Geographical mile: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 15:24, 17 September 2002

The geographical mile is a unit of length determined by 1 minute of arc along the Earth's equator, approximately equal to 1855 metres (6087.15 international feet).

The unit is not used much; it is closely related to the nautical mile, which was originally determined as 1 minute of arc along a great circle of the Earth and is nowadays defined to be exactly 1852 metres (6076.1 feet).

See mile for the various other miles in use, and also conversion of units.

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-The '''geographical mile''', or '''U.S. survey mile''', is a unit of length determined by 1 [[minute|minute of arc]] along the [[Earth]]'s [[equator]], approximately equal to 1855 [[metre]]s (6087.15 international [[feet]]).
+The '''geographical mile''' is a unit of length determined by 1 [[minute|minute of arc]] along the [[Earth]]'s [[equator]], approximately equal to 1855 [[metre]]s (6087.15 international [[feet]]).
-(Wikipedia alert! [[mile]] page say it is 1609.347 metres! And http://physics.nist.gov/Pubs/SP811/appenB.html claims that statute miles and U.S. survey miles are one and the same! This needs to be cleaned up.)
+The unit is not used much; it is closely related to the [[nautical mile]], which was originally determined as 1 minute of arc along a [[great circle]] of the Earth and is nowadays defined to be exactly 1852 metres (6076.1 feet).
+See [[mile]] for the various other miles in use, and also [[conversion of units]].
-It is not the same as the more commonly used [[statute mile]], which is 1609.344 metres (5280 feet), or the [[nautical mile]] which is 1 minute of arc along a [[great circle]] of the Earth (1852 metres, 6076.1 feet). The U.S. survey mile is used almost exclusively by the [[U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey]].
-'''See also:'''
-* [[Conversion of units]]
-* [[mile]]

wikademia>AxelBoldt

Revision as of 15:24, 17 September 2002