How much distance is covered in the decimal degree?

usaeagle · Post by **usaeagle** » 12 January 10 2:05 am

I know one degree = 111.12 km or thereabouts.

My GPS only reads in decimal degrees. Can someone tell me how far it is from 32.11111 to 32.11112 for instance? Approximately or exactly, but I have not been able to find this answer through google or wherever.

Thanks heaps.

Jonathan

Damo. · Post by **Damo.** » 12 January 10 2:10 am

usaeagle wrote:Can someone tell me how far it is from 32.11111 to 32.11112 for instance? Approximately or exactly,

Sticking the two points into Google Earth, it reckons they are 111cm apart.

Post by **CraigRat** » 12 January 10 7:20 am

The answer is: It depends. We have two dimensions here: Latttitude and Longitude.

Lines of longutude get physicaly closer to each other as you get closer to the poles as they converge

So the answer is: It varies and it depends where you are.

I just did a test: I set two markers one degree (longitudinally) apart at the tip of south america and it was approx 65.45 km's between them, ,ove it to the equator and it is about 112km between one degree.

squalid · Post by **squalid** » 12 January 10 9:13 am

If you treat the earth as a sphere, lat. is always the same distance - i.e 111km. The distance of 1 degree of longitude is 111 times the cosine of the longitude - i.e. 111 at the equator, 0 at the poles where the lines meet.

The nautical mile is defined this way - 1 degree is 60 nm at the equator.

Fuddley · Post by **Fuddley** » 12 January 10 5:16 pm

Go Here and download this free little bit of software, you can then enter two sets of coords and it will calculate the distance between them. it will also to Coord conversion and a few other useful thing as well $\:D/$

Kerry · Post by **Kerry** » 12 January 10 8:58 pm

usaeagle wrote:I know one degree = 111.12 km or thereabouts.

My GPS only reads in decimal degrees. Can someone tell me how far it is from 32.11111 to 32.11112 for instance? Approximately or exactly, but I have not been able to find this answer through google or wherever.

Thanks heaps.

Jonathan

You are in WA so then 32.11111 & 32.11112 would obviously be latitude and if so then why don't you say so in the appropriate manner? -32.11111° or 32.11111°S etc as this would illiminate much of the guess work.

Ok if latitude then longitude has absolutely nothing to do with the distance between these 2 points regardless of the longitude. To 3 decimals which is way beyond your GPS capacity anyway the distance is going to be 1.109m +/- 1mm

Also lets no get confused between a nautical mile (nm) and a sea mile. A nm is EXACTLY 1852 metres where as a sea mile is what many refer to as being 1 minute arc of longitude as the repsective latitude

Post by **caughtatwork** » 12 January 10 10:02 pm

I love it when you come in a talk dirty, Kerry

I learn so much from your wealth of knowledge

gmj3191 · Post by **gmj3191** » 14 January 10 9:54 am

Can't you change the units setting in your GPS to show other formats, such as DDDMM.MMM od DDMMSS ? What type of GPS do you have?

Geocaching Australia

How much distance is covered in the decimal degree?

How much distance is covered in the decimal degree?

Re: How much distance is covered in the decimal degree?

Re: How much distance is covered in the decimal degree?

Re: How much distance is covered in the decimal degree?

Re: How much distance is covered in the decimal degree?

Re: How much distance is covered in the decimal degree?

Re: How much distance is covered in the decimal degree?

Re: How much distance is covered in the decimal degree?