# A couple questions about Google Maps **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 24, 2024, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-questions-about-google-maps/1004752 "2024-07-24T22:17:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-questions-about-google-maps/1004752/41 "2024-07-26T14:02:55Z")
I like to Geocache, which I suppose is a geo-location hobby. The official website uses degrees, minutes and decimal minutes out to three digits, which I found was a very useful measure. So I can understand your desire to use this format instead of H:M:S. I’ve had to convert back and forth between formats when studying my hiking routes using, e.g., Google Earth, which is a bit annoying. Decimal minutes, to three places, works out to 0.001 minute ~ 1.7 or 1.8 meters or so, which is about the size of a person. So going out to 0.001 minute means the smallest “tick” in the scale is the size of the geocacher themselves. Handy. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-questions-about-google-maps/1004752/42 "2024-07-26T14:11:54Z")
> [@Limmin](#): > > Decimal minutes, to three places, works out to 0.001 minute ~ 1.7 or 1.8 meters or so, which is about the size of a person. So going out to 0.001 minute means the smallest “tick” in the scale is the size of the geocacher themselves. Handy. This, of course, depends on your latitude. ---
**Author:** ![Limmin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f04885/32.png) [@Limmin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Limmin)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-questions-about-google-maps/1004752/43 "2024-07-26T14:13:20Z")
Hence the hedging, “1.7 or 1.8 meters or so” Also, the latitude ticks are always the same length, it’s the longitude distances that shrink with latitude. So the d = sqrt(x^2+y^2) distance is usually bigger than the longitude (x value) distance. (Also, I won’t be geocaching at the poles, thank goodness) ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-questions-about-google-maps/1004752/44 "2024-07-26T14:34:21Z")
I was surprised how hard it was to calculate without knowing the formulas but, where I live, .001 degree of latitude is about 1.1 metre (4’ 4 1/2") which is shorter than my Mom. Still quite a hike to either pole from here. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2024, 9:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-questions-about-google-maps/1004752/45 "2024-07-26T21:24:26Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > You just happened to be going at about the same speed that everyone else does there. If it used your actual instantaneous speed, then it would be horribly wrong for any trip that was part freeway, part local roads. That makes sense - and I would have been going roughly the same speed as other cars on the road. So, “sort of” “my actual speed”. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2024, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-questions-about-google-maps/1004752/46 "2024-07-27T12:35:36Z")
Decimal minutes sure seems like a peculiar system, to me. Degrees, minutes, seconds is a traditional method (and then if you need more precision, decimal seconds, because there isn’t a smaller subdivision). If you don’t like extra subdivisions because they make calculations harder, then decimal degrees makes sense. But why would you go halfway in between? If you’re not using seconds, why use minutes? ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2024, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-questions-about-google-maps/1004752/47 "2024-07-27T17:52:49Z")
It’s a compromise in the long-running feud between advocates of the metric system and ancient Babylonian astronomers. ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [July 29, 2024, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-questions-about-google-maps/1004752/48 "2024-07-29T11:32:25Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > But why would you go halfway in between? If you’re not using seconds, why use minutes? An arcminute of latitude on Earth’s surface is more or less equal to one nautical mile. So perhaps it’s for compatibility with that? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-couple-questions-about-google-maps/1004752.md?page=2)