The process in which one navigates in the field utilizing a map and compass. The navigator uses a topography map. Topos are very detailed illustrating land features, elevation, water, creeks, forest, trails, roads, and structures made by man. This is a map produced by the United States Geological Survey of high quality and serves, along with an orienteering compass, a major tool for traveling in the wild.

    The term has come to mean a type of competition whereby competitors attempt to navigate (using a topo map and orienteering compass) across harsh terrain going from point-of-attack to point-of-attack arriving at the finish first. One must be in excellent shape to meet all the challenging aspects of such a meet.

    An orienteer must know mountain survival, desert survival, artic survival, and a host of other modalities to stay found and survive when entering a particular meet in those localities.

    But, this all spells adventure and that's one reason an orienteer goes there in the first place. It's quiet, awesomely remote and if they use their compass and map, they won't get lost.

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• Map To Field (Ground)
  • True Bearing To Magnetic Bearing.
    • Declination E (DE)—Subtract.
    • Declination W (DW)—Add.

• Ground (Field) To Map.
  • Magnetic Bearing To True Bearing.
    • Declination E (DE)—Add.
    • Declination W (DW)—Subtract.

• Map is Not Used:
  • (A) & (B): Do Nothing With!

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• Orient The Map.
  • Set to Magnetic North.
  • Remove Compass from Map.

• Point Direction of Travel Arrow at Landmark.

• Turn Dial Until Orienting Arrow and N Letter On Dial is Aligned With Red Magnetic North Arrow (Needle in "Doghouse").

• Read bearing at Index Line.
  • Then make magnetic declination to compass while holding compass.
  • Do this by rotating compass dial such that the bearing of the landmark is corrected to the magnetic declination by aligning the bearing index line with the correct magnetic bearing.

  • Keep the new setting, as you now place the compass on the map.

  • Rotate the whole compass, not the compass housing (rotate base plate) until the orienteering arrow points N on the map. (That's why we orient the map — see No. I).

  • While keeping the orienteering arrow pointing N, slide compass around the map until the long edge of the baseplate goes through the landmark. When that is aligned (orienting lines of the rose/housing is parallel to the map's North-South grid lines), then...

  • Draw the line.

    Files for DownLoad Using WordPerfect®,
May Be Converted To

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In Latest Microsoft® Word Editions

Note:

    For those who want to download the file but do not know how to convert or have the proper conversion unit in Microsoft® Word, you can Click on the file to be downloaded; then Click Open while Online. You can now click on print and have a hard copy of the file for your Compass & Map Notebook.

• For Complete File In WordPerfect on Explanation On Map & Compass Down Load Here. It is convertible to Word.

• A Good Basic OutLine To Follow For Learning Map & Compass Operations & Procedures and For Teaching.

• When You Have One or More Landmarks on Your Map, One-Dimensional, and Want To Trek to Either of Them in The Three-Dimensional World, This is What You Do Using Map To Ground (Field) Application.

• Why Magnetic Declination Is Important.

• Orienting The Map.

• Metric & English Conversion Units For Calculating Distance on Maps