Qibla direction

Qibla Direction in Los Angeles

From Los Angeles, United States, the Kaaba lies 24° clockwise from true north — to the north-east, about 13,424 km away.

The compass

Face the gold square

From true north
NESWQIBLA
Los AngelesMakkah24°

The gold marker is the Kaaba’s direction, not a map position.

The bearing

24°

from true north

From Los Angeles, the Qibla is to the north-east. The Kaaba is 13,424 km away.

City coordinates
34.052° N, 118.244° W
Time zone
America/Los_Angeles
Kaaba distance
13,424 km

How to

Face the Qibla, properly

Three steps that work without special equipment — plus the one caveat about phone compasses.

01

Find true north

The bearing on this page is measured clockwise from true north. Open a compass app, hold the phone flat and calibrate with a figure-eight motion if the reading drifts.

02

Turn 24° clockwise

From true north, rotate clockwise by 24°. That line points from Los Angeles toward the Kaaba, 13,424 km away.

03

Hold the line

Choose a fixed object on the line — a doorway, a window or a mark on the wall — so you can return to the same direction for later prayers without the phone.

The bearing is a great-circle direction on a sphere. It is shown from the city centre; a few kilometres across Los Angeles changes it by a fraction of a degree, which does not affect your prayer.

Questions

The Qibla from Los Angeles

Bearing, true north and why the angle is what it is.

What is the Qibla direction in Los Angeles?

From Los Angeles city centre, the Qibla is 24° clockwise from true north — toward the north-east. The Kaaba is about 13,424 km away on that great-circle line.

Is this bearing measured from true north or magnetic north?

True north. A physical or phone compass may point to magnetic north, which differs by the local magnetic declination — often a few degrees. Apply the local declination, or use the DeenDock app, which corrects for it on supported phones.

Why does the Qibla in Los Angeles not point straight east?

The shortest path to Makkah is a great-circle route on a sphere, not a straight line on a flat map. That is why the bearing changes with your position and rarely matches a simple compass point.