Without a Compass

Here's several methods to find north, if you laid your compass down and stepped on it! Notice these methods find south first, to determine north.

Method One

To be accurate with this method, you have to understand its limitations and assumptions.

Limitations:

Use anytime north of the Tropic of Cancer

Use between the equinoxes during winter north of the Equator

Use only on the winter solstice north of the Tropic of Capricorn

You have an analog watch

Your watch has 12 hours to a full rotation by the hour hand

You know when HIGH NOON is, NOT 12 Noon by the watch!

You know how Daylight Savings Time affects High Noon

High Noon is the time half-way between sunrise and sunset. Within the eastern time zone, High Noon is 12:30 PM. This is when the sun reaches its highest elevation in the sky. During Daylight Savings Time, High Noon will be at 1:30 PM.

The illustration represents the Eastern time zone, Daylight savings time.
The hour hand is pointing at 9AM.

To find North example.

1. Keeping the watch level, point the hour hand (9AM) toward the sun. To insure you have the hour hand pointing directly at the sun, hold a small, straight stick 90 degrees to the watch face, in the center, so a shadow falls across 3PM.

2. Find the direction half-way between the hour hand and High Noon (1:30 PM).

3. That direction is South.

Duh, I just remembered, my watch is digital! You know the hour, right? Just draw a clock face on the ground, with the hour pointing towards the sun, or use method two.

Method Two

Ok, you got your watch, you know the time. The sun travels across the sky east to west, in a curved path, one degree every four minutes. Where it reaches it's highest point, that's South (in the Northern Hemisphere).
So, your watch says 2:24PM. That means the sun has traveled past noon 144 minutes. Four divided into 144 equals 36, the amount of degrees the sun has traveled past its high point.
Great, I got the math, but how do I measure the degrees?
Use the Hand method. Extend your arm full forward. Spread your fingers, thumb extended. The spread, from the end of your thumb, to the outside edge of your little finger, is about 22 degrees (figure 1). Making your hand into a fist, it's 8 degrees, with degrees between the knuckles, as figure 2. Use these degree guides to measure back the number of degrees to sun noon. Do this in a arc, (figure 3) just as the sun travels. You can of couse, check these degrees of your hand, with a compass, before you go out in the field.
All these measurements are approximate, they should put you within 4-6 degress of true north.

Method Three

Now it's night, no sun! One night method to use doesn't require knowledge of were to find the Big Dipper, or the north star, Polaris. Just use two sticks to sight on any star, as per the figure below.

Sight on the star. About an hour later, sight again. If the star appears to gone up, your facing east, if down, west, if left, your're facing north, if right, south.

If your moving at night, pick a star on the horizon. Keep it equi-distant from you, at the same level on the horizon. This will help to travel in a straight line.

When you're finished with this section, simply close (eXit), the main page will pop up.

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