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Coordinates

Latitude and longitude finder

Search for a place or an address, tap the map or use your location, and copy its latitude and longitude in one click. You also get degrees, minutes and seconds, UTM and a Plus Code, plus links to open the spot in your maps app.

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Tap the map to fine-tune the spot: the coordinates update right away.

Example

Statue of Liberty

Liberty Island, New York, United States

Latitude
40.689250° N
Longitude
74.044500° W
Degrees, minutes, seconds
40°41'21.3"N 74°02'40.2"W
Degrees and decimal minutes
40°41.355'N 74°02.670'W
UTM
18T 580736 4504701
Plus Code
87G7MXQ4+P6
Open in Google Maps Apple Maps OpenStreetMap

What latitude and longitude are

Latitude tells you how far north or south a point is: it’s the angle from the equator, from 0° to 90° north or south. Longitude tells you how far east or west it is: the angle from the prime meridian in Greenwich, from 0° to 180° either way. Together, in that order, they pin down any spot on Earth.

In decimal degrees, south and west get a minus sign. The whole United States is west of Greenwich, so longitudes there are negative: the Statue of Liberty is at 40.68925° N, 74.0445° W, which in decimal degrees is “40.68925, -74.0445.”

One degree of latitude is about 69 miles (111 km) anywhere. One degree of longitude is 69 miles at the equator and shrinks toward the poles: about 52 miles (84 km) in New York.

How many decimal places you need

Each extra decimal place makes the position ten times more precise. Five places is plenty to meet someone or save a spot; more than six adds nothing, since not even a phone’s GPS is that accurate.

Decimal places and the precision they give
DecimalsPrecisionGood for
1 (40.7)about 7 miles (11 km)A city or a county
2 (40.69)about 0.7 miles (1.1 km)A town or a neighborhood
3 (40.689)about 360 ft (110 m)A street or a park
4 (40.6893)about 36 ft (11 m)A building or a lot
5 (40.68925)about 3.6 ft (1.1 m)A door, a tree, a survey marker
6 (40.689250)about 4 in (11 cm)Surveying

How to find coordinates in Google Maps and on your phone

  • Google Maps on a computer. Right-click the spot: the first line of the menu is the latitude and longitude, and clicking it copies them.
  • Google Maps on a phone. Press and hold the spot until a red pin drops: the coordinates show up in the search bar.
  • Apple Maps on iPhone. Press and hold to drop a pin, then swipe its card up: the coordinates are near the bottom.
  • Here. No app needed, and you get several formats at once. To go the other way and see coordinates on a map, use “Plot coordinates on a map.”

Why your phone’s location isn’t exact

Outdoors, a phone’s GPS is usually right to within about 10 to 30 feet. Indoors or between tall buildings the error grows to tens of yards, and a computer without GPS locates itself by Wi-Fi or by its internet connection, which can be off by hundreds of yards or more. That’s why the accuracy your browser reports shows up next to your location. If it looks off, tap the exact spot on the map.

Frequently asked questions

How do I copy coordinates to text them to someone?

Tap Copy and paste them into your message: “40.689250, -74.044500” opens in any maps app. If you’d rather send a link, use Google Maps or Share this spot.

What format does Google Maps want?

Decimal degrees with a period, separated by a comma: “40.68925, -74.0445.” That’s what the big Copy button copies. Google Maps also understands degrees, minutes and seconds like 40°41'21.3"N 74°02'40.2"W.

Why is my longitude negative?

Because the spot is west of the prime meridian, like all of the Americas. A negative longitude is the same as a W (west).

Are an address’s coordinates the front door?

Usually close: addresses come from OpenStreetMap, which sometimes gives the middle of the building or of the street. If you need an exact spot, tap it on the map.

Is my location saved?

No. Your location is used in your browser and isn’t stored. To name the spot, its coordinates are looked up with Photon (OpenStreetMap), like on any map.

Related tools

All tools
Plot coordinates on a map Paste a latitude and longitude in any format and see the exact spot on the map, ready to share. Coordinate converter Convert coordinates between decimal degrees, DMS, UTM, MGRS, geohash and Plus Codes in one go. UTM to latitude and longitude Turn a UTM zone, easting and northing into latitude and longitude, and see the point on the map. National grid converter Convert coordinates to and from each country’s official grid, such as ETRS89, Lambert-93 or Gauss-Krüger.

Sources