How to Set Declination on a Silva Ranger Compass

Navigating using the Silva Ranger compass.

Photo by Dan Human

What is Declination

So what is magnetic declination and how does it affect wilderness navigation?

Quite simply, magnetic declination is the difference between the magnetic and geographic North Poles.

Okay, and we care because?

"We should have hit that mountain pond campsite by now." Frank said with a heavy breath of exhaustion.

Ed looked down at his compass, made sure the bearing was correct and nodded to acknowledge his frustration.

"You remembered to compensate for declination, right?" Frank asked with a knowing stare.

Ed looked at the map, then at his compass; a look of panic ensued.

He had forgotten to add the fifteen degrees of West declination to his compass. They had been hiking for a few hours and they were now over a mile from where they needed to be.

Looking at the setting sun, Frank slipped his pack off his shoulders and muttered, "time to break out the headlamps."

A compass points to the magnetic north; however most maps are based upon geographical true north. This variance between the norths can cause a lot of confusion and some extra miles if you are in the backcountry. This article explains how to find and adjust for magnetic declination while navigating by compass.

This diagram shows the declination for the Adirondack High Peaks.

Photo by Dan Human

The Three Norths

True North - Geographically where north is.
Magnetic North - Where the compass points.
Grid or Mapmaker's North - How grid lines are oriented to correct for spherical distortion.

East or West Declination?

Unless you live on the agonic line (where declination is zero), your declination value will either be east or west. For geologists, west declination is a negative value and east declination is a positive value.

Just to add some confusion, you should also know that if you live east of the agonic line - you are dealing with west declination and if you live west of the line - that is east declination. If you are feeling lost, don't call search and rescue just yet.

If you have trouble remembering which one is positive try out one of these ditties:

"East is least and west is best."

"In the West the compass points toward the granddaddy of all trails, the Appalachian Trail in the East; In the East, the compass points west toward the Continental Divide and Pacific Crest trails." (it helps to remember that the two western trails are longer and therefore positive.)

Before starting a huge East Coast versus West Coast rap battle, let's dig a little further into what these positive and negative values actually mean. Basically, if you are using a compass east of the agonic line, your compass will point west of true north. If you are out orienteering west of the agonic line, your compass points east of true north.

Are you confused yet? It's okay as mastering declination can take a lifetime of bushcrafting to master. I'll try to make it less bewildering as we progress further into this subject.

The magnetic declination of this area is 9 degrees west; however, look at the publication date.

Photo by Dan Human

NOAA's site is an easy way to find magnetic declination values.

How Do You Find The Declination on a Map?

The Declination value for most areas is listed in the legend. However, be advised that declination changes over time as the magnetic pole drifts.

For example:

Set Your Compass to Find True North

Many high-end compasses like the Silva Ranger have settings to adjust the orienteering lines to face true North. This is usually done with a small screw on the baseplate. As most people tend not to venture between areas with different declination, this method of adjusting the compass is easiest for most people.

For many models, making this adjustment changes the angle between the orienteering lines and the orienteering arrow. This offset looks strange but you can get use to it.

Expert tip: Remember to reset the declination screw on your adjustable compass every time you venture into a different zone.

To see which way the needle moves

East Declination

Turn screw so that the orienteering arrow points to the east side of the declination scale.

West Declination

Turn screw so that the orienteering arrow points to the west side of the declination scale.

A Silva Ranger compass adjusted for declination.

Photo by Dan Human

Navigating by compass on a search and rescue orienteering course.

Photo by Dan Human

Do the Math to Figure Out Declination

So you have a geographic bearing to walk and a compass without a declination adjustment, so you'll just have to do the math. This is where English majors like myself tend to get a little nervous.

So remember this handy phrase:

Declination east - compass least. Declination west - compass best.

Explanation: In the East with west declination, the magnetic bearing will be a greater value than true north. However, in the West with east declination, the magnetic bearing will be a smaller value than true north.

East Declination

Example: From your campsite you have plotted an azimuth on your map of 120 degrees to the top of a mountain. Your declination is 10 degrees east, so what bearing do you dial in your compass to walk directly from your campsite to the mountain summit? Here, you want to subtract the declination value of 10 from 120 to arrive at 110 degrees.

West Declination

Example: You're canoeing on a lake and want to paddle from an island to a small inlet stream. You plot it on the map as a bearing of 120 degrees and your declination is 10 degrees west. What should the dial on your compass read, in order to get to the stream directly? In this example, you want to add the declination value of 10 to 120 to equal 130 degrees.

To make things really easy for when to add and when to subtract, follow the handy chart provided below.

Simple Declination Chart

As most backpackers only hike in a specific region, it's likely that you only have to memorize half of this chart.
	West Declination	East Declination
Map to Compass (TN>MN)	Add declination	Subtract declination
Compass to Map (MN>TN)	Subtract declination	Add declination

It is easy to choose which north reference you want with a GPS, but there are limitations as well.

Photo by Dan Human

Let the GPS Figure It Out

Using the settings of your GPS, you can set your navigational unit to find any of the norths. This is easily done, by choosing your selection within your set-up menu.

Choosing the correct north is especially important when using a navigation device with traditional map and compass. For example, after projecting a waypoint that I wish to hike to in my GPS, I'll dial in the plotted bearing into my compass and follow that.

There is one downfall to always depending on your GPS for wilderness navigation and that is - what happens when the batteries die?

This map of Lows Lake had meridian lines drawn across it to correct for declination.

Photo by Dan Human

Test your declination knowledge

For each question, choose the best answer. The answer key is below.

