Qibla direction in Ellicott City

From Ellicott City, face 56.7° from true north, roughly east-north-east. The Kaaba in Makkah is 10,593 km away along the shortest path over the Earth.

How to face the Qibla in Ellicott City

  1. Open the compass on your phone, or NearMasjid’s Qibla screen, and hold the phone flat.
  2. Turn until the heading reads 56.7°. NearMasjid shows “Facing Qibla” when you are lined up.
  3. Compass apps point to magnetic north unless set to true north; NearMasjid uses true north.
NESW
56.7°

Face the Qibla anywhere

NearMasjid shows the Qibla on a compass or on a map, with the bearing from your location, your current heading and the distance to Makkah. It tells you when you are facing the Qibla.

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Face the Qibla anywhere

How this is calculated

The bearing is the initial great-circle direction from the centre of Ellicott City (39.2673, -76.7983) to the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E). It is the same calculation NearMasjid uses on your phone.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Qibla in Ellicott City exactly east-north-east?

Not exactly. The precise bearing is 56.7° from true north; east-north-east is the nearest compass point.

Why isn’t the Qibla simply south-east from the UK or east from the US?

The Qibla follows the shortest path over the curved Earth (a great circle), so on a flat map it can look different from a straight line.