Convert chain to mile (US survey) Online | Free Length Converter

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Chain


A chain is a unit of length traditionally used in land surveying. The most common version is the Gunter’s chain, which equals 66 feet or 22 yards, approximately 20.1168 meters.


The chain was introduced by English clergyman Edmund Gunter in the 17th century to simplify land measurement. One chain consists of 100 links, each 0.66 feet long. It became a standard unit in British and American land surveying and was instrumental in defining land areas, especially in the U.S. Public Land Survey System.


Key Conversions:



  • 1 chain = 66 feet



  • 1 chain = 22 yards



  • 1 chain β‰ˆ 20.1168 meters



  • 10 chains = 1 furlong



  • 80 chains = 1 mile



Though now largely replaced by metric units and modern surveying tools, the chain still appears in older land deeds, maps, and rural property descriptions.



Mile (US Survey)


The US survey mile is a unit of length used in land surveying in the United States. It is defined as exactly 5,280 survey feet, with one survey foot equal to 1200/3937 meters (approximately 0.3048006096 meters). This makes the US survey mile equal to about 1,609.3472 meters, slightly longer than the international (statute) mile, which is exactly 1,609.344 meters.


The US survey mile was established to maintain consistency with older land measurement systems based on the Mendenhall Order of 1893. It was commonly used in mapping, legal land descriptions, and public land surveys.


Although the difference between the survey and statute mile is very small (about 3.2 millimeters), it can be significant over large distances. As of 2023, the U.S. has officially retired the survey foot (and survey mile) for most applications, favoring the international foot and mile to standardize measurements.



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