Points of the compass

The points of the compass mark the divisions on a compass, which is

primarily divided into the four cardinal directions: north, south, east, and
west. These points are further subdivided by the addition of the four
intercardinal (or ordinal) directions—northeast (NE), southeast (SE),
southwest (SW), and northwest (NW)—to indicate the eight principal winds.
In meteorological usage, further intermediate points between the cardinal
and intercardinal directions, such as north-northeast (NNE) are added to give
the sixteen points of a compass rose.[1]

At the most complete division are the full thirty-two points of the mariner's
compass,[2] which adds points such as north by east (NbE; sometimes NxE)
between north and north-northeast, and northeast by north (NEbN; NExN)
16-point compass rose
between north-northeast and northeast. A compass point allows reference to
a specific course (or azimuth) in a colloquial fashion, without having to
compute or remember degrees.

The European nautical tradition retained the term "one point" to describe 1​ ⁄32
of a circle in such phrases as "two points to starboard". By the middle of the
18th century, the 32-point system was extended with half- and quarter-points
to allow 128 directions to be differentiated.[3]

Contents
Compass points
8-wind compass rose
16-wind compass rose 32-point compass rose
32-wind compass rose
Traditional names
32 compass points
Half- and quarter-points
128 compass directions
See also
References
External links

Compass points
The names of the compass point directions follow these rules:
8-wind compass rose
The four cardinal directions are north (N), east (E), south (S), west (W), at 90° angles on the compass rose.
The four intercardinal (or ordinal) directions are formed by bisecting the angle of the cardinal winds: northeast (NE),
southeast (SE), southwest (SW) and northwest (NW). In English and some other languages, but not all, the name
of each intercardinal is simply a combination of the cardinals that it bisects; the sequence can vary by
language:[4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11]

In Bulgarian, Catalan, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Esperanto, French, Galician, German, Greek, Hungarian,
Ido, Japanese, Macedonian, Norwegian (Bokmal), Norwegian (Nynorsk), Polish, Portuguese, Romansch,
Russian, Serbo-Croatian, Spanish, and Swedish, the part meaning north or south precedes the part meaning
east or west.
In Chinese and less commonly in Japanese, the part meaning east or west precedes the part meaning north or
south.
In Korean, the order varies:

북동 (bukdong) (北東, or northeast)

동남 (dongnam) (東南, or eastsouth)
서남 (seonam) (⻄西南, or westsouth)
북서 (bukseo) (北⻄西, or northwest)
In Estonian, Finnish, and Telugu, the intercardinals use different words from the cardinals.
The eight principal winds (or main winds) are the four cardinals and four intercardinals considered together, that is:
N, NE, E, SE, S, SW, W, NW. Each principal wind is 45° from its two neighbours. The principal winds form the basic
8-wind compass rose.

16-wind compass rose

The eight half-winds are the direction points obtained by bisecting the angles between the principal winds. The half-
winds are north-northeast (NNE), east-northeast (ENE), east-southeast (ESE), south-southeast (SSE), south-
southwest (SSW), west-southwest (WSW), west-northwest (WNW) and north-northwest (NNW). The name of
each half-wind is constructed by combining the names of the principal winds to either side, with the cardinal wind
coming first and the intercardinal wind second.
The eight principal winds and the eight half-winds together form the 16-wind compass rose, with each compass
​ 21⁄2° angle from its two neighbours.
point at a 2

