# Magnetic declination

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magnetic-declination/397031>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [March 22, 2007, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magnetic-declination/397031 "2007-03-22T16:15:45Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Ol\_Gaffer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Ol\_Gaffer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ol_Gaffer)\
**Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magnetic-declination/397031/1 "2007-03-22T16:15:45Z")

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Hey guys, I have a question that I’m trying to answer for a contest entry. It is:

“If you are using a compass in the Rocky Mountains, your magnetic declination will be?”

and the three answers are:

“West of True North”  
“East of True North”  
“Unaffected”

Now, I use a map and compass almost every day at work and am well-versed in orienteering. With that being said, my quick answer was “East” ranging from, depending on where you are in the Rockys, 9 to 16 degrees. However, the more I looked at the answer the more it bugged me. What bothers me is the relation between “magnetic declination” and east or west of “True North.” To me, the answer is only “East” if the answers reads “East of Magnetic North.”

Although I have never heard declination used like this, I’m wondering how many of you think that the question is asking where magnetic north lies in relation to True North (which would be “West” in this case).

So what do you all think? East? West? Poorly worded question written by people who don’t understand declination at all? Am I over-thinking this? Help!

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**Author:** ![Q.E.D](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/51bf81/32.png) [@Q.E.D](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.E.D)\
**Post date:** [March 22, 2007, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magnetic-declination/397031/2 "2007-03-22T16:34:45Z")

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East is probably the answer they’re looking for, but in actuality, [magnetic declination](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magnetic_declination) is the offset in degrees so the answers don’t precisely match the question, as asked.

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**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:** [March 22, 2007, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/magnetic-declination/397031/3 "2007-03-22T17:51:54Z")

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I don’t know about the Sierra Nevadas, but here in Bozeman, magnetic north is, indeed, east of true north. There may be local variations, though.