Tick effect with trees 1   Recently updated!

The tick effect with trees can be a really useful natural navigation technique to determine direction and is relatively straightforward.

Trees will often have different growth on the south side than on the north side due to the amount of sunlight they receive.  In the northern hemisphere the branches on the south side of a tree will often grow more horizontally and longer whilst those on the north side are often shorter and point upwards a little (hence the tick effect).

In the photo above the branches on the left hand side are much longer indicating south.

Be aware that this technique works best with trees that are growing on their own as opposed to in a woodland.  Take a look at 2 or 3 trees to make sure that they’re aligned with each other.

We cover natural navigation, including the tick effect with trees, and the flag effect, on our  IOL Bushcraft Competency course.

You can see plenty of photos from these courses, as well as all of our others, on our Facebook page.