Great Circle vs Rhumb - Distance Comparison

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

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This calculator requires JavaScript to compute its 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

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