What is declination?
At most places on the Earth’s surface, the compass doesn’t point exactly toward geographic north. The deviation of the compass from true north is an angle called ‘declination’. It is a quantity that has been a nuisance to navigators for centuries, especially since it varies with both geographic location and time. It might surprise you to know that at very high latitudes the compass can even point south! Declination is simply a manifestation of the complexity of the geomagnetic field. The field is not perfectly symmetrical, it has non-dipolar ‘ingredients’, and the dipole itself is not perfectly aligned with the rotational axis of the Earth. Interestingly, if you were to stand at the north geomagnetic pole, your compass, held horizontally as usual, would not have a preference to point in any particular direction, and the same would be true if you were standing at the south geomagnetic pole. Moreover, if you were to hold your compass on its side the north-pointing end of the compass woul
At most places on the Earth’s surface, the compass doesn’t point exactly toward geographic north. The deviation of the compass from true north is an angle called ‘declination’. It is a quantity that has been a nuisance to navigators for centuries, especially since it varies with both geographic location and time. It might surprise you to know that at very high latitudes the compass can even point south! Declination is simply a manifestation of the complexity of the geomagnetic field. The field is not perfectly symmetrical, it has non-dipolar ‘ingredients’, and the dipole itself is not perfectly aligned with the rotational axis of the Earth. Interestingly, if you were to stand at the north geomagnetic pole, your compass, held horizontally as usual, would not have a preference to point in any particular direction, and the same would be true if you were standing at the south geomagnetic pole. Moreover, if you were to hold your compass on its side the north-pointing end of the compass woul
Declination is the difference between true north and magnetic north. The magnetic needle of a compass always points to magnetic north. Since magnetic north is affected by the magnetism of the Earth, the needle will point to the varying magnetic north depending on where you are in the world. This difference becomes significant when taking measurements off a map or trying to relay directions to someone in the field. Since the declination of the United States can vary as much as 30 degrees in either direction it is easy to see why knowing the declination of an area is very important.
