North

North is one of the four cardinal directions used to describe space and the position of land. It is opposite to South and lies between West and East. When a person faces north, east is to their right and west is to their left.

In scientific terms, north is defined as the direction toward the North Pole of the Earth, the point around which the planet rotates on its northern axis. On standard modern maps, north is typically shown at the top of the page.

True north and magnetic north

There are two types of north. True north is the direction of the Earth's rotational pole. Magnetic north is the direction indicated by a compass needle, which follows the Earth's magnetic poles. These two points do not coincide, and the difference between them is known as magnetic declination (or variation), which differs according to location and time.

How to find north

The most common method is the compass, whose needle points to magnetic north. Other methods include observing the stars: in the Northern Hemisphere, Polaris (the North Star) lies close to the celestial north pole and thus indicates direction. Modern methods, including satellite navigation systems (GPS), are now widely used.

Uses of the term

The term 'north' is also used to describe regions of a country or region that lie to the north, for example the northern provinces of a country. There is also political and economic use of the terms 'North' and 'South' to distinguish between countries, referring to differences in economic development between regions of the world.