How to Find UTM Coordinates for a Point on a Physical Map

Duralloyi

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posted on 10 years ago — updated on 1 second ago

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Being able to find the coordinates of a point on a physical map isn't the most useful skill in the modern world, but it can be lifesaving in certain settings, such as search and rescue.

Steps

Locate the point on a map. In this example, you're going to find the UTM coordinates for Fawn Spring.

Make a grid for the northing coordinates. The northing coordinates are vertical. The numbers get bigger as they go up. Use the edge of another piece of paper to mark the edges of the box containing the point you're finding coordinates for. In this scenario, Fawn Spring is between 4730000 and 4731000. Make longer markings for the edges and notate those coordinates. Make shorter marks for the increments in between, but make the midpoint a little longer than the rest.

Figure out the increments. Start off with the midpoint. The UTM coordinates are really just big numbers: 4,730,000 and 4,731,000. What's halfway between those two numbers? The difference between them is 1,000 so the halfway point is 4,730,500. There are ten increments in this little grid, so 10,000 divided by 10 is 100. That means each little gridmark adds another 100 to the UTM number.

Slide the grid across the map to your point. Now that you know the numbers for each gridmark, it shouldn't be hard to figure out the northing for your point. In this case, Fawn Spring seems to be right at the 700 mark, so the northing is 4730700N.