It rather depends on the nature of the emergency, doesn't it? <br><br>I tend to go back to the three P's of First Aid:<br><br>1. Preserve life;<br>2. Prevent further injury;<br>3. Promote healing and recovery.<br><br>In a survival situation, my number one concern is obviously going to be staying alive - build a shelter, build a fire, find water, etc. That pretty much covers numbers one and two, I think.<br><br>Number three is more or less equivalent to getting rescued. In such a situation, I think being able to provide a reasonable estimate of latitude/longitude *might* (in rare occasions) prove to be important. If nothing else, it would keep the mind active. :-)<br><br>How do you figure out your latitude without using any math? The longitude is easy; it requires a watch and some simple arithmetic. But I don't think you could figure out your latitude without trigonometry.