May 26, 2026
How to Find GPS Coordinates: A Complete Guide
How to Find Coordinates in 2026: The Complete Guide to Latitude & Longitude
Last Updated: May 26, 2026 Reading Time: 5 minutes Author: Michael Heckert, Founder of OurCoordinates.com
What Are Coordinates?
Coordinates are numbers that identify any place on Earth. Every location — your house, your favorite restaurant, the spot where you proposed — has a unique set of coordinates.
There are two numbers:
- Latitude — how far north or south (like a ladder)
- Longitude — how far east or west (like long lines)
Together, they look like this: ``` 40.7489° N, 73.9680° W ```
That's the Empire State Building. Those two numbers pinpoint it exactly. No other place on Earth shares those coordinates.
Why Coordinates Matter for Personalized Jewelry
When you engrave coordinates on jewelry, you're not just adding numbers. You're encoding a memory. A place that matters.
The coordinates of:
- Where you met your partner
- Your childhood home
- The hospital where your child was born
- The beach where you got engaged
These numbers carry emotional weight that generic phrases can't match.
At OurCoordinates, we've engraved over 50,000 sets of coordinates since 2019. Here's our complete guide to finding yours.
Method 1: Google Maps (Fastest — 30 Seconds)
Best for: Any location with an address
Step-by-Step:
1. Go to Google Maps (desktop works best) 2. Search your location in the search bar 3. Right-click on the exact spot 4. A popup appears with coordinates at the top 5. Click the coordinates to copy them
Example:
- Search: "Central Park, New York"
- Right-click on the Bethesda Fountain
- Popup shows: `40.7753° N, 73.9712° W`
Pro tip: Zoom in as close as possible before right-clicking. A few feet can change the last decimal places.
Method 2: Google Maps Mobile (On the Go)
Best for: Finding coordinates while traveling
Step-by-Step:
1. Open Google Maps app 2. Press and hold on the location 3. A red pin drops 4. Swipe up on the white bar at the bottom 5. Coordinates appear under the location name
Note: Mobile coordinates are slightly less precise than desktop. For exact coordinates (like a specific grave or park bench), use desktop.
Method 3: GPS Coordinates Website (Most Precise)
Best for: Remote locations, hiking spots, or places without addresses
Recommended Tools:
- Type any address
- Drag the map to fine-tune
- Copy coordinates in multiple formats
- Free, no signup
- Enter address or click map
- Shows coordinates plus elevation
- Includes "Where is this?" reverse lookup
- Free, no signup
- Divides Earth into 3m x 3m squares
- Each square has 3 unique words
- Share locations with words instead of numbers
- Free app, premium features available
Method 4: Ask Us (Free Service)
Best for: Cemetery coordinates, vague locations, or "I don't know the address"
We help customers find coordinates every day. Just email us:
Email: support@ourcoordinates.com Subject: "Help me find coordinates" Include: As much detail as possible
Examples of requests we handle:
- "My grandmother's grave is at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Hollywood Hills. Her name was Margaret Chen. Can you find the coordinates?"
- "The beach where we got engaged is in Malibu, near the pier but not at the pier. It's the spot with the big rock."
- "I need the coordinates of the hospital room where my son was born. Cedars-Sinai, Los Angeles."
Response time: Usually within 4 hours during business days.
Coordinates Format: What We Need
We accept coordinates in any format. Here are the most common:
| Format | Example | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
| Decimal degrees | 40.7489, -73.9680 | Most common, easiest to read |
| Degrees, minutes, seconds | 40° 44' 56.1" N, 73° 57' 04.8" W | Traditional format |
| Degrees, decimal minutes | 40° 44.935' N, 73° 57.080' W | GPS device format |
Our recommendation: Decimal degrees (40.7489, -73.9680). It's the cleanest for engraving and the most accurate.
How Precise Should Coordinates Be?
| Decimal Places | Accuracy | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| 2 (40.74, -73.96) | ~1 kilometer | City-level memory |
| 4 (40.7489, -73.9680) | ~10 meters | Building-level memory |
| 6 (40.748917, -73.968042) | ~10 centimeters | Exact spot memory |
For jewelry, we recommend 4–6 decimal places.
4 decimal places gets you to the building. 6 gets you to the exact bench, grave, or spot where you stood.
Popular Coordinates People Engrave
| Memory | Example Location | Example Coordinates |
|---|---|---|
| First date | The coffee shop | 40.7282, -73.9942 |
| Wedding venue | The chapel | 34.0522, -118.2437 |
| Childhood home | Parents' house | 41.8781, -87.6298 |
| Proposal spot | The beach | 25.7617, -80.1918 |
| College campus | The quad | 42.3601, -71.0942 |
| First home | The apartment | 47.6062, -122.3321 |
| Baby's birthplace | The hospital | 33.6846, -117.8265 |
| Memorial site | The cemetery | 34.0736, -118.3210 |
| Honeymoon | The resort | 20.6296, -87.0739 |
| "Our spot" | The park bench | 51.5074, -0.1278 |
Troubleshooting: Common Coordinate Problems
Problem: "My coordinates show up in the ocean" Fix: You probably have the positive/negative sign wrong. Northern hemisphere is positive latitude. Western hemisphere (USA) is negative longitude. Example: New York is 40.7, -74.0 (not 40.7, 74.0).
Problem: "The coordinates are slightly off" Fix: Zoom in closer on Google Maps before right-clicking. One pixel at zoom level 20 is about 10 centimeters.
