Latitude & Departure

Compute traverse latitude and departure components from bearings and distances, reverse-compute bearings and distances, and check cumulative traverse components.

Latitude & Departure for One Line

Enter a whole-circle bearing or a quadrantal/reduced bearing and its horizontal distance.

Observation

Bearing

Horizontal distance

Bearing angle unit

Result decimals

Direction display

Survey convention: Latitude = D cos θ and Departure = D sin θ, where θ is a whole-circle bearing measured clockwise from North. North and East are positive; South and West are negative.

Enter a bearing and distance.

Traverse Latitude & Departure

Enter multiple observed lines to calculate individual components, cumulative totals and the resulting coordinate position.

Starting Coordinate (optional)

Starting Easting

Starting Northing

Leave both blank if you only need component totals. If supplied, the calculator also gives the computed end coordinate.

Observed Lines

Line	To / Point	Bearing	Distance	Remove

Use WCB such as 135° 20' 10" or reduced bearing such as S 44° 39' 50" E. The final total latitude/departure can be used as a linear misclosure check for a closed traverse.

Bearing angle unitResult decimals

Closure Check

For an ideal closed traverse, ΣLatitude = 0 and ΣDeparture = 0. Small residuals indicate linear misclosure from observational/rounding error.

Enter at least two complete traverse lines.

Latitude and Departure Calculation

Calculate latitude and departure components from survey bearings and distances.

When to use this survey calculator

Latitude and departure are fundamental to traverse computation. Confirm the bearing convention and quadrant before using the components for coordinate increments or closure checks.

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Latitude & Departure