Where does this come from, and can I check it?

True north, magnetic north and grid north point in different directions depending on where you stand. The figure is taken from British Geological Survey, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

Is this really a world geography fact?

Yes. It sits on the World Geography shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.

What else can I read about it?

The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.

Mondo Knows Facts

There are three different kinds of north

True north, magnetic north and grid north point in different directions depending on where you stand True north runs to the geographic pole, magnetic north follows the field to a moving magnetic pole, and grid north follows a map's vertical grid lines. The gap between true and magnetic north is called declination and changes with location and time. Navigators have to correct for it or they drift off course. It sits in Mondo's world geography collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

British Geological Survey

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

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World Geography trivia Science trivia

More facts like this

The magnetic north pole keeps driftingIt has wandered across the Arctic at accelerating speed and now sits well away from the geographic pole A compass points to magnetic north, not true northThe gap between the two directions is called declination and varies by location Birds sense Earth's magnetic field to find their wayA light sensitive protein in the eye may let them see the field The Mercator projection inflates the poles enormouslyOn this map Greenland looks as large as Africa, though Africa is about fourteen times bigger Every flat map distorts area, shape or distanceA sphere cannot be flattened without stretching something, so mapmakers choose which error to accept The Peters projection trades shape for accurate areaIt keeps relative sizes honest but makes continents long and thin, and it is widely criticised

Tags: maps, navigation, magnetism

There are three different kinds of north: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: True north, magnetic north and grid north point in different directions depending on where you stand. The figure is taken from British Geological Survey, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a world geography fact?: Yes. It sits on the World Geography shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.