The Earth has a grid of coordinates in terms of latitude and longitude. Latitude is a measure of north-south location (0deg at the Equator up to +- 90 ° at the poles) and longitude is a measure of east-west location (0deg at the prime meridian at Greenwich up to +-180deg). They can identify any place across the globe. As an illustration, the location of Washington, D.C. is approximately 39deg N, 77deg W. In Google Maps as of 2026, coordinates are usually shown in decimal degrees, where negative values indicate south or west. Thus, the 118.25 longitude is the 118.25deg W. The latitude and longitude are handy to have the exact location, pass an exact position like using a GPS device, or incorporate maps into websites.
Finding Coordinates on Desktop Google Maps
On a laptop or a computer, it is fast to obtain coordinates. Browse to Google Maps and find the location of interest. Then right-click or Ctrl+click on Mac on this location. A context menu appears. In the menu, click “What’s here?” as highlighted above. Google Maps places a red pin at the location. At the bottom of the map, there will be a box that will display the address and the latitude, longitude of that pin. Latitude is the first, followed by longitude.
These are the coordinates that are quite visible on the pop-up. In the above example, the pin displays Latitude,33.870458 and Longitude 151.213104 in decimal form at the bottom of the Google Maps window. You may choose to press those numbers in order to retrieve them to your clipboard so that you can paste them to another place.
Google Maps Help indicates that once the right-click is made on a specific location, the coordinates can be found at the top of the pop-up. That is, you can view the latitude and longitude without having to use any additional process by simply clicking the menu. Part of the old teachings said What’s here? Deliberately, however, the latest Maps interface can display the figures immediately after clicking through the right-click menu. Either way, when you look at the decimal figures, you will have the GPS figures of the point.
Steps on Desktop:
- Go to Google Maps using a regular web browser and locate your location of interest.
- Hover over the location and right-click or Ctrl+click on Mac.
- If needed, click “What’s here?” in the menu. A pin drops there.
- Latitude and longitude are displayed in the menu or at the bottom, they can be copied by clicking on the coordinates.
The output of Google Maps is defaulted in decimal degrees, i.e., 34.11914, 118.30036. Then you can enter such coordinates in any map or GPS to determine the exact position.
Finding Coordinates on Mobile (iPhone & Android)
On smartphones and tablets, use a long-press to drop a pin and see coordinates:
- Launch the Google Maps application on your iPhone, iPad or Android phone.
- Tap and press (long-press) on the map on the place you are interested in select an unlabeled area. At that place, a red pin will fall.
- On an iPhone/iPad, tap the dropped pin. A place description sheet is drawn up, which displays the information such as latitude and longitude.
- Android: When you drop the pin, the coordinates automatically appear at the top of the search box at the top of the screen. You do not even need to tap the pin. Copy the numbers with the tap of the text in the search bar.
These steps are confirmed by Google documentation. As an example, you can drop a pin by touching and holding a part of the map that is not labeled on Android and you can find the coordinates in the search box. Likewise, the long-press pin technique is applied on iOS and the subsequent place sheet will show the lat/long.
Searching Google Maps by Coordinates
Another option is to search by coordinates as well. It does not require much more than typing a pair of latitude/longitudes in the search box of Google Maps and pressing Enter. Google Maps takes a variety of formats such as:
- DMS (degrees/minutes/seconds): 34deg 7′ 8.904″ N 118deg 18′ 1.296″ W. represented by the degree symbol, °, and N/S/E/W (no letter d).
- DMM (degrees and decimal minutes): 34 7.1484, -118 18.0216.
- DD (decimal degrees): 34.11914, -118.30036.
Never forget to write the latitude followed by the longitude with a comma in between. The fractional part should not be in the form of a comma. Ensure that the latitude is less than 90 and greater than 90 as well as the longitude less than -180 and greater than 180. Indicatively, by typing 40.7128, -74.0060 in the search box, one will be directed to New York City, approximately 40.7128deg N, 74.0060deg W.
Tip: To enter in DMS, you need to add N/S/ E/W direction, otherwise, negative numbers mean south or west. It is better to always write as deg instead of deg or d.
Coordinate Formats and Tools
The coordinates can be in numerous forms, and Google Maps will always have a default of decimal degrees. Should you have the need to turn between formats, DMS to DD and so on, online tools can be useful. Any of the three formats can be converted to the coordinate converter of the University of Minnesota: PGC Coordinate Converter.
Coordinate-finding map tools are also available. To have an idea, MapCoordinates.net enables you to enter an address or simply to click on a map, and you can see the latitude, longitude and even the elevation of the location. This might prove useful in cases where the result graphical display is required. It is also prudent to ensure the tool that you are accessing is secure before accessing any online map or coordinate-conversion tool. Such resources as this article on how to determine whether a link is safe can assist you in being able to browse with confidence.
Developer tip: It is also possible to build a URL that opens any lat/long in Google Maps. For instance, use:
https://www.google.com/maps/search/?api=1&query=LATITUDE,LONGITUDE
Instead of LATITUDE, LONGITUDE, the numbers will be opened based on the Maps centered on the point. This makes an indication of the coordinates. This can be convenient in making a connection to a map location or making it available on applications.
Google also supports Plus Codes, which are place short codes consisting of alpha-numeric codes, as an aside. However, in the case of the standard GPS coordinates, the above methods are the simplest.
Summary
Getting the latitude and longitude of Google Maps is fast on any gadget. In a computer, right-click a point or control-click and choose what’s here and the details are shown in the info box. On the mobile device, long-pressing the map will pin a pin and then you will see the coordinates on the details screen or the search bar. Then it is just a matter of copying or recording the numbers. You may then cut them back into Google Maps or any GPS system to check the place or apply them in other places. Employing these steps will help you to have the precise latitude and longitude of any location in Google Maps easily.
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