DIRECTIONS

a. Direction. There are two ways to express direction:

1) Degrees. There are 360 degrees in a circle. These are subdivided into minutes and seconds.

2) Mils. There are 6,400 mils in a circle.

b. North. Any direction must have a reference line or base direction. In map reading there are three universally accepted base directions.

1) Magnetic North. The direction to the north magnetic pole as indicated by the north-seeking arrow of a magnetic instrument, such as a compass.

2) Grid North. The north that is established by the vertical grid lines on a map.

3) True North. A line from any position on the earth’s surface to the north pole. All lines of longitude are true north lines.

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