32-wind compass rose

All of the points in the 16-wind compass rose (above) plus the sixteen
quarter-winds (listed below) together form the 32-wind compass rose.
The sixteen quarter-winds are the direction points obtained by bisecting
the angles between the points on the 16-wind compass rose. The
quarter-winds are: (in the first quadrant) north by east (NbE), northeast
by north (NEbN), northeast by east (NEbE), and east by north (EbN);
(in the second quadrant) east by south (EbS), southeast by east
(SEbE), southeast by south (SEbS), and south by east (SbE); (in the
third quadrant) south by west (SbW), southwest by south (SWbS),
southwest by west (SWbW), and west by south (WbS); (in the fourth
quadrant) west by north (WbN), northwest by west (NWbW),
northwest by north (NWbN), and north by west (NbW).[12][13] 32-point compass rose
The name of a quarter-wind is "X by Y", where X is a principal wind and
Y is a cardinal wind. As a mnemonic device, it is useful to think of "X by
Y" as a shortcut for the phrase "one quarter-wind from X towards Y", where a "quarter" is 1 ​ 11⁄4°, X is the nearest
principal wind, and Y is the next (more distant) cardinal wind. So, for example, "northeast by east" means "one
 quarter from NE towards E", "southwest by south" means "one quarter from SW towards S", etc.
In summary, the 32-wind compass rose is yielded from the eight
principal winds, eight half-winds and sixteen quarter-winds combined
together, with each compass direction point at an ​111⁄4° angle from the next.

In the mariner's exercise of boxing the compass, all thirty-two points of

the compass are named in clockwise order.[14]

Traditional names
The traditional compass rose of eight winds (and its 16-wind and 32-wind
derivatives) was invented by seafarers in the Mediterranean Sea during the
Middle Ages (with no obvious connection to the twelve classical compass
winds of the ancient Greeks and Romans). The traditional mariner's wind
32-wind compass card, with English
names were expressed in Italian, or more precisely, the Italianate names
Mediterranean lingua franca common among sailors in the 13th and 14th
centuries, which was principally composed of Genoese (Ligurian), mixed with
Venetian, Sicilian, Provençal, Catalan, Greek and Arabic terms from around the Mediterranean basin.

This Italianate patois was used to designate

the names of the principal winds on the
compass rose found in mariners' compasses
and portolan charts of the 14th and 15th
centuries. The "traditional" names of the eight
principal winds are:

(N) – Tramontana
(NE) – Greco (or Bora in some Venetian
sources)
(E) – Levante (sometimes Oriente)
(SE) – Scirocco (or Exaloc in Catalan)
(S) – Ostro (or Mezzogiorno in Venetian)
(SW) – Libeccio (or Garbino, Eissalot in
Provençal)
(W) – Ponente (or Zephyrus in Greek) 32-wind compass with traditional names (and traditional colour code)
(NW) – Maestro (or Mistral in Provençal)
Local spelling variations are far more
numerous than listed, e.g. Tramutana, Gregale, Grecho, Sirocco, Xaloc, Lebeg, Libezo, Leveche, Mezzodi, Migjorn,
Magistro, Mestre, etc. Traditional compass roses will typically have the initials T, G, L, S, O, L, P, and M on the main
points. Portolan charts also colour-coded the compass winds: black for the eight principal winds, green for the eight half-
winds, and red for the sixteen quarter-winds.

Each half-wind name is simply a combination of the two principal winds that it bisects, with the shortest name usually
placed first, for example: NNE is "Greco-Tramontana"; ENE is "Greco-Levante"; SSE is "Ostro-Scirocco", etc. The quarter
winds are expressed with an Italian phrase, "Quarto di X verso Y" (pronounced [ˈkwarto di X ˈvɛrso Y][15][16][17] one quarter
from X towards Y), or "X al Y" (X to Y) or "X per Y" (X by Y). There are no irregularities to trip over; the closest principal
wind always comes first, the more distant one second, for example: north-by-east is "Quarto di Tramontana verso
Greco"; and northeast-by-north is "Quarto di Greco verso Tramontana".

32 compass points
The table below shows how the 32 compass points are named.

Each point has an angular range of 11.250 degrees where: middle azimuth is the horizontal angular direction (from
north) of the given compass bearing; minimum is the lower angular limit of the compass point; and maximum is the
upper angular limit of the compass point.

