Accuracy of Decimal Places in Latitude and Longitude Degrees

The more decimal places there are in a set of coordinates, the more precise the coordinates will be. For example, the following coordinates for the Eiffel Tower, Paris, France, include 5 decimal places each and would be accurate to 1.11 meters (+/- 5.55 m):

N 048.85837

E 002.29448

When the position format of a Garmin device is set to Latitude and Longitude in decimal degrees (hddd.ddddd^o or hddd.dddddd^o), up to 5 or 6 digits can be entered after the decimal for each coordinate, depending on the device being used and what version of software it is running. Some devices only support 5 decimal places for each coordinate, even with the latest software updates.

Occasionally coordinates come from a more precise source, and Garmin devices will not have the additional decimal places needed to enter every single digit. In these cases, the extra digits at the end of the coordinates can be dropped while still remaining accurate enough for most outdoor activities.

The chart below provides more details on the level of accuracy provided based on the number of decimal places in the coordinates:

Latitude and Longitude in degrees/minutes/seconds are not in decimal format. Each degree equals 3600 seconds. Like the clock minutes and seconds are limited to less than 60 at which point they become the next degree or minute.