Bearing & Distance Calculator

Azimuth is the angle measured clockwise from due north, from 0° to 360°. Quadrant Bearing is the same direction expressed relative to the nearest north or south line, such as N 34° 59' 31" E, which is the format most deeds, plats, and legal descriptions use. The calculator computes azimuth first with an arctangent, then converts it into whichever of the four NE/SE/SW/NW quadrants the angle falls in.

Horizontal Distance is computed purely from the northing and easting difference — it represents the flat-plane distance you'd measure on a map. Elevation Difference only feeds a second calculation, Slope Distance, which lays a vertical leg over that same horizontal distance and solves a new hypotenuse. Leave it at zero and Slope Distance simply equals Horizontal Distance.

This is the "inverse" direction of survey math — going from known point locations to the bearing and distance between them, the reverse of a "traverse" calculation that starts from a bearing/distance and solves for the next point's coordinates. Field crews typically collect coordinates first, so the inverse calculation is what turns raw GPS or total-station data into a written bearing.

A rod is a historical survey unit equal to 16.5 feet, still referenced in some older deeds and rural land descriptions in the U.S. The calculator divides the horizontal distance in feet by 16.5 to produce it, alongside chains (66 feet) and meters, so you can match whichever unit an older recorded document used.