Middle
No. Compass point Abbreviation Traditional wind point Minimum Maximum
azimuth

0 North N Tramontana 354.375° 0.000° 5.625°

Quarto di Tramontana verso

1 North by east NbE 5.625° 11.250° 16.875°
Greco

2 North-northeast NNE Greco-Tramontana 16.875° 22.500° 28.125°

Northeast by Quarto di Greco verso

3 NEbN 28.125° 33.750° 39.375°
north Tramontana

4 Northeast NE Greco 39.375° 45.000° 50.625°

Northeast by
5 NEbE Quarto di Greco verso Levante 50.625° 56.250° 61.875°
east

6 East-northeast ENE Greco-Levante 61.875° 67.500° 73.125°

7 East by north EbN Quarto di Levante verso Greco 73.125° 78.750° 84.375°

8 East E Levante 84.375° 90.000° 95.625°

Quarto di Levante verso

9 East by south EbS 95.625° 101.250° 106.875°
Scirocco

10 East-southeast ESE Levante-Scirocco 106.875° 112.500° 118.125°

Southeast by Quarto di Scirocco verso

11 SEbE 118.125° 123.750° 129.375°
east Levante

12 Southeast SE Scirocco 129.375° 135.000° 140.625°

Southeast by
13 SEbS Quarto di Scirocco verso Ostro 140.625° 146.250° 151.875°
south

14 South-southeast SSE Ostro-Scirocco 151.875° 157.500° 163.125°

15 South by east SbE Quarto di Ostro verso Scirocco 163.125° 168.750° 174.375°

16 South S Ostro 174.375° 180.000° 185.625°

17 South by west SbW Quarto di Ostro verso Libeccio 185.625° 191.250° 196.875°

18 South-southwest SSW Ostro-Libeccio 196.875° 202.500° 208.125°

Southwest by
19 SWbS Quarto di Libeccio verso Ostro 208.125° 213.750° 219.375°
south
 20 Southwest SW Libeccio 219.375° 225.000° 230.625°

Southwest by Quarto di Libeccio verso

21 SWbW 230.625° 236.250° 241.875°
west Ponente

22 West-southwest WSW Ponente-Libeccio 241.875° 247.500° 253.125°

Quarto di Ponente verso

23 West by south WbS 253.125° 258.750° 264.375°
Libeccio

24 West W Ponente 264.375° 270.000° 275.625°

Quarto di Ponente verso

25 West by north WbN 275.625° 281.250° 286.875°
Maestro

26 West-northwest WNW Maestro-Ponente 286.875° 292.500° 298.125°

Northwest by Quarto di Maestro verso

27 NWbW 298.125° 303.750° 309.375°
west Ponente

28 Northwest NW Maestro 309.375° 315.000° 320.625°

Northwest by Quarto di Maestro verso

29 NWbN 320.625° 326.250° 331.875°
north Tramontana

30 North-northwest NNW Maestro-Tramontana 331.875° 337.500° 343.125°

Quarto di Tramontana verso

31 North by west NbW 343.125° 348.750° 354.375°
Maestro

32 North N Tramontana 354.375° 360.000° 5.625°

Half- and quarter-points

By the middle of the 18th century, the 32-point system had been further
extended by using half- and quarter-points to give a total of 128 directions.[3]
1 1
These fractional points are named by appending, for example 4 east, 2 east, or
3
4 east to the name of one of the 32 points. Each of the 96 fractional points can
be named in two ways, depending on which of the two adjoining whole points
3 1
is used, for example, N 4 E is equivalent to NbE 4 N. Either form is easily
understood but alternative conventions as to correct usage developed in
different countries and organisations. "It is the custom in the United States
Navy to box from north and south toward east and west, with the exception
that divisions adjacent to a cardinal or inter-cardinal point are always
referred to that point."[18] The Royal Navy used the additional "rule that
quarter points were never read from a point beginning and ending with the Compass rose from "American
same letter."[19] Practical Navigator" 1916

Compass roses very rarely named the fractional points and only showed
small, unlabelled markers as a guide for helmsmen.

