Great Circle vs Rhumb - Distance Comparison

Compare great-circle and rhumb-line distance between two points - the standard ocean-passage routing decision.

Great circleRhumbNavigation

Lat 1degLon 1degLat 2degLon 2deg

Great-circle distance: 2,657nm

Rhumb-line distance: 2,738nm

Saving - GC vs RL: 81nm

Changing the inputs requires JavaScript. The calculator above shows its default inputs and result. The formula, symbols, and regulatory sources are shown in the Formula section below.

Formula, assumptions, and limits

d_{gc} = R \arccos(\sin\phi_1 \sin\phi_2 + \cos\phi_1 \cos\phi_2 \cos(\Delta\lambda))

Symbol	Meaning	Unit
$\phi_1, \phi_2$	Latitudes	deg
$\Delta\lambda$	Difference of longitude	deg

Source: Bowditch Pub.9 Ch.24

In short

Compare great-circle and rhumb-line distance between two points - the standard ocean-passage routing decision.

Learn the theory Marine Voyage Planning and Routing