How to Calculate Bearing, Distance & Traverse Closure Online

Field survey calculations don't need a full GIS package — most of the time you just need a bearing, a distance, or a set of station coordinates computed correctly and quickly. Survey Tools covers 5 of the most common calculations in one place, with no file upload required for any of them — just type in your values.

Bearing & Distance — the most common calculation

Two directions, both useful in different situations:

1. Inverse: two points → bearing and distance

   Enter two coordinate pairs (in decimal degrees or a local planar system) and get the bearing between them — shown as both a quadrant bearing (like N45°30'E) and an azimuth — plus the exact distance in your chosen unit.

2. Forward: start point + bearing + distance → destination

   The reverse calculation — enter a starting point, a bearing, and a distance, and get the resulting destination coordinates. Useful for laying out a point from a known reference.

Traverse Calculator — closure and adjustment, not just addition

A traverse is a sequence of bearing/distance legs — the real question is usually whether they actually close (return to, or land on, the expected endpoint) and by how much error. Enter your legs and the tool computes:

• Every station's coordinates, leg by leg
• The closure error — how far the computed endpoint is from where it should be
• A Bowditch-adjusted set of coordinates, distributing that error proportionally across the traverse rather than leaving it concentrated at the last station

Three more calculators in the same bundle