Compass and map basics

Parts of a compass

Most Scouts use a baseplate (orienteering) compass. Learn its parts first — the steps below use these names.

• Baseplate

  The clear, flat plastic base. Its straight edges and ruler help you measure and line up directions on a map.

• Direction-of-travel arrow

  The arrow on the baseplate that points the way you're going.

• Housing (dial)

  The round part that turns. Its edge is marked in degrees from 0 to 360, with N, E, S, and W.

• Magnetic needle

  Floats inside the housing. Its red end always points to magnetic north.

• Orienting arrow and lines

  The arrow and lines printed inside the housing, which turn with it. You line the needle up with this arrow.

Taking and following a bearing

A bearing is a direction measured in degrees: 0 (or 360) is north, 90 is east, 180 is south, and 270 is west.

1. 1

   Point at your landmark

   Hold the compass flat in front of you and point the direction-of-travel arrow at the place you want to go.

2. 2

   Put the red in the shed

   Turn the housing until the orienting arrow sits right under the needle, with the red end of the needle inside the arrow.

3. 3

   Read your bearing

   Read the number where the direction-of-travel arrow meets the dial. That's your bearing — write it down.

4. 4

   Follow it

   To walk a bearing, keep the dial set, hold the compass flat, and turn your whole body until the red needle is back in the orienting arrow. Pick a landmark straight ahead along the travel arrow, walk to it, and repeat.

Reading a map

• Scale

  Tells you how far distances on the map are on the ground, like 1 inch for every mile. Use the scale bar and your compass ruler to measure a route.

• Legend and symbols

  The legend explains the map's symbols. On U.S. topographic maps, blue is water, green is forest, brown is the shape of the land, and black is things people built, like roads, buildings, and trails.

• Contour lines

  Brown lines that connect points at the same height. Lines close together mean steep ground; far apart means gentle. The contour interval says how much height there is between lines.

• North on the map

  North is almost always at the top. A topographic map's margin shows which way true north and magnetic north point there.

Orienting a map

An oriented map is turned so it lines up with the land around you: what's to your left on the map is to your left on the ground.

1. 1

   Set the dial to north

   Turn the housing so N (0 or 360) lines up with the direction-of-travel arrow.

2. 2

   Line up with the map

   Lay the map flat and set the compass's long edge along a north–south line on the map, with the travel arrow pointing to the top of the map.

3. 3

   Turn map and compass together

   Keeping the compass in place on the map, turn both until the red end of the needle sits in the orienting arrow. Now the map matches the land.

Finding direction without a compass

• The sun

  The sun rises in the east and sets in the west (roughly — it shifts with the seasons). Around midday in the United States, it's generally to the south.

• Shadow stick

  Push a straight stick into level ground and mark the tip of its shadow. Wait 15 minutes or more and mark the tip again. A line from the first mark to the second runs roughly west to east.

• The North Star

  At night, find the Big Dipper. The two stars at the outer edge of its cup point to the North Star (Polaris), which sits almost exactly over true north.