r/firelookouts • u/triviaqueen • Jul 13 '25

Lookout Questions Question about Lat & Long

I've always dealt with finding location by S/T/R. However, the district I'm on now only uses lat/long. When a fire location is given as 46 46.275, 110 44.050 and I enter that into GoogleMaps, it comes up in Mongolia instead of Montana (no kidding). How do I format lat/long so Google maps understands it?

9 Upvotes

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10

u/ForestryTechnician Jul 13 '25

It should be -110°. We’re in the western hemisphere.

1

u/knuckle_headers Jul 13 '25

This or specify North and West (just put N after the latitude and W after the longitude).

1

u/triviaqueen Jul 14 '25

46 46.275, 110 44.050

THANK YOU. I guess the minus sign goes without saying which is way it isn't said when turning in the fire report

1

u/abitmessy Jul 13 '25

There’s probably settings in google maps to change the units used to what you’re using.

0

u/[deleted] Jul 14 '25 edited Jul 18 '25

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/triviaqueen Jul 14 '25

This is my 11th year as a lookout but my first year on this district. They do things differently here then on my last assignment. I'm proactive which is why I go to Reddit to ask questions when I need help. My question has been answered. Thank you for your concern.