128 compass directions

The table below shows how each of the 128 directions are named. The first two columns give the number of points and
degrees clockwise from north. The third gives the equivalent bearing to the nearest degree from north or south towards
east or west. The "CW" column gives the fractional-point bearings increasing in the clockwise direction and "CCW"
counterclockwise. The final three columns show three common naming conventions: No "by" avoids the use of "by" with
fractional points; "USN" is the system used by the US Navy; and "RN" is the Royal Navy system. Colour coding shows
whether each of the three naming systems matches the "CW" or "CCW" column.

Points Degrees Bearing CW CCW No "by" USN RN

0° 0′
0 N N
0″

1 2° 48′ 1 3 1 1 1
4 N 3° E N4E NbE 4 N N4E N4E N4E
45″

1 5° 37′
2 N 6° E N 12 E NbE 12 N N 12 E N 12 E N 12 E
30″

3 8° 26′
4 N 8° E N 34 E NbE 14 N N 34 E N 34 E N 34 E
15″

11° 15′
1 N 11° E NbE
0″

14° 3′
1 14 N 14° E NbE 14 E NNE 34 N NNE 34 N NbE 14 E NbE 14 E
45″

16° 52′
1 12 N 17° E NbE 12 E NNE 12 N NNE 12 N NbE 12 E NbE 12 E
30″

3 19° 41′ 3 1 1 3 3
14 N 20° E NbE 4 E NNE 4 N NNE 4 N NbE 4 E NbE 4 E
15″

22° 30′
2 N 23° E NNE
0″

25° 18′
2 14 N 25° E NNE 14 E NEbN 34 N NNE 14 E NNE 14 E NNE 14 E
45″

1 28° 7′ 1 1 1 1 1
22 N 28° E NNE 2 E NEbN 2 N NNE 2 E NNE 2 E NNE 2 E
30″

30° 56′
2 34 N 31° E NNE 34 E NEbN 14 N NNE 34 E NNE 34 E NNE 34 E
15″

33° 45′
3 N 34° E NEbN
0″

1 36° 33′ 1 3 3 3 3
34 N 37° E NEbN 4 E NE 4 N NE 4 N NE 4 N NE 4 N
45″

39° 22′
3 12 N 39° E NEbN 12 E NE 12 N NE 12 N NE 12 N NE 12 N
30″

3 42° 11′ 3 1 1 1 1
34 N 42° E NEbN 4 E NE 4 N NE 4 N NE 4 N NE 4 N
15″

45° 0′
4 N 45° E NE
0″

47° 48′
4 14 N 48° E NE 14 E NEbE 34 N NE 14 E NE 14 E NE 14 E
45″
 1 50° 37′ 1 1 1 1 1
42 N 51° E NE 2 E NEbE 2 N NE 2 E NE 2 E NE 2 E
30″

