Work out bearing and distance instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.
Surveyors measure bearings clockwise from north, so the bearing is atan2(ΔE, ΔN) reduced to 0°–360°. The distance is the plain Pythagorean hypotenuse of the easting and northing differences.
Distance
d = √(ΔE² + ΔN²)
Bearing
θ = atan2(ΔE, ΔN), normalised to 0°–360°
ΔE = 300 and ΔN = 400, so the distance is 500 and the bearing atan2(300,400) ≈ 36.8699°.
Bearings are measured from north clockwise, which swaps the usual mathematical convention of measuring from the x-axis counter-clockwise.