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Coordinates

Random location generator

Press the button and get a random point anywhere in the world, on land only, or inside a country, a US state or a province of Spain. You’ll see its coordinates, whether it’s on land or at sea, and the nearest named place.

Where to drop the point

Every square mile has the same chance of coming up, near the poles too.

Loading the map…

Result

Your random point

Press “Get a random point” to see where it lands, with its coordinates and links to open it in other maps.

Your latest points (this browser only)

Points you get will show up here so you can go back to them. They’re only saved in this browser.

Share the point

How to use it

  1. Choose where

    Anywhere, on land only, or inside a country, a state or a province.

  2. Get the point

    It shows up on the map with its coordinates, the country and the nearest named place. Press “Another point” as often as you like.

  3. Open or share it

    Open it in Google Maps, Apple Maps or OpenStreetMap, or copy the link. Your latest points are saved in your browser.

What it’s for

  • Exploring the world

    Discover corners you’d never visit: a random point on land often lands somewhere unexpected.

  • Games and challenges

    Guess where the point landed, sketch it or find the nearest photo: great for class or with friends.

  • Sampling for studies

    Pick unbiased sample points inside an area, every square mile equally likely.

  • Surprise trips

    Drop a point in your state and make it this weekend’s road trip.

How it’s calculated

Picking a random latitude between −90° and 90° and a random longitude between −180° and 180°, each on its own, doesn’t spread points evenly: every band of latitude would get the same number of points, and the bands near the poles are much smaller, so they’d fill up.

For instance, the band from 80° to 90° N covers 3.9 million km² (1.5 million mi²), while the one from the equator to 10° N covers 44.3 million km² (17.1 million mi²): 11.4 times more. That’s why Mapsfera picks the longitude at random but derives the latitude from its sine, spread evenly between −1 and 1, so every square mile is equally likely.

Uniform point on a sphere

λ = 360°·u − 180° φ = asin(2v − 1)

u and v are random numbers between 0 and 1; λ is longitude and φ latitude. The area between two latitudes is proportional to the difference of their sines.

Inside an area

piece chosen with probability ∝ its area; uniform points in its bounding box until one falls inside

That way each island of a country or a state comes up in proportion to its size.

How far off the naive method is
Points above 60° N or S, with a “naive” random latitude 33.3%
Points above 60° N or S, uniform on the sphere (correct) 13.4%
Area from 80° to 90° N 3.9 million km² (1.5 million mi²)
Area from the equator to 10° N 44.3 million km² (17.1 million mi²)
Share of the Earth that is land (site outlines) 28.8%

“On land only” draws uniform points over the whole sphere and keeps the first one inside a Natural Earth country (Antarctica included); since land is 28.8% of the surface, it takes three or four tries on average. Inside a country, state or province it uses each piece’s bounding box: even in the country that fills its box worst (Western Sahara), 14% of tries land inside, so the point appears instantly.

What you get for each point

Its coordinates in decimal degrees and in degrees, minutes and seconds; whether it’s on land or at sea and in which country (on Natural Earth outlines; within 1 km, or 0.6 mi, of the coast it counts as land), and, on land, the nearest named place from OpenStreetMap via Photon (in Spain, the CartoCiudad address). In the middle of a desert or Antarctica, that place can be many miles away.

The share link carries the point in the page address, and your latest points are kept in this browser (in its local storage, not on any server) so you can go back to them.

Frequently asked questions

Why does it land in the sea so often?

Because the sea covers most of the Earth: on the site’s outlines, land is 28.8% of the surface. If you want a point on land, choose “On land only”.

Is it truly random?

It uses your browser’s random number generator, which is plenty for this (not for cryptography). What matters is the spread: every square mile has the same chance, at the poles and on islands too.

Can I get a point in my county or city?

For now, inside a country, a US state or a province of Spain. For a smaller area, draw points in your state and keep the ones that land nearby.

Are my points stored anywhere?

Only in your browser, for the list of latest points. Finding the country sends nothing; for the nearest named place, the coordinates are sent to Photon (or CartoCiudad in Spain).

Related tools

All tools
Latitude and longitude finder Search for any place or address, or tap the map, and copy its latitude and longitude in one click. 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.

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