Convert degrees, minutes and seconds into decimal degrees.
Minutes and seconds are sixtieths and thirty-six-hundredths of a degree, so the conversion is two divisions and an addition. Direction supplies the sign that decimal notation encodes numerically. One arc second of latitude is about 31 metres, which sets the practical precision needed when transcribing coordinates by hand.
Decimal Degrees
Decimal degrees = degrees + minutes ÷ 60 + seconds ÷ 3,600, signed by direction
Decimal degrees = degrees + minutes ÷ 60 + seconds ÷ 3,600, signed by direction Minutes and seconds are sixtieths and thirty-six-hundredths of a degree, so the conversion is two divisions and an addition. Direction supplies the sign that decimal notation encodes numerically.
One arc second of latitude is about 31 metres, which sets the practical precision needed when transcribing coordinates by hand.
This calculator takes 4 inputs: Degrees, Minutes, Seconds, Direction. The pre-filled defaults are a realistic starting point — replace them with figures from your own environment for a result you can act on.