53° 26′
4 34 N 53° E NE 34 E NEbE 14 N NE 34 E NE 34 E NE 34 E
15″

56° 15′
5 N 56° E NEbE
0″

1 59° 3′ 1 3 3 1 1
54 N 59° E NEbE 4 E ENE 4 N ENE 4 N NEbE 4 E NEbE 4 E
45″

61° 52′
5 12 N 62° E NEbE 12 E ENE 12 N ENE 12 N NEbE 12 E NEbE 12 E
30″

64° 41′
5 34 N 65° E NEbE 34 E ENE 14 N ENE 14 N NEbE 34 E NEbE 34 E
15″

67° 30′
6 N 68° E ENE
0″

70° 18′
6 14 N 70° E ENE 14 E EbN 34 N ENE 14 E ENE 14 E EbN 34 N
45″

73° 7′
6 12 N 73° E ENE 12 E EbN 12 N ENE 12 E ENE 12 E EbN 12 N
30″

3 75° 56′ 3 1 3 3 1
64 N 76° E ENE 4 E EbN 4 N ENE 4 E ENE 4 E EbN 4 N
15″

78° 45′
7 N 79° E EbN
0″

81° 33′
7 14 N 82° E EbN 14 E E 34 N E 34 N E 34 N E 34 N
45″

1 84° 22′ 1 1 1 1 1
72 N 84° E EbN 2 E E2N E2N E2N E2N
30″

87° 11′
7 34 N 87° E EbN 34 E E 14 N E 14 N E 14 N E 14 N
15″

90° 0′
8 E E
0″

1 92° 48′ 1 3 1 1 1
84 S 87° E E4S EbS 4 E E4S E4S E4S
45″

95° 37′
8 12 S 84° E E 12 S EbS 12 E E 12 S E 12 S E 12 S
30″

98° 26′
8 34 S 82° E E 34 S EbS 14 E E 34 S E 34 S E 34 S
15″

101° 15′
9 S 79° E EbS
0″

104° 3′
9 14 S 76° E EbS 14 S ESE 34 E ESE 34 E ESE 34 E EbS 14 S
45″

106° 52′
9 12 S 73° E EbS 12 S ESE 12 E ESE 12 E ESE 12 E EbS 12 S
30″

3 109° 41′ 3 1 1 1 3
94 S 70° E EbS 4 S ESE 4 E ESE 4 E ESE 4 E EbS 4 S
15″
 112° 30′
10 S 68° E ESE
0″

115° 18′
10 14 S 65° E ESE 14 S SEbE 34 E ESE 14 S SEbE 34 E SEbE 34 E
45″

1 118° 7′ 1 1 1 1 1
10 2 S 62° E ESE 2 S SEbE 2 E ESE 2 S SEbE 2 E SEbE 2 E
30″

120° 56′
10 34 S 59° E ESE 34 S SEbE 14 E ESE 34 S SEbE 14 E SEbE 14 E
15″

123° 45′
11 S 56° E SEbE
0″

1 126° 33′ 1 3 3 3 3
11 4 S 53° E SEbE 4 S SE 4 E SE 4 E SE 4 E SE 4 E
45″

129° 22′
11 12 S 51° E SEbE 12 S SE 12 E SE 12 E SE 12 E SE 12 E
30″

3 132° 11′ 3 1 1 1 1
11 4 S 48° E SEbE 4 S SE 4 E SE 4 E SE 4 E SE 4 E
15″

135° 0′
12 S 45° E SE
0″

137° 48′
12 14 S 42° E SE 14 S SEbS 34 E SE 14 S SE 14 S SE 14 S
45″

1 140° 37′ 1 1 1 1 1
12 2 S 39° E SE 2 S SEbS 2 E SE 2 S SE 2 S SE 2 S
30″

143° 26′
12 34 S 37° E SE 34 S SEbS 14 E SE 34 S SE 34 S SE 34 S
15″

146° 15′
13 S 34° E SEbS
0″

1 149° 3′ 1 3 3 3 3
13 4 S 31° E SEbS 4 S SSE 4 E SSE 4 E SSE 4 E SSE 4 E
45″

151° 52′
13 12 S 28° E SEbS 12 S SSE 12 E SSE 12 E SSE 12 E SSE 12 E
30″

154° 41′
13 34 S 25° E SEbS 34 S SSE 14 E SSE 14 E SSE 14 E SSE 14 E
15″

157° 30′
14 S 23° E SSE
0″

160° 18′
14 14 S 20° E SSE 14 S SbE 34 E SSE 14 S SbE 34 E SbE 34 E
45″

163° 7′
14 12 S 17° E SSE 12 S SbE 12 E SSE 12 S SbE 12 E SbE 12 E
30″

3 165° 56′ 3 1 3 1 1
14 4 S 14° E SSE 4 S SbE 4 E SSE 4 S SbE 4 E SbE 4 E
15″

168° 45′
15 S 11° E SbE
0″

171° 33′
15 14 S 8° E SbE 14 S S 34 E S 34 E S 34 E S 34 E
45″
 1 174° 22′ 1 1 1 1 1
15 2 S 6° E SbE 2 S S2E S2E S2E S2E
30″

