Distance Calculator

What Type of Distance Does This Calculator Calculate?

This calculator measures the great-circle distance between two latitude and longitude coordinates. Great-circle distance is the shortest path between two points along the surface of a sphere. Because Earth is curved, calculating geographic distance this way is more appropriate than applying a simple flat-plane distance formula to latitude and longitude values.

Why Are Latitude and Longitude Converted to Radians?

The trigonometric functions used in the Haversine calculation operate on angles measured in radians. The conversion from degrees to radians is: Radians = Degrees × π / 180 For example: 40° × π / 180 ≈ 0.6981 radians The calculator performs this conversion automatically. You enter ordinary decimal-degree coordinates, and the JavaScript calculation converts them internally before applying the formula.

How Does the Calculator Convert Kilometers to Miles?

The Haversine calculation first produces a distance in kilometers because the calculator uses an Earth radius expressed in kilometers.

What Is the Difference Between Straight-Line Distance and Driving Distance?

Straight-line geographic distance measures the shortest surface path between coordinates, while driving distance follows the available road network. Road travel may need to follow: highways; local streets; bridges; mountain passes; border crossings; permitted routes. That means two places can be relatively close geographically while requiring a much longer road journey.

Can You Calculate the Distance Between Two Locations?

Yes. Two geographic locations can be compared with this calculator when you know the latitude and longitude coordinates representing each location. A location may be: a city; a landmark; a GPS position; an airport; a point selected from a map; another geographic coordinate. If you want a deeper explanation of how geographic places are represented and compared, read Distance Between Two Locations.