Qibla · California
Qibla direction in Santa Rosa, California, United States
To face the Kaaba in Santa Rosa, California, United States, turn to 18.4° measured clockwise from true north, which is north (18.4° east of north). The Sacred Mosque in Mecca lies 13,114 km away along the shortest path over the globe, and this is the direction the mihrabs of the mosques in Santa Rosa, California, United States should follow.
Line up the top of your phone or compass with the green needle: it marks 18.4°, the Qibla of Santa Rosa, California, United States. Phone compasses usually display true north, so a reading of 18° is all you need; a needle compass reads magnetic north and needs the local declination added or subtracted first.
Find the Qibla with your phone
How to face the Qibla in Santa Rosa, California, United States
Stand where you will pray and find north first. Then turn towards north and move a further 18.4° towards east: the result is the bearing of 18.4°. A small error of a few degrees is forgiven by most scholars, but aiming simply at north would leave you about 18° off.
Facing the Qibla is a condition of the prayer. Whoever prays inside the Sacred Mosque faces the Kaaba itself; whoever is far away, as in Santa Rosa, California, United States, faces its direction and makes a sincere effort to be accurate. A nearby mosque is a handy reference, because its prayer rows were aligned when it was built. Once you know the direction at home, a discreet mark on the wall saves you from checking again.
Why a flat map shows a different direction
This is a place where maps mislead badly: a straight line on a flat map from Santa Rosa, California, United States to Mecca points to 96.9° (east), a full 78.5° away from the true Qibla of 18.4° (north). The map line keeps one compass heading and is 2,568 km longer than the great-circle route. Because the Earth is a sphere, the shortest way to Mecca from Santa Rosa, California, United States first heads north, and that is the direction to face.
How is the figure of 18.4° obtained? From the coordinates of Santa Rosa, California, United States (38.4405° N, 122.7144° W) and of the Kaaba (21.4225° N, 39.8262° E), spherical trigonometry gives the starting bearing of the great circle joining them. Mosque architects and astronomical Qibla tables rely on exactly the same calculation.
Distance from Santa Rosa, California, United States to Mecca and Medina
Mecca is 13,114 km from Santa Rosa, California, United States as the crow flies, and Medina, the city of the Prophet ﷺ, is 12,781 km away. A direct flight would take roughly 15 h 56 min, although most pilgrims from Santa Rosa, California, United States connect through Jeddah or Medina airport.
Clocks in Santa Rosa, California, United States run 11 hours behind Mecca in winter and 10 hours behind Mecca in summer, because of daylight saving time. Prayer times, however, depend on the sun at your own location, so always use the prayer times of Santa Rosa, California, United States rather than those of Mecca.
Finding the Qibla with the sun in Santa Rosa, California, United States
From Santa Rosa, California, United States the sun never rises high in the Qibla direction of 18.4°, so you cannot simply face the sun. The opposite method works instead, as the right-hand column of the table shows.
On 365 days the sun stands exactly opposite the Qibla: then the shadow of any vertical object, a pole, a door frame or a plumb line, points straight towards Mecca. This is most frequent in January (31 days), for instance on 1 January 2027 at 13:26.
| Date | Sun in the Qibla direction (face the sun) | Sun opposite (shadows point to the Qibla) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 2027 | — | 13:26 |
| 15 January 2027 | — | 13:30 |
| 1 February 2027 | — | 13:29 |
| 15 February 2027 | — | 13:25 |
| 1 March 2027 | — | 13:18 |
| 15 March 2027 | — | 14:09 |
| 1 April 2027 | — | 13:57 |
| 15 April 2027 | — | 13:47 |
| 1 May 2027 | — | 13:39 |
| 15 May 2027 | — | 13:34 |
| 1 June 2027 | — | 13:32 |
| 15 June 2027 | — | 13:33 |
| 1 July 2027 | — | 13:37 |
| 15 July 2027 | — | 13:41 |
| 1 August 2027 | — | 13:45 |
| 15 August 2027 | — | 13:48 |
| 1 September 2027 | — | 13:49 |
| 15 September 2027 | — | 13:50 |
| 1 October 2027 | — | 13:51 |
| 15 October 2027 | — | 13:52 |
| 1 November 2027 | — | 13:56 |
| 15 November 2027 | — | 13:02 |
| 1 December 2027 | — | 13:10 |
| 15 December 2027 | — | 13:18 |
Twice a year the sun passes directly over the Kaaba, on 28 May 2027 and 16 July 2027. Both happen at night in Santa Rosa, California, United States (02:18 and 02:27 local time), so they cannot be used here. Instead, on 13 January 2027 at 13:29 and 28 November 2027 at 13:09 the sun is over the point opposite the Kaaba, and every vertical shadow in Santa Rosa, California, United States points straight to Mecca.
Santa Rosa, California, United States compared with other cities
Compared with Washington D.C., 3,924 km away, the Qibla in Santa Rosa, California, United States is turned 38.1° further anticlockwise (18.4° against 56.6°), and Mecca is 2,481 km farther away. The nearest city with its own Qibla page, Vallejo (55 km), prays towards 19.0°, a difference of 0.5°.
Across the 244 cities in the United States on this site, the Qibla ranges from 17.2° in Hillsboro to 350.9° in Anchorage, a spread of 333.7°. That is too large to use one national direction, so each city has its own bearing.
See all cities on the Qibla page for United States.
Qibla in cities near Santa Rosa, California, United States
Qibla in Santa Rosa, California, United States: questions and answers
What is the Qibla direction in Santa Rosa, California, United States?
It is 18.4° from true north, which is north: 18.4° east of north.
How far is Santa Rosa, California, United States from Mecca?
13,114 km in a straight line over the globe, and 12,781 km to Medina.
When does the sun show the Qibla in Santa Rosa, California, United States?
The sun never stands in the Qibla direction here, but on 365 days it is exactly opposite, and shadows then point to Mecca.
Why is the Qibla in Santa Rosa, California, United States not the direction shown on a map?
Flat maps distort directions. The line on a map points to 96.9°, but the shortest route on the globe leaves Santa Rosa, California, United States at 18.4°, and that is the Qibla.
Does the Qibla change during the year?
No. The direction of 18.4° is fixed; only the times when the sun lines up with it change from day to day.