177° 11′
15 34 S 3° E SbE 34 S S 14 E S 14 E S 14 E S 14 E
15″

180° 0′
16 S S
0″

1 182° 48′ 1 3 1 1 1
16 4 S 3° W S4W SbW 4 S S4W S4W S4W
45″

185° 37′
16 12 S 6° W S 12 W SbW 12 S S 12 W S 12 W S 12 W
30″

188° 26′
16 34 S 8° W S 34 W SbW 14 S S 34 W S 34 W S 34 W
15″

191° 15′
17 S 11° W SbW
0″

194° 3′
17 14 S 14° W SbW 14 W SSW 34 S SSW 34 S SbW 14 W SbW 14 W
45″

196° 52′
17 12 S 17° W SbW 12 W SSW 12 S SSW 12 S SbW 12 W SbW 12 W
30″

3 199° 41′ 3 1 1 3 3
17 4 S 20° W SbW 4 W SSW 4 S SSW 4 S SbW 4 W SbW 4 W
15″

202° 30′
18 S 23° W SSW
0″

205° 18′
18 14 S 25° W SSW 14 W SWbS 34 S SSW 14 W SSW 14 W SSW 14 W
45″

1 208° 7′ 1 1 1 1 1
18 2 S 28° W SSW 2 W SWbS 2 S SSW 2 W SSW 2 W SSW 2 W
30″

210° 56′
18 34 S 31° W SSW 34 W SWbS 14 S SSW 34 W SSW 34 W SSW 34 W
15″

213° 45′
19 S 34° W SWbS
0″

1 216° 33′ 1 3 3 3 3
19 4 S 37° W SWbS 4 W SW 4 S SW 4 S SW 4 S SW 4 S
45″

219° 22′
19 12 S 39° W SWbS 12 W SW 12 S SW 12 S SW 12 S SW 12 S
30″

3 222° 11′ 3 1 1 1 1
19 4 S 42° W SWbS 4 W SW 4 S SW 4 S SW 4 S SW 4 S
15″

225° 0′
20 S 45° W SW
0″

227° 48′
20 14 S 48° W SW 14 W SWbW 34 S SW 14 W SW 14 W SW 14 W
45″

1 230° 37′ 1 1 1 1 1
20 2 S 51° W SW 2 W SWbW 2 S SW 2 W SW 2 W SW 2 W
30″

233° 26′
20 34 S 53° W SW 34 W SWbW 14 S SW 34 W SW 34 W SW 34 W
15″
 236° 15′
21 S 56° W SWbW
0″
1 1 1
239° 3′ SWbW 4 SWbW 4 SWbW 4
21 14 S 59° W WSW 34 S WSW 34 S
45″ W W W

241° 52′ SWbW 12 SWbW 12 SWbW 12

21 12 S 62° W WSW 12 S WSW 12 S
30″ W W W

3 244° 41′ SWbW 34 1 1 SWbW 34 SWbW 34

21 4 S 65° W WSW 4 S WSW 4 S
15″ W W W

247° 30′
22 S 68° W WSW
0″

250° 18′ WSW 14

22 14 S 70° W WSW 14 W WbS 34 S WSW 14 W WbS 34 S
45″ W

1 253° 7′ 1 1 WSW 12 1 1
22 2 S 73° W WSW 2 W WbS 2 S WSW 2 W WbS 2 S
30″ W
3
255° 56′ WSW 4
22 34 S 76° W WSW 34 W WbS 14 S WSW 34 W WbS 14 S
15″ W