You are located at 10 degrees E declination. The map has you travelling at 100 degrees. What should your compass say?
- 100 degrees
- 110 degrees
- 90 degrees
You're at 20 degrees W declination. The map gives you a bearing of 215 degrees. What is your magentic bearing?
- 215 degrees
- 235 degrees
- 195 degrees
You are hiking at the agonic line, what is your declination value?
- 15 degrees east
- 15 degrees west
- 0 degrees
You're at 10 degrees W declination. You take a bearing on your compass of 180 degrees. What is the True N bearing?
- 170 degrees
- 190 degrees
- 200 degrees
You're at 15 degees E declination. Convert your magentic bearing of 170 degrees to a true north bearing.
- 155 degrees
- 160 degrees
- 185 degrees
You're at 12 degrees W declination. Convert your map bearing of 155 degrees to a compass bearing.
- 143 degrees
- 167 degrees
- 172 degrees

Answer Key

90 degrees
235 degrees
0 degrees
170 degrees
185 degrees
167 degrees

Interpreting Your Score

If you got between 0 and 1 correct answer: You should probably think about staying in your backyard until you've learned a little more about map and compass.

If you got between 2 and 3 correct answers: If you go into the wilderness, you should seriously think about investing in breadcrumbs.

If you got 4 correct answers: You've exceeded the 50% mark, but just barely. I suggest just staying in one declination zone until you've learned a bit more.

If you got 5 correct answers: You did pretty good, but you could use just a bit more practice.

If you got 6 correct answers: You could lead a search and rescue crew.

Other Options for Dealing with Declination

Besides adjusting your compass, mathematically correcting declination or using the GPS, you do have a few other options.

The first option is to simply ignore it. If you live close enough to the agonic line or if you don't need precise navigation, this is surely a viable option. For example, if you only carry a compass to walk on a consistent line of travel and do not use it in conjunction with a topographic map, declination isn't something you have to worry about.

Another option is to draw magnetic meridians on the map. Using a protractor and a straight edge, you'll draw lines across your map on the angle of declination. Your compass will be adjusted to true north by aligning the edge along of these drawn lines. In the interest of preserving friendships, I don't suggest drawing lines across maps that you borrowed from fellow outdoor enthusiasts.

"Magnetic Declination Demystified" is one of the best explanations of this variance that I have found

This content is accurate and true to the best of the author's knowledge and is not meant to substitute for formal and individualized advice from a qualified professional.

Liz Elias from Oakley, CA on June 25, 2017:

When I was a troop leader for Girl Scouts, way back when, I learned how to do basic triangulation; a small-scale exercise in which you are never out of sight of your starting point.

I was fun for the kids, and not scary for them, as it might be out in the woods.

However, though I am fully aware of declination, and the issues that can occur by ignoring it, I just don't have enough of a 'numbers' brain to deal with it. :-( I am also an English major, and despite having just read your explanations, I still only managed 50% on your quiz! Probably by chance, at that! LOL!

Amanda on March 12, 2017:

Just to make sure I've got this let me try another example... I have been given a magnetic bearing (not a compass bearing) for an orienteering course. I have a compass with the declination already adjusted. I live in an area with a westerly declination (17 degrees). So I would not have to make an adjustment while using the compass but I would have to add 17 degrees when plotting it on a map. Is this correct?

Dan Human (author) from Niagara Falls, NY on September 20, 2014:

I usually don't adjust for declination either while geocaching - I let the GPS do all the work. Well, then I scurry around on my hands and knees for an hour looking for some micro-cache that is supposed to be there. Thanks for the comment tirelesstraveler!

Judy Specht from California on September 20, 2014:

You have solved my quandary while geo caching. We don't usually adjust for declination. Well presented hub. I enjoyed your humor.

Dan Human (author) from Niagara Falls, NY on July 09, 2014:

I'm glad you found this article helpful Paul, on a side note I do apologize though for not going into further detail for how to use declination worldwide. Though I geared this toward a North American audience, I'll eventually add a section on using declination outside of the US. Thanks for reading and commenting.

Paulebase on June 22, 2014:

Most intuitive and easy to follow, they say if you have the ability to teach then teach and this video came across as well explained interesting and well put across many thanks from Paul from Birmingham in the Uk.

Dan Human (author) from Niagara Falls, NY on April 29, 2014:

Thanks for reading and commenting MsDora - I appreciate it. Like I've told groups that I've done presentations for, acknowledging that there are multiple norths, even if you don't fully understand declination, can save a lot of heartache in the field.

Dora Weithers from The Caribbean on April 20, 2014:

Thanks for this lesson on magnetic declination. I can say that I understand the three norths. If I ever hike, I will read this again with my partner(s). I can tell that the information is very important. Thank you and voted Up!

Dan Human (author) from Niagara Falls, NY on April 17, 2014:

A couple of beers can't hurt when trying to understand the strange intricacies of declination. If anything, it may lower your logical inhibitions a bit and allow you to accept that your compass doesn't actually point north.

This is definitely a skill for bushwhackers, though I use it often as a canoeist in plotting my routes across larger lakes. We use it in SAR quite a bit too.

Thanks for the votes and for the comment Bankscottage!

Mark Shulkosky from Pennsylvania on April 16, 2014:

Interesting hub Dan. Maybe I'll try reading it again before I have a few beers. Or maybe I'll buy new GPS when I run out to buy a few beers.

Seriously, very interesting and useful. I really should get better with this. I carry a compass when I hike, but prefer to stick to blazed trails. Tried the compass on my cell phone but that didn't work very well for me. Every time I turned, the screen rotated. Tried the moss on trees to find north but in Maine, seems that the moss grew all the way around the tree. Guess I better get better with a compass.

Voted up, interesting and useful.

How to Set Declination on a Silva Ranger Compass

Source: https://skyaboveus.com/wilderness-survival/How-to-Use-Magentic-Declination-with-a-Compass

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