Geographical mile

Template:Unit of length 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.

The Danish and German geographical mile (mil and Meile respectively) is 4 minutes of arc, and was defined as approximately 7421.5 metres by the astronomer Ole Rømer of Denmark. In Norway and Sweden, this 4 minute geographical mile was mainly used at sea (sjømil), up to the beginning of the 20th century.

See also