How do you take a bearing?
Find the two points on the map that
you want to travel from and to. Line
up your compass edge between the
two points, so that your direction-oftravel
arrow is pointing to your
destination.
Step 2
Rotate the compass housing until the
orienting lines in the centre are
pointing to the top of your map.
You can do this by lining them up
parallel to the grid lines.
Step 3
Now rotate the dial until the north
pointer lines up with the mark on the
dial that joins the direction of travel
arrow (this is called the index line).
Step 4
Now read the bearing at the bottom of the direction-of-travel arrow, at the
index line. In our example, the bearing is 320°.
You will need to take into account the difference between grid north (on your
map) and magnetic north (on your compass). This is called magnetic variation
and your map will tell you how many degrees to add to your bearing. This can
vary depending on where you are in the country.
Step 5
must now re-orientate your compass.
This means turning the whole
compass around until the magnetic
north needle points in the same
direction as the orienting arrow
The way the direction-of-travel arrow
is now pointing is the direction you
must walk in to get to your
destination.
What is an area reference?
An area reference is a four-figure reference that tells us the grid square in which to find a feature.
How do you walk on a bearing?
1. Turn the housing of the compass until the
bearing you require is against the index
pointer.
2. Turn the compass until the needle lies over
the orienting arrow.
3. Pick out a landmark along your direction of
travel line and walk towards it.
4. Check your bearing and your objective at
regular intervals.
What is a compass?
What are the sections of a compass?
What is a scale on a map?
What is a contour line?
Contour lines are lines drawn on a map connecting points of equal elevation. If you walk along a contour line you neither gain or lose elevation.
How do you read a contour line?
The contour line represented by the shoreline separates areas that have elevations above sea level from those that have elevations below sea level. We refer to contour lines in terms of their elevation above or below sea level. In this example the shoreline would be the zero contour line ( it could be 0 ft., 0 m, or something else depending on the units we were using for elevation).
What is a grid reference?