Problem: "I only have an address, not coordinates" Fix: Enter the address into GPS-coordinates.org. It converts addresses to coordinates automatically.
Problem: "The place doesn't have an address" Fix: Use Google Maps satellite view. Find the exact spot visually. Right-click. That's how we find cemetery graves, hiking trailheads, and beach proposal spots.
Free Coordinates Tools We Recommend
| Tool | Best For | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Google Maps | Quick lookups | Free |
| GPS-coordinates.org | Address to coordinates | Free |
| LatLong.net | Elevation + reverse lookup | Free |
| What3Words | Sharing without numbers | Free |
| OurCoordinates support | Complex locations | Free |
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the easiest way to find coordinates?
Google Maps on desktop. Search the location, right-click the exact spot, and the coordinates appear in the popup. Takes 30 seconds.
How do I find coordinates for a cemetery grave?
Use Google Maps satellite view. Find the grave visually, zoom in as close as possible, right-click. If you can't locate it, email us the cemetery name and we'll find it for you.
What if my coordinates are wrong?
Double-check the positive/negative signs. USA locations should have negative longitude. If you're unsure, send us the coordinates before ordering and we'll verify them.
Can I use What3Words instead of coordinates?
Yes. We can convert What3Words locations to coordinates for engraving. Include the 3 words in your order notes.
How accurate does the engraving need to be?
4 decimal places (like 40.7489) is accurate to about 10 meters — close enough for any building or landmark. 6 decimal places gets you to the exact spot.
Do you verify coordinates before engraving?
Yes. Our team double-checks every set of coordinates against Google Maps before engraving. If something looks wrong, we'll email you before proceeding.
Conclusion: Every Place Has a Number
Coordinates aren't just numbers. They're memories encoded in Earth's geometry. The place you met. The home you built. The spot where everything changed.
Finding coordinates takes 30 seconds with Google Maps. Engraving them takes 2–3 days. Wearing them lasts a lifetime.
At OurCoordinates, we're here to help you find, verify, and engrave the coordinates that matter most.
Ready to turn your place into a piece?
About the Author
Michael Heckert is the founder of OurCoordinates.com. Since 2019, OurCoordinates has helped over 50,000 customers find and engrave meaningful coordinates. Every piece is designed, verified, and engraved in St. Petersburg, Florida.
This post was last updated on May 26, 2026. Product prices and availability are subject to change.
Use verified coordinates in a personalized piece
Once the pin returns to the correct location, copy the format required by the product page and save the original map reference. Browse the personalized jewelry collection only after you know the engraving length and privacy level that suit the story.
For the complete checkout process, including product options and a final character-by-character review, read how to order personalized coordinates jewelry. The text submitted with the order should be treated as the source of truth.
Finding Coordinates on Apple Maps and Your Phone's Compass
Google Maps is the fastest route, but not everyone uses it. On Apple Maps, drop a pin by touching and holding the location, then swipe up on the place card — the coordinates appear near the bottom of the details. On an iPhone's built-in Compass app, your current latitude and longitude display at the bottom of the screen, which is the quickest method if you are standing in the exact spot you want engraved. On Android, the Google Maps long-press drops a pin and shows the decimal coordinates in the search bar at the top.
Coordinate Formats — and Which One to Engrave
The same place can be written three ways, and this trips people up at checkout:
- Decimal degrees (DD): 27.8961° N, 82.7001° W — compact, modern, and the format most of our pieces use.
- Degrees, minutes, seconds (DMS): 27° 53' 46" N, 82° 42' 0" W — traditional and beautiful, but it eats character space fast on a small pendant.
- Degrees and decimal minutes (DDM): 27° 53.76' N, 82° 42.00' W — the format used in marine and aviation navigation.
On a standard pendant, DD in four decimal places is the safe choice: precise to about eleven meters, and short enough to stay legible. On a bar necklace or leather coordinate bracelet, you have room for DMS if you want the classic look.
What If You Don't Remember the Exact Spot?
Almost nobody does, and precision matters far less than people assume. Some common situations:
- "I remember the neighborhood, not the address." Use the neighborhood's center point. Nobody is going to navigate to your necklace.
- "The place closed or was demolished." The coordinates do not care. The bar that became a bank is still 40.7128° N, 74.0060° W.
- "We met online." Use the location of your first in-person meeting, or the midpoint between your two cities — a genuinely lovely option for couples who started as strangers on a screen.
- "It was a festival or a big event." Use the venue or the park. The event is what you are marking, not the square meter.
- "We met at someone else's house." Use the street, not the house number. It stays meaningful without handing a stranger's address to anyone who reads your jewelry.
Double-Check Before You Order
Two mistakes account for nearly every reorder we see. First, the missing hemisphere: 82.7001 W and 82.7001 E are on opposite sides of the planet, and dropping the letter turns a beach in Florida into open ocean near China. Second, the transposed pair: latitude always comes first. Paste your finished coordinates back into a map search before you submit the order and confirm the pin lands where you expect. It takes ten seconds and saves a remake.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many characters fit on a pendant? A standard coordinates pendant comfortably holds one full DD coordinate pair. Two locations need a bar-style piece or a two-piece set.
Can I engrave an address instead? You can, but addresses date badly — streets get renamed and numbering changes. Coordinates do not.
Can't find your location? Send us the place name and we will find and format the coordinates for you before your order is engraved.
Once you have your numbers, see what to engrave or browse the coordinates collection.
Related guides
Or browse our coordinates jewelry.
