EWOC

Eastern Washington Orienteering Club

Using A Compass With A Map

The Orienteering Map

This page, and the ones that follow, will describe the peculiarities of an orienteering map and show you how to efficiently use a compass with one. Print out this PDF copy of the map we're using as an example if you want the full hands-on experience.
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Orienteering maps are convenient for using with compasses because they are drawn in alignment with magnetic north. North is always toward the top of the page. Like the map at left, many orienteering maps have prominent magnetic north arrows for reference when you have the map partially folded.
In our lesson, we're going to imagine that we are at control point 4 and want to follow a compass heading to control 5.

Bonus Details