About the direction from Chicago
Chicago faces toward Makkah along a great-circle route across the northern Atlantic. Lake Michigan is a useful local landmark but not a Qibla reference: use the numerical bearing from true north instead of assuming the direction is due east.
How to face 49° in Chicago
- Find true north using a phone compass that reports true heading or a map aligned to north.
- Turn clockwise from north by 49°. For reference, due east is 90°, south 180°, west 270°.
- If you use a magnetic compass, adjust for local magnetic declination; NOAA's declination calculator gives the current value for Chicago.
The figure is the great-circle initial bearing, the standard approach described by Movable Type Scripts and the same idea behind Google's Qibla Finder. See how it works for the details.
Common questions
What is the Qibla direction in Chicago?
From the approximate city center of Chicago, the Qibla is 48.7° clockwise from true north, roughly northeast.
How far is Chicago from the Kaaba?
About 11,146 km along the great circle, the shortest path over the Earth's surface.
Does the bearing change across Chicago?
Yes. This figure uses the city center, not your exact position. The difference depends on your distance from the center and from Makkah; it can be noticeable in cities close to the Kaaba, especially Jeddah. Use the live finder for your own location.