Compass Rose Instructions
- 1). Determine how many points make up the compass rose. It may have four, eight, 12, 16 or 32 points. Because the basic shape is a circle, the rose is divided into 360 degrees, though not always visibly.
- 2). Find the cardinal directions -- north, south, east and west. These are typically the most distinguishable and largest letters on the compass. The four cardinal directions are usually identified by the letters N, S, E and W.
- 3). Identify the markings for secondary directions. Northeast (NE), southeast (SE), southwest (SW) and northwest (NW) will be displayed between their accompanying cardinal directions.
- 4). Look for further intermediary directions that indicate to which cardinal direction each is closer to. These are 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).
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