4 and 6-figure grid references
6-figure grid reference
345627
The point is 345 along and 627 up, inside grid square 3462.
- 4-figure square
- 3462
- Easting
- 345
- Northing
- 627
Working
- Eastings first: go along the bottom of the map. The point is in the column that starts at line 34.
- Then northings: go up the side. The point is in the row that starts at line 62.
- 4-figure grid reference: 34 then 62 = 3462. It names the square whose bottom-left corner is where line 34 meets line 62.
- For six figures, split that square into tenths. The point is 5 tenths across and 7 tenths up.
- 6-figure grid reference: 345 then 627 = 345627.
Your result
345627. The point is 345 along and 627 up, inside grid square 3462.
Practise map and number skills
Your mock plan, in three taps
A 6-figure grid reference such as 345627 gives the easting 345 first and the northing 627 second; its 4-figure square is 3462.
Questions people ask
How do you read a 4-figure grid reference?
Find the line on the left edge of the square and read its number along the bottom: that is the easting. Then find the line on the bottom edge of the square and read its number up the side: that is the northing. Easting 34 and northing 62 make square 3462.
How do you work out a 6-figure grid reference?
Start with the 4-figure square, then imagine it split into ten strips each way. Count the tenths across from the left edge and add that figure to the easting, then count the tenths up from the bottom edge and add it to the northing. Five tenths across and seven up in square 3462 gives 345627.
Which comes first, eastings or northings?
Eastings always come first. "Along the corridor, then up the stairs" is the usual way to remember it: go along the bottom of the map, then up the side.
What does a 6-figure grid reference tell you that a 4-figure one does not?
A 4-figure reference names a whole square, which is 1 km by 1 km on an Ordnance Survey map. Six figures narrow it to a point within 100 m, enough to pick out a single building or bridge.
More free tools
Keep going
How we work this out
What it does
Tap a point on the practice map to read its 4 and 6-figure grid references, or type a reference to see where it is, with each step explained.
Four and six-figure grid references on a practice map of 1 km squares, eastings 30 to 39 and northings 60 to 69, read the way an Ordnance Survey map is read.
Method
- Eastings are read first, along the bottom of the map; northings second, up the side.
- A 4-figure reference names the square whose bottom-left corner is where its easting and northing lines meet.
- A 6-figure reference adds tenths of that square: the third figure of each half counts tenths across, then tenths up.