Using Shadows to Determine Direction
More Articles Related to NavigationNavigation Using the Stars
Using the stars as navigational aids has been a well known skill used by explorers and travelers for many thousands of years. Without the use of a magnetic compass it is possible to go great distances and stay on course, an excellent survival skill if you know how.
Those of us in the Northern Hemisphere have Polaris, also known as the North Star or Pole Star, positioned directly north to guide us. As discussed in an earlier Survival Topics article, knowing how to find the North Star is easy if you know how to find the Big Dipper constellation.
The Southern Hemisphere has the constellation Crux, also known as the Southern Cross. Finding the Southern Cross is perhaps a little more difficult than locating the North Star and will be the subject of a future Survival Topic.
Daytime Navigation Using the Sun
During the night we have ways of using the stars as a compass to find direction in the darkness. But what about finding direction in the daytime, when we have no compass and the sky is so bright the stars are not visible?
It just so happens that the stars ARE out during the daytime. Or rather, just one star is visible in daylight. The sun. That large yellow orb shining brightly in the sky illuminating the earth is in reality just another star. And if you know how you can use the sun as a compass to find North, South, East, and West.
Your Shadow is a Compass
One way to use the sun to find direction is through the use of shadows.
That shadow following you around for your entire life is carrying a useful secret. Your shadow always knows where it is in relation to you and the sun, and it never fails to point in the right direction if only we know how to use it. Let’s utilize this great direction finding ability of shadows to our advantage.
The Shadow Stick Compass Method
Although your body casts an excellent shadow when the sun is shining, you probably do not want to stand in one position without moving for ten or twenty minutes. An inanimate object such as a straight stick will work just as well.
The shadow stick method of direction finding requires:
- The bright sun – if it is too cloudy you will not be able to observe a shadow.
- A straight stick about .5 meters (1.5 feet) or longer.
- Two pebbles or other means of marking a point on the ground.
On a sunny day plant a straight stick in the ground as vertically as possible. As shown in the first photo you need to select an area where the shadow cast by the stick is easily visible on the ground. A sandy area makes a perfect backdrop but most anywhere free of vegetation or other objects can be used.
Mark the end of the shadow with a small rock or stick. Now come the waiting part.
After ten or fifteen minutes or longer, revisit your shadow stick. You will find that the sticks shadow has moved from its earlier position. Mark the end of the new shadow with another pebble or stick.
Draw a straight line between the two markers you have placed. This is your East–West line.
As you can see from the magnetic compass I have placed along the line made by the shadow stick method, the line points very closely to the true East-West direction. The first mark you made is on the west end of the line and the second mark on the shadow is on the east end.
To find the North–South directions, draw a line perpendicular to your East–West line. Looking East, North will be on the left side of the line you drew and South will be on the right side.
Why The Shadow Stick Compass Method Works
As you know, the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. As an object bathed in sunlight casts its shadow, the shadow moves in exactly the opposite direction to the movement of the sun. Therefore, the shadow is moving eastward as the sun moves westward. Therefore, you can track the movement of a shadow on the ground and use this directional information for navigation!
Although not nearly as accurate as a magnetic compass, this method of finding your bearings can be used when you are confused or even lost in the wilderness.
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