map. South is any direction that points to the bottom of the map. West is any direction to the left of the map, while east is any direction to the right of the map. Cartographic north is useful if you’re reading a map, or if you need precise locations of places like streets or landmarks, as long as the area has already been mapped by a cartographer or explorer.
When all else fails in your quest to find your way, you always look up; or better yet, find North. Once you find North, you can get yourself back in the right path when you’re lost somewhere.