Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: In the Northern Hemisphere
• Part 2 of 3: In the Southern Hemisphere
• Part 3 of 3: Determining the hemisphere
• Tips
• Warnings

Should you ever get lost in the wilderness or adrift at sea without knowing which direction you are heading, an analog watch (or anything with a dial) can act as a compass to help determine your position. All you need for this survival trick is an analog (not digital) watch set to the correct time and a good view of the sun. Read on at Step 1 below to get started.

To step

Part 1 of 3: In the Northern Hemisphere

1. Hold the watch level. You can use this trick anywhere in the Northern Hemisphere, as long as it is during the day and when the sun is visible. Place the watch flat, with the watch face facing horizontally up, in your palm.
2. Point your hour hand in the direction of the sun. Turn the watch, your hand, or your whole body so that the hour hand of your watch points in the direction of the sun. The time on the watch does not matter, as long as it is the correct time.
   • If you find it difficult to align the hour hand exactly with the sun, you can use the shadow of a narrow object to help you. Stick a twig or thin stick into the ground so that it casts a clearly visible shadow. Then align the shadow with the hour hand of your watch. An object's shadow is cast "away from the sun," so aligning the hour hand with a narrow shadow is essentially the same as aligning it with the sun itself.
3. Divide the angle between the hour hand and the 12 o'clock mark in half to find South. This is the tricky part. Find the center of the angle between the hour hand and the 12 o'clock mark on your watch. In the morning you will clockwise should measure from your hour hand to the 12 o'clock mark while you are at noon counter clockwisefrom the hour hand to the 12 o'clock mark. The midpoint between the two marks is the South, and the opposite point is of course the North.
   • For example, it is exactly 5 PM and you have the hour hand aligned with the sun, then South is the direction exactly between the 2 and 3 o'clock markers, and North is opposite (exactly between 8 and 9).
   • Notice that during daylight saving time your watch is likely to "deviate" one hour from the "actual" time. If this is the case, replace 1 hour by 12 hours before determining the North-South line.

Part 2 of 3: In the Southern Hemisphere

1. Hold the watch level. As in the Northern Hemisphere, take off the watch and place it flat on your hand when you are in a place where you can see the sun well.
2. Point the 12 o'clock mark in the direction of the sun. The main difference between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres when it comes to using your watch as a compass is that in the Southern Hemisphere the 12 o'clock mark instead of the hour hand must point towards the sun. Reversing the orientation of your watch relative to the sun allows you to account for the difference in the position of the sun between the two hemispheres.
   • If it is difficult to spot the sun, you can use the same shading trick as in the Northern Hemisphere to make sure your 12 o'clock mark is precisely aligned.
3. Divide the angle between the hour hand and the 12 o'clock mark in half to find North. The exact center between the 12 o'clock mark and the hour hand on your watch marks it North, while the point across it South indicates.
   • For example, if it is 9 o'clock in the morning and we align the 12 o'clock mark on our watch with the sun, the center between 10 and 11 indicates North and the opposite point (between 4 and 5 hours) the South.
   • If your watch is set to Daylight Saving Time, use the 1 o'clock mark on your watch as the default and not 12 o'clock, as in the Northern Hemisphere.

Part 3 of 3: Determining the hemisphere

1. Use a map to find your own hemisphere. The improvised watch compass, as described in this article, uses the position of the sun to determine the North and South. Since the sun is on a different part of the sky in the Northern Hemisphere (the part of the Earth north of the equator) than in the Southern Hemisphere (south of the equator), it is important to take this difference into account to make your reading accurate. It is usually easy to tell if you are in the Northern Hemisphere or the Southern Hemisphere simply by knowing which country you are in (e.g .: the Southern Hemisphere includes most of South America, Africa below the Sahara and Australia). When you are at home (or anywhere near civilization), use a map, globe, or geographic resource online to find your position relative to the equator.
2. Use the North Star to find your hemisphere if you don't have other resources available, such as in the wilderness. Are you for real lost - for example, in a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean, you may not have access to maps, encyclopedias or the Internet. Fortunately, if you're lost in the wilderness and don't know what hemisphere it is, you can still find out by looking for Polaris, the North Star, in the sky. This star is visible in the Northern Hemisphere, but if you are even slightly beyond the equator, you will no longer be able to see it.
   • Note that the watch compass described in this article works best in the spring and fall, and may be inaccurate near the equator.

Tips

• The farther you are from the equator, the more accurate your measurements will be, as the sun will cast a longer shadow.
• If it's cloudy or overcast, find an open area that gives you the best possible view of the sun and hold up a stick, branch, ruler, pole, or other straight object. A light shadow will in most cases be cast, unless the weather conditions are very unfavorable.
• For best results, set your watch to the "true" local time, without taking daylight saving time into account.
• You don't necessarily need a watch as you can also draw a dial on a piece of paper to make this work. It has nothing to do with the watch itself, other than telling the time.
• This does not work with digital watches!

Warnings

• Being able to read a map well and know how to use a compass should always be the first priority in navigation when entering unfamiliar and potentially dangerous terrain.
• Buying expensive items that need batteries is no substitute for the knowledge that could one day save your life and that of others. Batteries are running low or can be damaged.
• A quick trick like this one is fine, but don't rely on information like this in life-threatening situations.