SouthSouthwest

Southsouthwest is a compass direction located between south and southwest. In the 16-point compass system it is designated as SSW and corresponds to a bearing of 202.5 degrees from true north, which is 22.5 degrees west of due south. This makes it the point halfway between south and southwest.

Its opposite direction is north-northeast (NNE), located 22.5 degrees east of due north. The alignment of SSW places it on the southwestern quadrant of the compass, useful for describing bearings, routes, and wind directions with moderate specificity.

In practical use, southsouthwest appears in navigation, meteorology, aviation, and maritime contexts to convey a direction that is clearly southward but slightly toward the west. It is one of the 16 principal compass points commonly used for concise bearings in maps and instructions, as distinct from the more general “south” or “southwest.”

Terminology can vary slightly. The standard form is south-southwest, often abbreviated SSW. Some sources or datasets may appear with the hyphen omitted (southsouthwest). Both forms refer to the same direction and bearing. Related terms include the other 16-point directions such as south, southwest, and south-southeast, which provide progressively finer directional granularity.