Intro:
Before you begin
Method 1:
Use Your Watch (Daytime)
Method 2:
Use a Stick (Daytime)
Method 3:
By the Stars (Night - Northern Hemisphere Only)

2torial #0472: Learn2 Improvise a Compass (Day and Night) - Continued Method 3: By the Stars (Night - Northern Hemisphere Only) Find your sticks. Find the North Star The North Star can be found by following up the outside edge of the bail ("scoop") of the Big Dipper. Follow the line through the sky. The biggest shiniest star in that direction is the North Star. (The North Star is the first star in the handle of the Little Dipper.) Plot the placement of the sticks Draw an imaginary line from the North Star to the ground. Stand facing the "point" where the line touches the ground. Poke holes into the ground for the sticks, a couple of feet apart, along the line between you and the "point. Order the sticks Place the sticks in the ground so you see the tip of the shorter one first, then the tip of the longer one, then the North Star. Finish it off Draw a line in the dirt between the two sticks. The stick closest to you is South, the one farthest is North. -end- Learn More! or All steps at once (printable version)