How to identify the direction in real time

Outdoor travel has been favored by many tourists and has become an irresistible fashion. However, if you are not careful when traveling in the wild, you will easily get lost. Traveling abroad, especially adventure tourism, to a completely strange place, especially when the wilderness is dark and foggy, some people are prone to dizziness and can't tell the difference between east, west, north and south, which will bring difficulties and dangers to tourism. In this case, don't be flustered and anxious. As long as you observe the surrounding scenery calmly, you will find that there are many signs to tell the direction in nature. Engaged in outdoor activities, such as geological survey, mountain climbing, hiking, exploration, tourism, etc. In order to prevent getting lost and determine the position and direction correctly, we must master the positioning and lateral methods. In nature, some animals have the instinct to tell the direction, such as pigeons, and some members of human beings also have this ability, but most people don't have or only have this potential, so determining the direction in the wild mainly depends on experience and tools. You can find a stump in the forest and tell the direction according to its annual rings, because its annual rings are always wide in the south and narrow in the weak side; You can observe an independent tree with lush foliage on the south and sparse foliage on the north. You can tell the direction according to the ant's cave. Because most of the female ants' holes face south; Where there are many rocks, you can also find an eye-catching rock to observe. The mossy side of the rock is the north side, and the dry and bare side is the south side. On a starry night, we can tell the direction according to the stars: first find the Big Dipper in the sky, along its "spoon handle", find the sixth and seventh stars, and connect the two stars into a straight line according to the mathematical principle of determining a straight line at two points, and find a brighter Polaris on the extension of this straight line. From the "spoon handle" to the brighter Polaris, it just points out the direction from south to north. If it is in winter, the part of the snow that is difficult to melt always faces north because of the sunlight. In addition, there are temples, pagodas, and ordinary houses, most of which face south, while the gate of Islamic mosque opens to the east. In addition, Polaris is used to judge the direction, the natural wind direction in each season, the surface morphology of desert dunes and so on. The judgment of direction should be analyzed in detail and judged comprehensively. There are many methods and experiences to determine the direction in the field. The commonly used and practical methods are:

1. Use Cairo compass or compass to center the bubble horizontally. At this time, when the magnetic needle is at rest, the black end marked with "N" refers to the north.

You can prepare a small compass with clear scale. Some scales of mini compasses sold in the market are very confusing, so it is best to fill in the blanks with liquid. When buying, make sure there are no cracks and bubbles on the surface. Be sure to use it horizontally when using it. The models commonly used by field military and geological teams are: 62, 65 and ZBZ-80, which are simple to use and easy to carry. In addition to measuring the true north direction, a compass or compass can also measure the specific direction of the target. The method is to aim the collimator at the target on the Cairo disk, or aim the 0 scale on the dial at the target, so that the target, the 0 scale and the magnetic midpoint are on the same line. After the compass is horizontally stationary, the scale pointed by the N end is the direction from the measuring point to the target. For example, the n end of the magnetic needle points to 36. The target is 36 east of the measuring position.

Using a compass or compass to identify the direction is simple and fast, but you need to pay attention to:

1, try to keep it level;

2. Don't be too close to magnetic substances;

3. Don't mistake the S end of the magnetic needle for the north, resulting in the direction error of 180;

4, master the magnetic declination in the active area for correction.

Step 2 use the sun

On a clear day, according to the sunrise and sunset, you can easily know the east and the west, and you can judge the profile, but it can only be a rough estimate. There are the following methods to determine more accurately:

1, watch direction finding "hours are half of the sun, 12 refers to the north". Generally, you can quickly identify the direction between 9: 00 am and 4: 00 pm, and the direction you point to half the time is facing the sun, and 12 is the north. For example, in the afternoon 14:40, half is 7: 00. Or put a watch, put a stick in the center of the watch to turn the watch, so that the shadow of the stick coincides with the hour hand, and the bisector between the hour and 12 is the north. The earth rotates 360 degrees in 24 hours, so 1 hour is 15 degrees, while the watch rotates 360 degrees is 12 hours, which is 1 times faster than the sun, so that the position can be roughly determined by the watch and the sun. At 6 o'clock in the morning, the sun is in the east and the shadow points to the west. When the hour hand 6 of the dial points to the sun, 12 on the dial points to the west. If the dial is rotated 90 degrees, that is, 6 divided by 2 equals 3, then 3 points to the sun, and at this time 12 refers to the north; Similarly, at noon 12, the sun is in the south. Divide 12 by 2 to get 6,6 points for the sun and 12 points for the north. The disadvantage of this method is that it is best to consider the local time difference and avoid azimuth deviation, but it may be used as a simple judgment of approximate azimuth.

