Google Maps Distance Calculator
Last Updated 8th October 2009
[Map Height : Small - Medium - Large]
Quick Find :
| Total Distance | Miles KM Nautical Miles Metres Feet | Autopan ? | Google Search Bar ? |
Description
You can use the Google Maps Distance Calculator to find out the distance between two or more points anywhere on the earth. In other words, the distance between A and B. Click once on the map to place the first marker and then click again to position the second marker. The distance between the points will then be displayed. You can also build up a series of locations to find a total distance.
An important feature of this tool is that is "as the crow flies", so traveling in real life will normally involve larger distances, but this may also help those who need to measure off-road distances.
How To Use
- Zoom and drag the map to find the location of marker 1
- Click to place marker 1.
- Zoom and drag the map to find the location of marker 2.
- Click to place marker 2.
- The distance will be displayed below the map in miles or kilometers. You can change between miles or km at any time.
- Add as many points as required and the distance will build up.
- You can also drag and drop markers after they have been put on the map
Note
All distances are estimations so Daft Logic does not accept any responsibility that may arise when the value reported is incorrect.
You can move the markers after they have been positioned so you can modify you route on the fly and see how the distance will be effected.
Options
- Click [Clear Last] to undo the last marker placed.
- Click [Zoom To Fit] to zoom the map around all markers.
- Click [Clear Map] to erase all markers and start again.
- Click [Display Halfway] to automatically place a marker halfway between your last two markers.
- Use the Quick Find text box to quickly relocate the map
- You can choose between miles and kilometers (km) for the Total Distance readout
How it Works
Clearly you, the user inputs two 'points' that are used to calculate the distance. Calculating the "As the Crow Flies" distance is a matter of using Great Circle formula. Then the main problem is converting the Google Map unit to miles and kilometers.
The map will also automatically save your route in your temporary internet cookies so that you can return and see the route as you last left it. If you ever need to start from scratch then use the [Clear Map] button.
Benchmark Tests
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Map showing the estimated distance between New York and Paris. All references that can be found suggest that this is an accurate measurement. |
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Map showing the Seven Mile Straight in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. This shows a reading of 6.910 miles. |
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Map showing the distance between Belfast and Dublin. As far as I can see this is an accurate estimate (if there is such a thing). This trip would be approximately 100 miles by road so the proverbial crow would have less distance to travel. |
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Map showing the Mary Peters Track in South Belfast. The reading shows 0.394km which is clearly a reasonable measurement for an athletics track. |
Relevant Links
Further Uses and Ideas
- Show difference in altitude between markers
Version History
Version 1 (29/12/2005) - The Beginning
- Basic Distance Calculation
Version 2 (19/01/2006)
- Stop post back between clicks
- Calculate Mid Point
- Zoom to fit feature
- More than one marker as running total
Version 3 (15/06/2007)
- Move to API v2
- Great Circle display and distance calculation
- Option to resize map height
Version 3.1 (25/09/2007)
- Added print map option
Version 3.2 (01/10/2007)
- Added Quick Find
Version 4 (20/01/2008)
- Added Scroll Wheel Zoom in and out
- Complete conversion to API v2
- Better Zoom to Fit Functionality
- Added crosshairs curser
Version 4.1 (21/02/2008)
- Removed Scroll Wheel Zoom in and out
- Added marker drag and drop functionality
- Removed Print Option (Ctrl+Print Screen works better)
Version 4.2 (10/06/2008)
- Added Nautical Miles option
Version 4.3 (20/10/2008)
- Added drop down map type option
Version 4.4 (17/12/2008)
- Map saves last position for when you next visit
Version 4.5 (04/01/2009)
- Fixed autopan issue when map is resized
Version 4.6 (28/09/2009)
- Removed Quick Find
- Added Google Search bar
Version 4.7 (06/10/2009)
- Brought Back Quick Find!
- Removed Google Search bar!
- Added Route Autosave via cookies
- Added Marker tooltip showing marker id and lat/lng
- Added Feet measurement
- Added Metres measurement
Version 4.8 (08/10/2009) - You Are Here
- Google Search can now be enabled by a check box
- More settings are now saved such as toggle markers, Google Search and Map Type
Previous Comments For This Page
I had to check if my house was outside 500 metres of the coast in order to get a warranty for my roof. According to this it is 550m. Excellent.
On 08/03/2010I had to check if my house was outside 500 metres of the coast in order to get a warranty for my roof. According to this it is 550m. Excellent.
On 08/03/2010great for planning my run :)
By andrea on 08/03/2010Very usefull for my boat trips
By Mark Wessels on 07/03/2010thanks for this i had a geo assignment that needed me to find the distance from a certain place and without this i would never have gotten it done
By Justin on 05/03/2010Good, now where's the acreage calculator?
By theman on 03/03/2010Cool, it would be nice If we could locate points by specifying its lat,lon
On 03/03/2010great tool. just worked out how far f1 teams travel in a season 68765.419 miles. who collects the air miles :-} many thanks.
By f1 addict on 24/02/2010Great tool. It helps for many calculations based on geographical distances between two stations.
By Mahadevaiah 24/02/2010 on 24/02/2010Nice service, but why can't it find coordinates like "47.186111,9.985"? They come from Wikipedia.
By Karsten on 22/02/2010Good. Google has get directions options. But, its completely useless if I want to find walking distance from one point to another in a place strewn with one ways.
By Sarin on 20/02/2010Great for calculating distance on short Point to Point WIFI links.
By TechNinjas on 19/02/2010Great tool. Would be useful to be able to display multiple routes and assign different colours for each.
On 18/02/2010is there an option that will allway you to use, Latitude and Logitude relative to each marker?
For Example
Marker1:
Dallas, Tx 32.808067N 96.876183W
Marker2:
Denver, Co 39.745838N 104.979507W
Thanks
By vknott on 17/02/2010I am trying to find the distance from Ft. Lauderdale, Fl, to Jensen Beach, Fl., using rte. US 1
By Patty on 17/02/2010I wanted to know how far it is to Nicaragua
On 16/02/2010nice if with snapshots
but helpful in a way that i can search the places
On 15/02/2010It is a good option to know distance between locations
By thyagesh on 12/02/2010Brilliant - just used it to check school catchment area. Thank you!!
On 11/02/2010THANK YOU!!!!
On 10/02/2010Great stuff. But it would be nice to have the possibility to bookmark the route....
By J on 10/02/2010HELLO,
just a question,
can I get a rout between two cities with google api without using map, I mean from Console Application in Java ?!?
Thanks
By J on 10/02/2010I used your tool to calculate the routes of my training run. very good :)
By francesco (italy) on 08/02/2010Had to find out how many netres my property was from water for insurance renewal purposes- no problem on your site.
On 08/02/2010I use this tool for planning my open water rowing trips. It is a fantastic tool. Saving trip data to an account and import/export would be great. An iPhone app. so you can take a planned trip with you and record actual trip from GPS data would all be great features.
By Martin Taylor on 06/02/2010Great! My Rooftop in England to My Darling Fiancee's Rooftop in Russia-1627 miles........That's "Long Distance Love" for ya !
By Peej. on 05/02/2010Excellent app, have just started walking and love the way it makes me wat to go the extra mile:)
On 04/02/2010very helpful and easy to handle
By Andreas on 04/02/2010This is a map for directions from Malta International Airport to the Bayview Hotel & Appartments at 143 The Strand, Sliema, GZ03
By Ciaran Roddy on 02/02/2010love this site, use it for home to boat ramp to fish distances.
By wormking on 30/01/201030 out of 552 comments shown. See all comments.
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