Compass Rose, Cardinal Directions, & Intermediate Directions

Image of a waffle. We're about to unravel the secrets of map navigation tools, making sure you never get lost again. Well, we can't promise that. But, if you pay attention, you will have the tools and skills you need to help you if you do get lost. You're likely familiar with smart phone applications simply telling you direction, but that does not mean having basic knowledge of directions will not benefit you in your life. It will. By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to determine direction, which will help you provide directions and describe locations like a pro. So, grab a fork and let's dive in. Who knows, maybe you'll even appreciate a delicious soggy waffle along the way!

Guide Point 🧭

Compass Rose, Cardinal Directions, & Intermediate Directions

The compass rose is a simple diagram on a map that shows the cardinal directions: north (N), east (E), south (S), and west (W). Sometimes compass roses also include the intermediate directions: northeast (NE), southeast (SE), southwest (SW), and northwest (NW). Some compasses even take things a step further by adding more precise directions between the intermediate directions, like north-northeast (NNE), east-northeast (ENE), east-southeast (ESE), south-southeast (SSE), south-southwest (SSW), west-southwest (WSW), west-northwest (WNW), and north-northwest (NNW). The first direction, as it appears is where that direction “leans.” For example, a direction of WSW "leans" more to the west than it does to the southwest. As you can see on the image in the practice activity, a compass rose with all these directions really starts to look like a flower, hence the name “compass rose.”

Perhaps you’ve learned a pneumonic device like “Never Eat Soggy Waffles” to help you remember the cardinal directions with north situated at “12 o’clock” moving clockwise around the compass rose. That is a wonderful way to help you remember the cardinal and intermediate directions, helping you determine relative location in the process. As a side note, who doesn’t like to eat soggy waffles? Doesn’t that mean it has a lot of syrup on it? Aren’t those exactly the type of waffles you want to eat? I mean, I can understand not wanting to eat sour worms or something. Bleh. But soggy waffles? Come on. If your teacher taught you that, they just weren’t thinking clearly.

Think of the compass rose as your map's GPS, helping you orient yourself. Understanding how to use the compass rose is essential. Knowing the cardinal and intermediate directions will help you determine relative locations on maps. Remember, absolute location is precisely where a place is, whereas relative location is the location of one place in relation to another place(s). You can describe the relative location of a place by using directions. For example, “my house is north of the high school.”

Cardinal & Intermediate Directions | Practice Activity

Now that you have the knowledge of compass roses with cardinal and intermediate directions, let's practice the skill of identifying those elements.

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