It must be pointed out that:

(1) When judging the direction, the watch should be flat;

(2) In the area between 20 30' south latitude, it is not suitable for use around noon, that is, every 15 plus 1 hour in the east and every 15 plus 1 hour in the west.

The direction of the sun shadow is sunny, and a wooden stick is erected on the ground. The shadow of the stick moves with the position of the sun. These shadows are the shortest at noon, the connecting line at the end is a straight line, and the vertical line of the straight line is the north-south direction.

Draw a series of concentric circles on a piece of 50×50cm drawing paper, with the radius of concentric circles increasing by 1cm, nail them horizontally on a flat plate, and vertically insert a thin steel needle or needle with a length of 12- 15cm on the center of the circle. When the position of the sun changes, the endpoint of the shadow always intersects with the concentric circles. Draw these points, then connect two straight lines on the same circle, and connect the midpoint of these straight lines with the center of the circle. This connecting line is the north-south direction line, and the direction of the arc top is the north.

3. Night Star

At night, you can judge the direction according to Polaris and Southern Cross.

1, Polaris is located in the northern sky, and its exposed altitude angle is equivalent to the local latitude. Based on this, you can find Polaris quickly. Usually according to the Big Dipper (Ursa Major) or the W Star (Fairy Queen).

The Big Dipper is seven bright stars, shaped like a spoon. The place where the two β -α directions of the spoon extend about 5 times is Polaris.

When you can't see the Big Dipper, you can look for the North Star according to the constellation W after Fairy.

Cassiopeia consists of five bright stars, shaped like a "W" letter, and the distance between the opening direction and the opening width of the letter is about twice that of Polaris.

2. Southern Cross

In the area south of 23 30' north latitude, the Southern Cross is sometimes seen at night. It consists of four bright stars in a cross shape. At the lower right, the length from γ to α of the four and a half times (no stars) connecting two stars is due south.

4, function and plant characteristics

Sometimes some ground objects and plant growth characteristics in the wild are good direction signs. Increasing this knowledge can help you quickly identify the direction.

1, function

Houses: Generally, the doors face south, and the doors and windows of large temples and pagodas in the north and rural independent houses face south. On the grassland, the doors of Mongolian yurts mostly face southeast.

Temples: usually open to the south, especially the main buildings in the temple group;

Remarkable features: Bryophytes, whose base is wet to the north, may grow low.

For buildings and mounds, the snow in the north melts slowly, but in depressions such as potholes, the situation is just the opposite. There are many northwest winds blowing in the grasslands and desert areas in northern China, and many snow dragons and salons often form near the grasslands. They have big heads and small tails, and their heads point northwest.

2. Plant growth characteristics

As the saying goes, "Everything grows on the sun". After mastering this characteristic, even on a cloudy day without the sun, you can judge the direction by observation. For example, the grass in the south of big stones and tree trunks grows vigorously, and the grass in the south withers faster in autumn; Bark is generally smooth in the south and rough in the north. There are many cracks and protrusions on the northern bark of some trees, which is especially obvious in birch. The gum resin from conifers and firs on the trunk is more in the south than in the north, which is easy to form a larger block; In autumn, many fruit trees bear more fruits facing south, especially apples, red dates, persimmons and oranges. The fruit changes color first when it is ripe. Moss growing on stones likes humidity, and the north is more prosperous; Most of the snow melts in the south first;

Generally, on the shady slope, that is, the northern slope, low ferns and vines are more developed than on the sunny slope. The northern edge of the clearing in the forest is dense with grass.

A plant has lush leaves on the sunny side, and moss may grow on the shady trunk in the north. Independent trees are usually lush in the south with smooth bark; The leaves in the north are sparse and the bark is rough. In the south, grass is usually lush, in the north, it is wet and covered with moss.

Many trees in northern China have clear annual rings on their trunks. The rings on the south side are sparse and those on the north side are dense. Generally speaking, the tree ring pattern on the cross section of the stump is separated in the south and smaller in the north.

If you get lost on a cloudy day, you can know your position by the growth of moss on trees or stones. As far as the trees in the northern hemisphere are concerned, the leafy side is the south. If you cut down a tree, the side with wide rings and wet moss is the north.