258° 45′
23 S 79° W WbS
0″

261° 33′
23 14 S 82° W WbS 14 W W 34 S W 34 S W 34 S W 34 S
45″

1 264° 22′ 1 1 1 1 1
23 2 S 84° W WbS 2 W W2S W2S W2S W2S
30″

267° 11′
23 34 S 87° W WbS 34 W W 14 S W 14 S W 14 S W 14 S
15″

270° 0′
24 W W
0″

1 272° 48′ N 87° 1 3 1 1 1

24 4 W4N WbN 4 W W4N W4N W4N
45″ W

275° 37′ N 84°

24 12 W 12 N WbN 12 W W 12 N W 12 N W 12 N
30″ W

278° 26′ N 82°

24 34 W 34 N WbN 14 W W 34 N W 34 N W 34 N
15″ W

281° 15′ N 79°

25 WbN
0″ W

1 284° 3′ N 76° 1 3 WNW 34 3 1

25 4 WbN 4 N WNW 4 W WNW 4 W WbN 4 N
45″ W W

286° 52′ N 73° WNW 12

25 12 WbN 12 N WNW 12 W WNW 12 W WbN 12 N
30″ W W
1
289° 41′ N 70° WNW 4
25 34 WbN 34 N WNW 14 W WNW 14 W WbN 34 N
15″ W W
26 292° 30′ N 68° WNW
0″ W

295° 18′ N 65° NWbW 34 WNW 14 NWbW 34 NWbW 34

26 14 WNW 14 N
45″ W W N W W
1 1 1 1
298° 7′ N 62° NWbW 2 WNW 2 NWbW 2 NWbW 2
26 12 WNW 12 N
30″ W W N W W

3 300° 56′ N 59° 3 NWbW 14 WNW 34 NWbW 14 NWbW 14

26 4 WNW 4 N
15″ W W N W W

303° 45′ N 56°

27 NWbW
0″ W
1
306° 33′ N 53° NWbW 4
27 14 NW 34 W NW 34 W NW 34 W NW 34 W
45″ W N

1 309° 22′ N 51° NWbW 12 1 1 1 1

27 2 NW 2 W NW 2 W NW 2 W NW 2 W
30″ W N

312° 11′ N 48° NWbW 34

27 34 NW 14 W NW 14 W NW 14 W NW 14 W
15″ W N

315° 0′ N 45°
28 NW
0″ W

1 317° 48′ N 42° 1 NWbN 34 1 1 1

28 4 NW 4 N NW 4 N NW 4 N NW 4 N
45″ W W

320° 37′ N 39° NWbN 12

28 12 NW 12 N NW 12 N NW 12 N NW 12 N
30″ W W
1
323° 26′ N 37° NWbN 4
28 34 NW 34 N NW 34 N NW 34 N NW 34 N
15″ W W

326° 15′ N 34°

29 NWbN
0″ W

329° 3′ N 31° NNW 34

29 14 NWbN 14 N NNW 34 W NNW 34 W NNW 34 W
45″ W W
1
331° 52′ N 28° NNW 2
29 12 NWbN 12 N NNW 12 W NNW 12 W NNW 12 W
30″ W W

3 334° 41′ N 25° 3 1 NNW 14 1 1

29 4 NWbN 4 N NNW 4 W NNW 4 W NNW 4 W
15″ W W

337° 30′ N 23°

30 NNW
0″ W

340° 18′ N 20°

30 14 NNW 14 N NbW 34 W NNW 14 N NbW 34 W NbW 34 W
45″ W

343° 7′ N 17°
30 12 NNW 12 N NbW 12 W NNW 12 N NbW 12 W NbW 12 W
30″ W

3 345° 56′ N 14° 3 1 3 1 1

30 4 NNW 4 N NbW 4 W NNW 4 N NbW 4 W NbW 4 W
15″ W
 348° 45′
31 N 11° W NbW
0″

351° 33′ N 8°
31 14 NbW 14 N N 34 W N 34 W N 34 W N 34 W
45″ W

1 354° 22′ N 6° 1 1 1 1 1
31 2 NbW 2 N N2W N2W N2W N2W
30″ W

357° 11′ N 3°
31 34 NbW 34 N N 14 W N 14 W N 14 W N 14 W
15″ W

360° 0′
32 N N
0″

See also
Bearing (navigation)
Cardinal direction
Classical compass winds
Compass rose
Course (navigation)
Heading (navigation)
Navigation
TVMDC
Wind rose
North by Northwest
North by Northeast

