Definition:Cardinal Directions (Terrestrial)

From ProofWiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search

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.


Cardinal-Directions.png


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