Which of the following refers to the cardinal directions?

The cardinal directions refer to the primary points of orientation that are used in navigation and mapping. These are North, South, East, and West. This terminology is foundational in geography and surveying, as it provides a universal reference system for understanding direction and location on the Earth’s surface.

The other options, while related to directions in some capacity, do not accurately represent the cardinal directions. Northeast and Southwest are examples of intercardinal directions, which are derived from combining the cardinal directions but do not serve as the main points. Northern, Southern, Eastern, and Western also describe orientations but are not the standard terminology for cardinal directions. The terms Front, Back, Left, and Right are relative positions and do not correspond to the fixed points of navigation like the cardinal directions do.