How to read the bearing

Reading a bearing involves looking at a compass or map and determining the direction or angle between one point and another. Here are the steps to read a bearing:

1. Hold the compass flat in your hand, making sure it is level and stable.

2. Rotate the compass so that the direction of travel arrow points toward the destination or target point.

3. Look at the rotating bezel on the compass and note the degree markings around the edge. The bearing is typically read in degrees from 0 to 360, with 0 degrees representing north, 90 degrees representing east, 180 degrees representing south, and 270 degrees representing west.

4. Align the direction of travel arrow with the straight edge of the compass baseplate.

5. The degree marking on the bezel where the direction of travel arrow points is the bearing. This indicates the angle between your current location and the target point.

When using a map, the bearing can be determined by drawing a straight line between your current location and the target point and then measuring the angle of the line in relation to the north-south grid lines on the map. This angle represents the bearing that must be followed to reach the target point.