Degrees Minutes Seconds to Decimal Degrees and Decimal Minutes

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Degrees Minutes Seconds to Decimal Degrees and Decimal Minutes

Degrees Minutes Seconds to Decimal Degrees and Decimal Minutes Calculation:

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 D =
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Degrees

Whole degrees of latitude or longitude. Keep the sign on this field if the coordinate is south or west.
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 M =
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Minutes

Minutes portion of the coordinate. This value should normally be positive.
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 S =
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Seconds

Seconds portion of the coordinate. This value should normally be positive.
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DD =
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Decimal Degrees

Full coordinate expressed as decimal degrees.
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DM =
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Decimal Minutes

Minutes and fractional minutes within the current degree.
Decimals

Choose the number of decimals to show in your answer. This is also known as significant figures. Select an appropriate amount of significant figures based on the precision of the input numbers.

Degrees Minutes Seconds to Decimal Degrees and Decimal Minutes Formula

Convert the minutes and seconds to fractions of a degree, then add them to the whole degrees. Decimal minutes come from combining the minutes and seconds into one minute value.

decimal degrees = |D| + M / 60 + S / 3600

decimal minutes = M + S / 60

If the original coordinate is negative, return the negative sign to the final decimal-degrees result.

Live Diagram

The bar shows how one degree is built from the current minute and second values.

Degrees Minutes Seconds to Decimal Degrees and Decimal Minutes Variables

You need the degree, minute, and second parts of the coordinate. Decimal degrees combine all three into one number, while decimal minutes combine just the minute and second parts.

Degrees (D): The whole-degree portion of the coordinate. Keep the sign here if the coordinate is negative.
Minutes (M): The first subdivision of a degree. There are 60 minutes in one degree.
Seconds (S): The second subdivision of a degree. There are 60 seconds in one minute and 3600 seconds in one degree.
Decimal Degrees (DD): The entire coordinate written as one decimal value.
Decimal Minutes (DM): The minutes portion written as a decimal value instead of separate minutes and seconds.

How the Calculation Works

Convert seconds to fractional minutes by dividing by 60.
Add that result to the whole minutes to get decimal minutes.
Convert the decimal minutes to fractional degrees by dividing by 60.
Add the fractional degrees to the absolute value of the whole degrees.
If the degree input was negative, apply that sign to the decimal-degrees result.

Degrees Minutes Seconds to Decimal Degrees and Decimal Minutes Example

What do 45° 30' 36" equal in decimal degrees and decimal minutes?

decimal minutes = 30 + 36 / 60 = 30.6
decimal degrees = 45 + 30 / 60 + 36 / 3600
decimal degrees = 45 + 0.5 + 0.01
DD = 45.51, DM = 30.6

So 45° 30' 36" is 45.51 decimal degrees, and its minute component is 30.6 decimal minutes.