Meridian – imaginary north-south line on the earth’s surface that

connects both geographic poles; it is used to indicate longitude.

Types of Meridian:
1. True meridian – sometimes known as the astronomic or
geographic meridian. This line passes through the geographic
north and south poles of the earth and the observer’s
position.This is used for marking the boundaries of land.
2. Magnetic meridian – is a fixed line of reference which lies
parallel with the magnetic lines of force of the earth. Its direction is
not fixed since the location of the magnetic poles changes
constantly. This employed only on rough surveys where a
magnetic compass is used in determining directions.

3. Grid meridian – is fixed line of reference parallel to the central

meridian of a system of plane rectangular coordinates. This is
applicable only to plane surveys of limited extent. It is assumed
that all measurements are all projected to a horizontal plane and
that all meridians are parallel straight lines.
4. Assumed meridian – arbitrarily chosen fixed line of reference
which is taken for convenience. It is used only on plane surveys of
limited extent since they are difficult or may be impossible to re-
establish if the original reference points are lost or obliterated.

BEARINGS
The direction of any line may be described by giving its bearing.
The bearing of a line is the acute horizontal angle between the
reference meridian and the line.

Bearing of Lines:
Line OA = N 30o E
Line OC = S 70o E
Line OD = S 80o W
Line OB = N 60o W
Forward and Backward Bearings
When the bearing of a line is observed in the direction in which
the survey progresses, it is referred to as a forward bearing. If
the bearing of the same line is observed in an opposite direction it
is called the back bearing.

In Line AB
Forward bearing = N 66o40’ E
Back bearing = S 66o40’ W

AZIMUTHS
The azimuth of a line is its direction as given by the angle
between the meridian and the line measured in a clockwise
direction from either the north or south branch of the meridian.
These are usually preferred over bearings by most surveyors
because they are more convenient to work with such as in
computing traverse data by electronic digital computers.

The direction of zero azimuth is either always north or always

south.
Forward and Back Azimuth:

Rule 1: If forward azimuth of the line is greater than 180o, subtract

180o to obtain the back azimuth.
Rule 2: If the forward azimuth of the line is less than 180o, add
180o to determine the back azimuth.
 OBS AZIM FROM SOUTH CAL AZIM FROM NORTH
Line
FORWARD BACK FORWARD BACK
AB 230o00’ 50o00’ 50o00’ 230o00’
BC 314o00’ 134o00’ 134o00’ 314o00’
CD 255 00’
o
75o00’ 75 00’
o
314o00’
DE 165o00’ 345o00’ 345o00’ 165o00’

Determine Angles from Bearings

Sample Problems:
1. Compute the angle AOB with magnetic bearing of OA, N 39o25’ E, and
OB, N 75o50’ E.
Given: OA (O1) = N 39o25’ E
OB (O2) = N 75o50’ E
Solution:
Angle AOB α = O2 - O1 = 75o50’ - 39o25’ = 36o25’

2. Compute the angle GOH with magnetic bearing of OG, N 70o15’ W, and
OH, S 52o05’ W.

Given: OG (O1) = N 70o15’ W

OH (O2) = S 52o05’ W

Solution:
Angle GOH α = 180o – O1 – O2= 180o - 70o15’ - 52o05’ = 57o40’
Determine Angles from Azimuths

Sample Problems:
1. Compute the angle APB:

Given:

Azim North of Line PA (Λ1) = 39o48’

Azim North of Line PB (Λ2) = 115o29’

Solution:
Angle APB (O) = Λ2 - Λ1 = 115o29’ - 39o48’ = 75o41’

2. Compute the angle EPF:

Given:

Azim North of Line PE(Λ1) = 219o02’

Azim South of Line PF (Λ2) = 154o16’
Solution:
Angle EPF (O) = Λ2 – (Λ1 - 180o) = 154o16’ – (219o02’ - 180o) = 115o14’

Converting Bearings to Azimuths

Sample Problems:
1. Convert the following bearings to equivalent azimuth.
a. AB, N 25o25’ W
b. BC, Due East

Solution:
a. Azimuth from South AB(Λ1) = 180o + 25o25’ = 205o25’
Azimuth from North AB(Λ2) = 25o25’
b. Azimuth from South AB(Λ1) = 180o + 90o = 270o
Azimuth from North AB(Λ2) = 90o

Converting Azimuths to Bearings

Sample Problems:
1. Convert the following azimuths to equivalent bearings.
a. Azimuth South of line AB = 230o30’
b. Azimuth North of line BC = 112o46’

Solution:
a.
α = 230o30’ - 180o = 50o30’ = N 50o30’ E (Bearing of AB)

b. Bearing of BC = 180o - 112o46’ = 67o14’ = S 67o14’ E