References
1. David Boardman. Graphicacy and Geography Teaching, 1983. Page 41 "In particular they should learn that wind
direction is always stated as the direction from which, and not to which, the wind is blowing. Once children have
grasped these eight points they can learn the full sixteen points of the compass."
2. Evans, Frederick John (1859). "Notes on the Magnetism of Ships" (https://books.google.com/books?id=QPNAAAAAI
AAJ&pg=RA2-PA50). Pamphlets on British shipping. 1785–1861. By unknown editor. p. 8 (p. 433 of PDF). ISBN 0-
217-85167-3. "A deviation table having been formed by any of the processes now.so generally understood, either on
the thirty-two points of the compass, the sixteen intermediate, or the eight principal points"
3. E. Chambers Cyclopaedia: or, an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Science, 5th Ed, 1743, pp. 206–7, "Points of the
Compass, or Horizon, &c., in Geography and Navigation, are the points of division when the whole circle, quite
around, is divided into 32 equal parts. These points are therefore at the distance of the 32d part of the circult, or 11° 
15′, from each other; hence 5° 37 12 ′ is the distance of the half points and 2° 48 34 ′ is the distance of the quarter points.
4. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/north
5. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/northeast
6. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/east
7. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/southeast
8. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/south
9. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/southwest
10. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/west
11. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/northwest
12. Webb Aintablian, Xanthe (28 June 2018). "An Overview and History of the Compass" (https://www.thoughtco.com/the
-compass-instrument-1435002). thoughtco.com. Dotdash. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20180706191612/ht
tps://www.thoughtco.com/the-compass-instrument-1435002) from the original on 6 July 2018.
13. Lee, Robert E. (2011). "Compass Rose" (https://web.archive.org/web/20150221121147/http://staff.washington.edu/rel
2/geog100-UW/Scenarios/Rutters/Compass_Rose.html). University of Washington. Archived from the original (http://
staff.washington.edu/rel2/geog100-UW/Scenarios/Rutters/Compass_Rose.html) on 21 February 2015.
14. George Payn Quackenbos A Natural Philosophy: Embracing the Most Recent Discoveries 1860 "Mentioning the
mariner's compass: the points of the compass in their order is called boxing the compass. — The compass box is
suspended within a larger box by means of two brass hoops, or gimbals as they are called, supported at opposite ..."
15. "quarto" (http://www.wordreference.com/iten/quarto). WordReference.com. Retrieved 2 December 2018. "English
translation: fourth, quarter"
16. "di" (http://www.wordreference.com/iten/di). WordReference.com. Retrieved 2 December 2018. "English translation:
of, from..."
17. "verso" (http://www.wordreference.com/iten/verso). WordReference.com. Retrieved 2 December 2018. "English
translation: towards, toward, close to, near to"
18. Bowditch, Nathaniel (1916). American Practical Navigator: An Epitome of Navigation and Nautical Astronomy (https://
archive.org/details/americanpracnavi00bowdrich). United States Hydrographic Office. p. 15.
19. Kemp, Peter, ed. (1988). "Box the Compass". The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea. Oxford University Press.
p. 103. ISBN 0-19-282084-2.
External links
Wind Rose (archived) (https://web.archive.org/web/20090627090213/https://web.uflib.ufl.edu/cm/africana/windrose.ht
m) – discusses the origins of the names for compass directions.

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