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showing the cardinal directions]] In Geography , the four cardinal directions are North , East , South and West . North and south are oriented toward the respective Poles of the Earth . The Earth's rotation defines the orientation of east and west. The four cardinal directions correspond to the following degrees (see Azimuth ). In Mathematics , cardinal directions or cardinal points are the four principal directions or points of the Compass in a Plane . Germanic origin of names During the Migration Period , the Germanic Languages ' names for the cardinal directions entered the Romance Languages , where they replaced the Latin names ''borealis'' (or ''septentrionalis''), ''australis'' (or ''meridionalis''), ''occidentalis'' and ''orientalis''. See French Language . FIVE DIRECTIONS Traditional Chinese culture and some others view the Center as a fifth principal direction. In Asia , each direction is often identified with a Color , and geographical or ethnic terms may contain the name of the color instead of the name of the corresponding direction. Central Asia The five cardinal directions were historically identified with colors. This was common to the Central Asian cultural area and was carried west by the westward migration of the Turks . These directional color terms were applied both to geographic features and sometimes to populations as well.
Americas In Mesoamerica and North America, traditional indigenous beliefs also focus on the belief in the four cardinal directions and a center. Each direction was associated with a color, which varied, but each color corresponded to the hues of corn (green, black, red, white, and yellow). SIX CARDINAL DIRECTIONS In , South , East , West , Heaven , and Land . Or Forward , Back , Left , Right , Up ward, and Down ward. A Cube or a common Room has six Quadrangle s, which cross each other at Right Angle s. Three Axes are x-axis (left and right), y-axis (forward and back), and z-axis (upward and downward). SEVEN DIRECTIONS In various Native American and New Age practices, there are seven primary directions: north, south, east, west, heaven, land, and center (or self, now). NON-COMPASS DIRECTIONAL SYSTEMS Use of the compass directions is common and deeply embedded in European culture, and perhaps even more so in Chinese culture. Some other cultures make greater use of other referents, such as towards the sea vs. towards the mountains ( Hawaii , Bali ), or upstream and downstream ( Yurok , Karok ). SEE ALSO |
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