From the Ottawa city reference point, the Qibla is 57.2° clockwise from true north. This is a city-centre figure, not your exact location; for a specific place, set it in the finder.
A city result is a result for one point
The calculation shown here begins at latitude 45.4215° and longitude -75.6972°. Its bearing is 57.2° and its estimated spherical surface distance to the destination reference is 10,144 km. Those values belong together: the coordinates define the origin from which the angle and distance are calculated.
An Ottawa label does not identify your home, workplace or temporary accommodation. The preset is useful for getting started, but it is not a fresh GPS reading. Check the selected point before relating the result to a particular place where you intend to pray.
Choose a more specific origin when needed
You can replace the city point with decimal coordinates or explicitly request device location. Verify the latitude, longitude and signs. A negative longitude places this preset west of Greenwich; reversing the coordinate fields or omitting a sign changes the starting position substantially.
When the browser provides an accuracy estimate, read it as position uncertainty rather than compass accuracy. Retaining more digits does not remove that uncertainty. The location steps explain how to choose an origin, and the accuracy explanation separates position, models and physical alignment.
Do not carry another city’s saved bearing forward
If you move between Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto, select the new point rather than treating a saved Canadian bearing as a national constant. The calculation method can stay the same while the angle and distance change with the origin.
| City point | Latitude, longitude | True bearing | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ottawa | 45.4215, -75.6972 | 57.2° | 10,144 km |
| Montreal | 45.5017, -73.5673 | 58.7° | 9,998 km |
| Toronto | 43.6532, -79.3832 | 54.6° | 10,496 km |
All three rows use approximate city-centre points, the same Kaaba reference point and the same true-north reference. Montreal's bearing is about 1.5° larger than Ottawa's, and Toronto's is about 2.6° smaller. A saved figure from one of these cities therefore does not fit the others.
To compare city pages, check that each uses its own stated coordinates and the same destination and true-north reference. Comparing only rounded angles can hide smaller differences. The Ottawa reference card records this preset; it should not be read as a continuously updated result after you travel.
Turn a bearing into a direction on the ground
Establish a reliable north reference before turning clockwise to 57.2°. A supported phone heading or an appropriately aligned local map can help. Neither the city name nor a numeric bearing identifies the orientation of the room by itself.
If a phone arrow disagrees with a stable number, review its status and compare the north references before changing the selected point. Use the troubleshooting checks for sensor problems. Opening the optional map requests external tiles, so review the map privacy details if you choose to use that context.