Work out bearing and distance from coordinates instantly with clear inputs, formula shown and shareable results.
The join between two coordinated points is a right angled triangle: the distance is the hypotenuse of the easting and northing differences, and the whole circle bearing is the arctangent of departure over latitude, measured clockwise from north. Using atan2 rather than a plain arctangent resolves the quadrant automatically.
Distance
D = sqrt(ΔE² + ΔN²)
Bearing
Bearing = atan2(ΔE, ΔN), converted to 0 to 360 degrees clockwise from north
D = sqrt(ΔE² + ΔN²). The join between two coordinated points is a right angled triangle: the distance is the hypotenuse of the easting and northing differences, and the whole circle bearing is the arctangent of departure over latitude, measured clockwise from north.
It is a grid bearing. Converting to magnetic requires the grid convergence and magnetic declination for the location and date.
This calculator takes 4 inputs: Easting of the first point, Northing of the first point, Easting of the second point, Northing of the second point. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic worked example — replace them with your own site or project figures.