Compass points

On this page

• Capitalization guidelines
  • When to capitalize
  • When to use lower case
• Hyphenation guidelines
• Abbreviations
• Translation in geographical names

Capitalization guidelines

Compass points are capitalized in some contexts, but not in others. The guidelines below explain when to use capitals and when to use lower case.

When to capitalize

Capitalize compass points when they refer to

• part of an address:
  • 150 East Dundas Street
  • 111 King St. West
• abbreviated directions:
  • winds NNW
  • 28 miles SW of the city
• informal district names:
  • the Eastern Townships
  • the South Shore
• specific geographic divisions:
  • the Northwest Territories
  • North Vancouver
• political or administrative rather than simply geographic divisions:
  • the West
  • Western values
  • Western Europe
  • the East Coast
  • the Far North
  • Northern Ireland

When to use lower case

Do not capitalize compass points when they are used

• as purely descriptive terms:
  • southern exposure
  • the north side of the house
• as compass directions:
  • Go south four blocks.
  • Drive north to get to the highway.
• as orientations:
  • We planted a garden to the west of the house.
  • We live east of Ottawa.
• for unofficial geographic divisions:
  • northern New Brunswick
  • the west of Saskatchewan
  • the east coast of Canada

Hyphenation guidelines

Compass points containing two directions are written as one word:

• northeast
• southwest

Compass points containing three directions are hyphenated:

• north-northeast
• west-southwest

Abbreviations

The table below shows the abbreviations for the 16 compass points.

Translation in geographical names

The name of a geographical feature contains two parts: a generic term (lake, river, bay, mountain, road, etc.) and the specific part that serves as the exact name of the feature.

Points of the compass are translated when they modify the generic term in a geographical name:

• ruisseau Saint-Jean Nord = North Saint-Jean Creek
  [Here, Nord modifies the generic term ruisseau.]
• rivière Coulonge Est = East Coulonge River
  [Here, Est modifies the generic term rivière.]

However, compass points are left in the original language when they serve as the specific part of the name:

• rivière Ouest = Ouest River