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If we are using a 2D representation of a landmass, with north represented as up and east as right, then we can conceptualise the most northwesterly point as being the last point we reach when we place a ruler on the map from bottom left to top right and move it diagonally upwards perpendicularly to its length. So far, so simple.

But how do we define the most northwesterly point of a landmass if our model of the earth is a sphere or a spheroid?

Let us assume that the point is in the northern hemisphere. One definition I have thought of is that the most northwesterly point on the landmass is the one from which the journey to the equator along a geodesic leaving in a southeasterly direction is longest.

Is there a better definition?

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  • you have to define an origin point (centroid? equator/prime meridian?). 2. what do you mean by 'northwesterly'? Northwest is -45 degrees azimuth, so what azimuth range constitutes northwesterly? Clear up those questions and I'll have some suggestions.
    • – mkennedy Apr 10 '17 at 23:29
  • The question is clear as it stands. North means towards the north pole, and west means to your left if you're facing north. NW is halfway in between, so it is indeed the direction with azimuth 315° = -45°. –  Apr 10 '17 at 23:59
  • I'm not sure your question is "clear as it stands". Northwesterly is rather vague - a direction isn't a specific location, so you are referring to a location in general direction rather than an exact point. As @mkennedy has asked, what azimuth range fits into your "northwesterly"? – Midavalo Apr 11 '17 at 00:50
  • Based on the earlier response, I now believe that OP strictly means -45. – mkennedy Apr 11 '17 at 01:23
  • Since I wrote "NW is (...) indeed the direction with azimuth -45°", I am not sure what the point is of someone else confirming that by "NW" I "strictly" mean -45°. Unfortunately changing "most NW-erly" to "most -45°-erly" doesn't help. Hence the question. –  Apr 11 '17 at 12:19