Quick Examples

Enter Coordinates (Decimal Degrees)

Latitude −80° to +84° (UTM coverage)

Longitude −180° to +180°

Zone Strip (1 – 60)

Latitude band:

Enter UTM Coordinates

Easting (m)

Northing (m)

Zone #

Band

About This Tool

The UTM Zone Finder converts geographic coordinates (latitude/longitude) to UTM (Universal Transverse Mercator) coordinates and vice versa. UTM is a plane coordinate grid system dividing the Earth into 60 longitudinal zones, each 6° wide, widely used in cartography, surveying, GPS, and GIS applications.

How to Use

Enter latitude and longitude in decimal degrees (e.g. 51.5074, −0.1278)
Click Find UTM Zone
Read off the zone number, band letter, easting and northing
For reverse: switch to the UTM → Lat/Lon tab and enter easting, northing, zone number and band letter
Use the Quick Examples to explore well-known cities

Algorithm & Logic

Uses the WGS84 ellipsoid (semi-major axis 6 378 137 m, flattening 1/298.257). Zone number = ⌊(lon+180)/6⌋+1. Band letter from 20 bands (C–X, omitting I & O), each 8° tall (X is 12°). Implements the transverse Mercator projection with scale factor k₀ = 0.9996 and a 500 000 m false easting. Handles Norway (zone 32V) and Svalbard (31X/33X/35X/37X) special exceptions.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a UTM zone?

The Earth is divided into 60 vertical zones numbered 1–60 west to east, each covering 6° of longitude. Each zone is further divided into horizontal bands C–X (excluding I and O), each covering 8° of latitude (band X is 12°). The combination — e.g. 30U — uniquely identifies a 6° × 8° cell anywhere on Earth outside the polar regions.

What does easting and northing mean?

Easting is the distance in metres east of the zone's central meridian (offset by 500 000 m to keep values positive). Northing is the distance in metres north of the equator; in the southern hemisphere a 10 000 000 m false northing is added to avoid negative values.

Why does UTM not cover the poles?

UTM is based on the transverse Mercator projection which becomes highly distorted near the poles. Regions above 84°N and below 80°S use the Universal Polar Stereographic (UPS) system instead.

What are the Norway and Svalbard exceptions?

Zone 32V is extended westward and zone 31V is narrowed to prevent southwest Norway from being split across two zones. In band X (72°–84°N), zones 31X and 37X are widened and zones 32X, 34X, and 36X are eliminated to keep Svalbard within single zones.

How accurate is this tool?

Sub-millimetre accuracy across the full UTM coverage area using the standard WGS84 series expansion. Results are rounded to the nearest metre for easting/northing and to 7 decimal places for the reverse conversion.

UTM Zone Finder