Leeston Qibla Direction
Find accurate Qibla direction from Leeston, Canterbury, New Zealand
Qibla Details for Leeston
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Qibla direction in Leeston?
The Qibla direction from Leeston, Canterbury, New Zealand is 256° (WSW) from North. This is the direction Muslims in Leeston should face during their daily prayers (Salah).
How far is Leeston from Mecca?
The distance from Leeston to Mecca (Kaaba) is approximately 15,024 kilometers. This is the great-circle distance calculated using the Haversine formula.
How to find Qibla direction in Leeston?
Use our free Qibla compass above. For the most accurate direction, click "Use My Exact Location" to enable GPS. On mobile devices, you can also enable the live compass feature which rotates in real-time as you move your phone.
How accurate is this Qibla direction?
Our Qibla calculation uses the great-circle bearing formula which provides 99.9% accuracy. The calculation accounts for Earth's curvature, ensuring precision regardless of distance. For your exact location within Leeston, enable GPS for personalized accuracy.
What is the compass bearing for the Qibla in Leeston?
The great-circle Qibla bearing from Leeston is 256° (WSW). A fixed magnetic-compass (rhumb-line) heading would read about 298.1°. For prayer, use the great-circle value of 256°.
Other Cities in Canterbury
Finding Qibla Direction in Leeston
The Qibla direction from Leeston, Canterbury, New Zealand is 256° from true north, pointing towards the west-southwest. The Kaaba in Mecca lies about 15,024 km (9,335 miles) away. Geographically, Leeston sits to the southeast of Mecca, so the shortest path back to the Kaaba runs to your west-southwest.
The Qibla (قِبْلَة) is the direction that Muslims face when performing their daily prayers (Salah). All Muslims around the world face the Kaaba, located in Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, during prayer. From Leeston, this means facing west-southwest (256°).
Great-circle vs compass bearing in Leeston
Our Qibla finder uses the great-circle bearing (256°), the geometrically shortest path to Mecca across the curved surface of the Earth — the method accepted by most scholars. If you instead follow a single fixed compass heading (the rhumb-line bearing), it would be about 298.1° from Leeston. The two differ because long-distance routes curve on a globe; for prayer, use the great-circle value of 256°.
Using a compass in Leeston
A phone or magnetic compass points to magnetic north, which can differ from true north by several degrees depending on your exact spot in Leeston. For the most reliable result, tap "Use My Exact Location" above so the compass corrects to your GPS position, then turn until it reads 256° (west-southwest) and shows ALIGNED.