MEASUREMENT OF ANGLES AND DIRECTIONS

MERIDIANS
The direction of a line is usually defined by the horizontal angle it makes with a fixed reference line or direction. In
surveying, this is done with reference to a meridian which lies in a vertical plane passing through a fixed point of reference and
through the observer’s position.

Types of MERIDIANS:
1. TRUE MERIDIAN. The true meridian is sometimes known as the astronomic or geographic meridian. It is the generally
adapted reference line in surveying practice. This line passes through geographic north and south poles of the earth and the
observer’s position. Since all true meridians converge at the poles, they are not parallel to each other. The direction of true
meridian at a survey station is invariable and any record of true directions taken remains permanent and unchanged
regardless of time. This meridian is used for making boundaries of land.

2. MAGNETIC MERIDIAN. A magnetic meridian is a fixed line of reference which lies parallel with the magnetic lines of force of
the earth. Its direction is defined by a freely suspended magnetic needle of a compass held at the observer’s position.
Magnetic meridians are not parallel to the true meridians since they converge at a magnetic pole which is located some
distance away from the true geographic poles. Since the location of the magnetic poles changes constantly, the direction of
the magnetic meridian is not fixed. As a line of reference, it is employed only on rough surveys where magnetic compass
isused in determining directions.

3. GRID MERIDIAN. Grid meridian is a fixed line of reference parallel to the central meridian of a system of plane rectangular
coordinates. One central meridian, which coincides with a true meridian, is usually selected and all other meridians are
made parallel to this meridian. The use of grid meridians is applicable only to plane surveys of limited extent. In such type of
surveyit is assumed that all measurements are all projected to a horizontal plane and that all meridians are parallel straight
lines.

4. ASSUMED MERIDIAN. An assumed meridian is an arbitrary chosen fixed line of reference which is taken for convenience.
This meridian is usually the direction from a survey station to an adjoining station or some well defined and permanent
point. 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.

DESIGNATION OF NORTH POINTS

1. True North – is the north point of the true meridian. In maps and sketches, it is portrayed in the direction of the actual
location of the earth’s north geographic pole and is always shown along a vertical line.

2. Magnetic North – a north point that is established by means of a magnetized compass needle when there are no local
attractions affecting it. At any point on the earth’s surface its direction is indicated by the direction of the magnetic lines of
force passing through the point at a particular time. Magnetic north may be located either east or west of true north.

3. Grid North – a north point which is established by lines on a map which are parallel to a selected central meridian. It may
coincide with the lines directed toward true north.

4. Assumed North – is used to portray the location of any arbitrarily chosen north point.

Symbols used for north points.

TN MN GN AN

*
W E W E W E W E

True North Magnetic North Grid North Assumed North

Prepared by:Engr. Jhed Chan UyJambongana Page 1

Faculty, CIT-U – CE Department
DIRECTION OF LINES
The direction of a line is defined as the horizontal angle the line makes with an established line of reference. There are
various kinds of angle which can be used to describe the direction of lines. In surveying practice, directions may be defined by means
of: interior angles, deflection angles, angles to the right/left, bearings, and azimuth.

A. INTERIOR ANGLES
The angles between adjacent lines in a closed polygon are called interior angles. These angles may be measured clockwise
or counterclockwise. It should be remembered that the sum of the interior angles in a closed polygon is equal to (n-2) 180°.

ƟB

ƟC
ƟA

ƟD
ƟF
ƟE

B. DEFLECTION ANGLES
The angle between a line and the prolongation of the preceding line is called a deflection angle. It may be turned to the
right (clockwise) or to the left (counterclockwise) and it is always necessary to append the letters R or L to the numerical
value to define the direction in which the angle has been turned.

D αD(R)
B αB(R)

αC(R)
A C
E

C. BEARINGS
The bearing of a line is the acute horizontal angle between the reference meridian and the line. A quadrant system is used
to specify bearings such that a line may fall under one of the following quadrants: NE, SE, NW, and SW. Each quadrant is
numbered from 0° to 90° from either the North or South end of the reference meridian (N-S Line) to the East or West end of
the reference parallel (E-W Line).

N
0°
Reference Meridian (N – S Line)

NORTH – WEST NORTH – EAST

(NW) (NE)
QUADRANT QUADRANT

W 90° 90°E

SOUTH – WEST SOUTH – EAST

(SW) (SE)
QUADRANT QUADRANT Reference Parallel (E – W Line)

0°
S

Prepared by:Engr. Jhed Chan UyJambongana Page 2

Faculty, CIT-U – CE Department
 D. AZIMUTH
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. Azimuths are usually preferred over bearings by most
surveyors because they are more convenient to work with such as in computing traverse date by electronic digital
computers. The azimuth of a line may range from 0° to 360° and letters are not required to identify quadrants.
N
0°
Reference Meridian (N – S Line)
Azimuth from SOUTH
B

A
W E

Reference Parallel (E – W Line)

C
0°
S Azimuth from NORTH
NOTE:
UNITS FOR ANGULAR MEASUREMENT
The magnitude of an angle can be expressed in different units, all of which are basically derived from the division of the ci rcumference of a circle. A purely
arbitrary unit is used to define the value of an angle. The principal systems of units used are:
1. THE DEGREE. The sexagesimal system is used in which the circumference of a circle is divided into 360 parts or degrees. The basic unit is the degree,
which is further subdivided into 60 minutes, and the minute is subdivided into 60 seconds. The °, ‘ and“ are used to denote degrees, minutes, and
seconds, respectively.
2. THE GRAD. The grad is the unit of measure in the centesimal system. In this system the circumference of a circle is divided into 400 pa rts called grads.
The grad is subdivided into 100 centesimal minutes and a centesimal minute is further subdivided into 100 centesimal seconds. The symbols g, c and
cc are used to denote grads, centesimal minutes, and centesimal seconds, respectively.
3. THE MIL. The circumference is divided into 6,400 parts called mils. The mil will subtend very nearly one linear unit in a distance of 1,000 such units. It
is commonly used in military operations as in fire direction of artillery units.
4. THE RADIAN. The radian is another measure of angles used frequently for a host of calculations. One radian is defined as the angle subtended at the
center of a circle by an arc length exactly equal to the radius of the circle. One radian is denoted by π and is equal to 180°. The radian is sometimes
referred to as the natural unit of angle because there is no arbitrary number in its definition.

SAMPLE PROBLEM:
From the open compass traverse shown, if the forward bearing of line AB is N 75°30’ E, compute the:
a. Forward and backward bearing of each line
b. Forward and backward azimuth for each line.
Tabulate values accordingly.
D 250°10’

B 40°15’(R)

A
C

LINE FORWARD BACKWARD

AZIMUTH FROM AZIMUTH FROM AZIMUTH FROM AZIMUTH FROM
BEARING BEARING
NORTH SOUTH NORTH SOUTH
AB
BC
CD

Prepared by:Engr. Jhed Chan UyJambongana Page 3

Faculty, CIT-U – CE Department