Qibla direction from Calgary

Many people expect Qibla to lie west, or they read east or southeast off a flat world map. From Calgary, the calculated starting direction is north-northeast. The 25.0° figure is the initial direction of the shorter route across a sphere, measured at the Calgary preset point. The heading changes along that route. So 25.0° tells you which way to face from the starting point. It is not a course to hold all the way.

On a Web Mercator world map, a straight line drawn from Calgary to Mecca runs generally east and slightly south. The shorter spherical route leaves Calgary toward north-northeast, and that map shows it as a curve. Read why Qibla routes curve on maps for the full picture.

Before you turn, check which point the finder is using. For the Calgary preset, find true north and then turn 25.0° clockwise. If you chose another point or opened shared coordinates, turn by the bearing the finder shows instead. The guide explains how to apply the result with a reliable north reference.

The Calgary preset is one representative point near the city centre. It is not a building survey, a measurement of any room or your current position. Treat 25.0° as a city reference, not a result for your exact address.

The panel at the top of this page always shows that preset. The finder also starts from Calgary unless you opened a shared link. A valid shared city or coordinate link loads first. A malformed shared link shows an error rather than quietly switching back to Calgary. Once you choose a different point, read the bearing and distance in the finder, because the panel does not change with it. For other places, browse city references.

The 25.0° bearing is measured from true north. A magnetic compass points to magnetic north instead. The angle between the two is called declination, and it changes with place and date. For that reason, this page gives no fixed Calgary declination. If you need a current value, take it from a dated model such as NOAA’s World Magnetic Model.

Rule: correct once, and only when you use a magnetic reference. Count declination D as positive when it is east. Use the bearing B that the finder currently shows, which is 25.0° for the Calgary preset.

• Unadjusted magnetic compass: set B − D, then wrap the result into 0–360°.
• Compass already adjusted to true north: use B directly.
• Measured magnetic heading M converted to true: use M + D.

Never add D to the target, and never correct twice. The following example is hypothetical and is not a Calgary value. With 10° east declination, the Calgary preset’s magnetic setting would be 15.0°. With 30° east, 25.0 − 30 = −5, which wraps to 355°.

The finder’s live compass accepts only an absolute heading from the phone. It treats that heading as magnetic and applies one correction from a bundled WMM2025 model. In this finder, the model is valid until 13 November 2029, 03:00 UTC, which is earlier than NOAA’s own end date for it. If the correction is unavailable, live alignment stops. The true-north bearing stays available for any point with a valid result, and you can still use the optional map. The correction lines up the north references, but it does not turn your phone toward Qibla. For more detail, see true north and magnetic north.

The calculated bearing does not change when your phone moves. If 25.0° stays the same but the arrow misbehaves, check the sensor and its surroundings first.

• Compass off or on: with the compass off, the arrow shows a north-up bearing and stays still, which is normal. With the live compass on, some movement as you turn is expected. Jitter while the phone is still is a sign of a problem.
• Phone position: hold the phone flat or nearly level, within about 5°, with the screen in portrait. Live alignment pauses in landscape or when the phone tilts further.
• Nearby objects: move away from magnets, metal and electronics.
• Map: it shows geographic context only and cannot tell you which way a room faces. Its OpenStreetMap tiles reveal your IP address and the area you view to the tile provider.

Some phones and browsers do not provide a usable compass sensor. If yours does not, use the true-north bearing with a reliable north reference. For further steps, see help with an unstable arrow.

The SVG card records the Calgary preset’s bearing, distance and coordinates on a north-up diagram. The printed arrow cannot align itself. Place the card so that its N matches a trusted true-north reference, then read the direction. The card is not a room marker or a live reading.

Download the Calgary reference card

What is the exact Qibla direction from Calgary?

From the preset at 51.0447, -114.0719, the bearing is 25.0° clockwise from true north. It is a spherical calculation to a published Kaaba reference point at 21.4225241, 39.8261818, which this project has not independently surveyed. Treat it as a calculated direction, not a surveyed alignment or a religious ruling.

Which side is Qibla on from Calgary?

Qibla is to the north-northeast. Find true north, then turn 25.0° clockwise. The section on starting from north explains why the direction is not west.

How do I find the Qibla direction from my own location?

You can tap Use my location or choose a place under Search city presets. You can also open Enter coordinates instead, type a decimal Latitude and Longitude, and select Find my Qibla. The new result replaces the Calgary preset in the finder, and the panel at the top keeps showing the Calgary reference.

Do I need to allow location access?

No. City presets and typed decimal coordinates work without browser location permission. If you tap Use my location, the finder makes one location request, and your browser may ask for permission if you have not already granted it. The finder does not keep tracking you. The optional Position uncertainty field takes a radius in metres and does not measure compass accuracy.

Does the finder save or share my location?

Only if you choose. Remember this location on this device stays off until you tick it, and opening this page does not tick it. Reset finder clears the active point but keeps any location you saved earlier.

Clear saved location, or unticking Remember, tries to remove the saved point. If your browser blocks this, the finder tells you, and you can clear this site’s data in your browser settings. Share location creates a link that contains the coordinates, the label and any attached position uncertainty, so anyone who receives the full link can read them. The privacy page has more detail.

Is the Calgary bearing a magnetic-compass reading?

No. It is measured from true north. If you use a magnetic compass, correct once, as explained under keeping the north reference consistent.

How do I use the downloadable Calgary card?

Line up the card’s N with a trusted true-north reference, then read the arrow. The card records the city-centre preset only, as described under keeping a reference for this city.

The 25.0° figure belongs to the Calgary preset, not to Canada as a whole. From the Toronto city-centre reference, the bearing is 54.6° from true north. See the Qibla direction from Toronto, or choose another city from the city references.

This Calgary page is available in English only, and there is no translated Calgary page. If you choose another language, the switch opens that language’s finder with Calgary, Canada selected, so you can still work from the Calgary city preset: Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia, Türkçe (Turkish), Bahasa Melayu (Malay) or Français (French).

City pages written in Arabic, Indonesian, Turkish and Malay are listed in the Arabic, Indonesian, Turkish and Malay city directories. A French city directory is also available.