compass points

(A similar topic is discussed in French in the article points cardinaux.)

In writing compass points (or compass directions), follow the guidelines below.

On this page

• Capitalize
• Do not capitalize
• Hyphenate
• Abbreviations

Capitalize

Capitalize when the compass points 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

Do not capitalize

Do not capitalize when the compass points 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:
  • 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

Hyphenate

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 list below shows the abbreviations for the 16 compass points.