Definition:Cardinal Directions (Terrestrial)
Definition
The $4$ cardinal directions are the directions on (or near) Earth's surface defined as follows:
East
East is the direction on (or near) Earth's surface along the small circle in the direction of Earth's rotation in space about its axis.
West
West is the direction on (or near) Earth's surface along the small circle in the opposite direction from Earth's rotation in space about its axis.
North
North is the direction on (or near) Earth's surface along the meridian directly towards the North Pole.
South
South is the direction on (or near) Earth's surface along the meridian directly towards the South Pole.
Also known as
The cardinal directions are also known as the cardinal points.
Beware of this term, as it can be confused with the cardinal points of the celestial sphere.
This misnomer arises from the concept of the point of the needle of a compass.
Also see
Sources
- 1998: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (2nd ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): cardinal points: 1.
- 2008: David Nelson: The Penguin Dictionary of Mathematics (4th ed.) ... (previous) ... (next): cardinal points: 1.