These Vancouver figures use an approximate reference point in Downtown Vancouver. From there, the Qibla is 16.7° clockwise from true north. That is north-northeast, a little to the right of due north. The finder starts at this reference point. You can switch it to your own location anywhere in Vancouver or the Lower Mainland, by map or coordinates, to get the bearing for where you will pray.
Why the true bearing and an older compass reading differ
The main answer on this page is 16.7°, measured clockwise from true north (geographic north). From Vancouver this points north-northeast. It is close to north but clearly to the right of it, so it is not due north.
You may also find a one-page Direction of Qiblah document from the BC Muslim Association (BCMA) that gives 359° for the Lower Mainland. That figure is a reading for a magnetic compass dial, not a true bearing. It was calculated for a different Lower Mainland origin, and the document states its magnetic declination as of April 2008. Its own true direction is also east of north. The 359° figure is the result of subtracting the declination it used at that time.
Magnetic declination is the angle between magnetic north and true north. It changes with both location and time, as NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information explains. A magnetic reading worked out for one date should not be copied onto a compass today. If you use an unadjusted compass, correct the true bearing with the current declination for your location instead.
How to apply the bearing depends on what you are using:
- A physical compass with no declination setting: adjust the true bearing using the current declination for your location. The separate-compass steps show how to do this.
- A compass already set to true north: use 16.7° as it is. Do not apply the declination a second time.
- The finder's Enable live compass: where your device provides supported magnetic data, the finder applies its built-in correction once. Keep the screen flat or nearly level, with the phone in portrait orientation. Guidance pauses if the phone is tilted too far.
For more on north references, see the methodology notes. If the live heading behaves strangely, see what to check when the compass is not working.
Choose your point in Vancouver or the Lower Mainland
This page's reference point, 49.2827, -123.1207, is an approximate point in Downtown Vancouver that the site uses to represent the city. For a home, hotel or other place where you will pray, set your own point.
"Vancouver" can also mean a much larger area. The City of Vancouver distinguishes the city itself from Greater Vancouver, which includes separate municipalities such as Burnaby, Richmond and Surrey. If you are staying in one of them, set your own point rather than relying on the Downtown reference.
For a worked example, the same City of Vancouver page publishes coordinates for City Hall, which is a different point from the Downtown reference. To try it in the finder:
- Select Enter coordinates instead.
- Type 49.2609 in Latitude.
- Type -123.1140 in Longitude. West longitudes are negative.
- Select Find my Qibla.
The result also rounds to 16.7° from true north, and the distance changes slightly to about 11,976 km. A matching rounded angle does not mean the two places are the same: the unrounded bearings differ by a small amount. Neither result tells you how a particular room or wall is oriented.
City search only covers the site's preset cities. It does not look up street addresses. For a home or hotel, you have three options:
- Select Use my location.
- Enter the coordinates yourself.
- Select Open map, move the map to the place and select Use map centre.
Presets, typed coordinates and the map do not need device-location permission. Use the city centre again returns the finder to the Downtown reference. For help deciding which origin to use, read city preset or current location. Other presets are listed in the city directory.
Use the local line before the world route
16.7° is the initial heading of the shortest route over the globe. It is the direction you face when you start from Vancouver. On common world maps, such as the familiar Mercator projection, the same route appears to bend, so a straight ruler line on that kind of map can be misleading. Only certain specialised projections show great-circle routes as straight lines. Google's help page explains why great-circle routes often look curved on flat maps, and our article on why Qibla routes curve on maps covers this in more detail.
The diagram above compares Vancouver with Edmonton. Both arrows point north-northeast, but Edmonton's is 25.3° from true north, about 8.6° further east. The gap comes from the different starting points, not from a compass or sensor error. For that city's details, see the Edmonton Qibla page.
For the direction where you are standing, select Open map and choose Nearby. This view is north-up and draws up to 3 km of the starting route from the active point. Full route shows the whole path for global context. If you pan the map, select Use map centre to make the new position the origin. Until you do, the line stays at the previous point.
A north-up map on screen does not turn your phone to match it. To use the line, match it to features you can recognise around you, or use a reliable true-north reference. Map imagery shows the general direction; it does not survey the walls of a building.
Take the right reference with you
Three items on this page stay fixed at the Downtown reference point:
- the reference panel at the top
- the Vancouver and Edmonton diagram
- the city card from Download reference card
None of them change when you pick a different point in the finder.
To keep the point you actually chose, use Printable reference. It is based on the active point and prints that point's coordinates even if the QR code is switched off. Adding a coordinate QR code requires a separate confirmation.
Choose the sharing option that matches what you want to send:
- Share city sends only the currently selected preset city and country. It is unavailable for a device, typed or map point until you select a preset again.
- Share location shows a preview of the active point first. Create coordinate link then encodes its coordinates, its label and any positive uncertainty radius attached to the selected point.
A link you have already copied always keeps the point it was created with. A printed direction diagram still needs a reliable true-north reference to apply. It is not a permanent wall marker. For what each option reveals, see sharing and privacy.