True bearing and magnetic bearing in geography generally refer to true north and magnetic north. True north is the direction pointing to the North Pole. On the map, true north is represented by meridians or lines of longitudes. On the other hand, magnetic north is the direction which points to the magnetic pole. Magnetic attraction in the earth 's core causes the needle of a compass to be pulled away from true north. Magnetic attraction differs from locality to locality, depending upon the position of a point with respect to the magnetic pole.