Convert between decimal degrees and DMS (degrees, minutes, seconds) coordinate formats. Includes radians, decimal minutes, city presets, and a landmark reference table.
Geographic coordinates can be expressed in several formats: decimal degrees (40.7128°), degrees-minutes-seconds (40° 42' 46.08" N), or decimal minutes (40° 42.768' N). Different GPS devices, mapping services, and navigation tools use different formats, making conversion a frequent necessity for travelers, surveyors, geocachers, pilots, and anyone working with location data.
This coordinates converter handles bidirectional conversion between decimal degrees and DMS (degrees, minutes, seconds). Enter coordinates in either format and instantly see all representations including radians for mathematical calculations. The tool includes preset buttons for major world cities and a landmark reference table for quick lookup.
Whether you are entering coordinates into a GPS device, converting between Google Maps and aviation charts, working with GIS data, or planning a geocaching adventure, this tool ensures your coordinates are in the right format every time. It also reduces sign and direction mistakes when sharing locations between teams using different coordinate standards and software tools.
GPS devices, mapping APIs, aviation charts, and survey documents all use different coordinate formats. Converting between decimal degrees and DMS requires division by 60 and handling of directional signs (N/S, E/W). This tool eliminates errors and provides four formats simultaneously for faster and safer data entry workflows in practice, especially when teams exchange coordinates frequently.
Decimal → DMS: degrees = floor(|decimal|); minutes = floor((|decimal| - degrees) × 60); seconds = ((|decimal| - degrees) × 60 - minutes) × 60 DMS → Decimal: decimal = degrees + minutes/60 + seconds/3600 Radians = degrees × π/180
Result: 40° 42' 46.08" N, 74° 0' 21.6" W
New York City at 40.7128° N, 74.0060° W converts to DMS by extracting whole degrees (40°), then multiplying the fractional part by 60 for minutes (42.768'), and the remaining fraction by 60 for seconds (46.08").
The geographic coordinate system uses latitude (north-south, -90° to 90°) and longitude (east-west, -180° to 180°) to specify locations on Earth. The prime meridian (0° longitude) passes through Greenwich, England, and the equator (0° latitude) divides the northern and southern hemispheres.
The number of decimal places directly determines positioning accuracy. For geocaching, 5-6 decimal places are standard. For city-level work, 2-3 places suffice. Aviation uses DMS with seconds to one decimal place, giving roughly 3-meter precision.
Swapping latitude and longitude (especially with negative values), omitting the negative sign for southern/western coordinates, confusing decimal degrees with decimal minutes, and mixing up seconds notation (") with inch marks are all common errors that this converter helps prevent.
Decimal degrees express the coordinate as a single number (40.7128°). DMS breaks it into degrees, minutes, and seconds (40° 42' 46.08"). They represent the same location in different formats.
1 decimal place ≈ 11.1 km. 2 places ≈ 1.1 km. 3 places ≈ 111 m. 4 places ≈ 11 m. 5 places ≈ 1.1 m. 6 places ≈ 11 cm.
Many mathematical formulas — haversine distance, great circle calculations, map projections — require coordinates in radians rather than degrees. Converting once and reusing radian values helps avoid repeated mistakes in technical calculations.
Decimal minutes keeps degrees as whole numbers and expresses the rest as decimal minutes: 40° 42.768'. It is a middle ground between DMS and decimal degrees, used by some marine GPS units.
In decimal format, use negative numbers (-33.8688 for 33°S). In DMS format, select S or W from the direction dropdown.
Google Maps uses decimal degrees by default (e.g., 40.7128, -74.0060). You can paste DMS format into the search bar and it will convert automatically.