How long is a surveyor’s chain?
Likewise, a four-pole chain, which is also known as a surveyor’s chain, measures 66 feet (or 100 links). Originally, these measurements were based on the equipment used by surveyors. The chain consisted of 100 links, each measuring 0.66 feet, for the total length of 66 feet.
What is the length of a foot chain?
More information: Feet Chains Unit of length equal to 66 feet, used especially in the U.S. public land surveys. The original measuring instrument (Gunter's chain) was literally a chain consisting of 100 iron links, each 7.92 inches long.
What is the difference between chains and feet in surveying?
The chain is a convenient unit in cadastral surveys because 10 square chains equal 1 acre. Chains to Feet formula. Feet. The foot is a unit of length used in the imperial and U.S. customary measurement systems, representing 1/3 of a yard, and is subdivided into twelve inches.
What is the length of a Gunter chain?
Chains Unit of length equal to 66 feet, used especially in the U.S. public land surveys. The original measuring instrument (Gunter's chain) was literally a chain consisting of 100 iron links, each 7.92 inches long.

How many feet is a survey chain?
66 feetIn 1620 an English mathematician and astronomer named Edmund Gunter described a surveyor's chain with 100 links, measuring 66 feet (22 yards or 4 poles) overall. By this design, one square chain equals 484 square yards, ten square chains equal an acre, and eighty chains equal a mile.
Why is a surveyors chain 66 feet?
In 1620, the polymath Edmund Gunter developed a method of accurately surveying land using a surveyor's chain 66 feet long with 100 links. The 66 feet unit, which was four perches or rods, took on the name the chain.
How long is a surveyor's link?
7.92 inchesThe link (usually abbreviated as "l.", "li." or "lnk."), sometimes called a Gunter's link, is a unit of length formerly used in many English-speaking countries. In US customary units modern definition, the link is exactly 66⁄100 of a US survey foot, or exactly 7.92 inches or approximately 20.12 cm.
How many feet are in a engineer's chain?
F. W. Simms in England noted in 1836 that the recent construction of canals and railroads had led to the introduction of a chain in which each link and its associated rings was 12 inches long. Chains of this sort, measuring either 50 or 100 feet overall, were soon known as engineer's chains.
Why is 22 yards called a chain?
The 'Chain' comes from the 'Surveyors' Chain', invented by Edmund Gunter, a mathematician who lived from 1581-1626, hence it is also known as 'Gunter's Chain'. As we all know, a chain is 22 yards, or the length of a cricket pitch.
How long is a rod and a link?
A rod (sometimes known as a pole) is a measurement of 16.5 feet. Each rod is comprised of 25 links. A two-pole chain is twice the length of a rod, or 16.5 feet. Likewise, a four-pole chain, which is also known as a surveyor's chain, measures 66 feet (or 100 links).
How many feet is 100 links?
66 ftLink to Foot Conversion TableLink [li]Foot [ft]20 li13.2 ft50 li33 ft100 li66 ft1000 li660 ft7 more rows
How deep is a fathom in feet?
6 feetfathom, old English measure of length, now standardized at 6 feet (1.83 metre), which has long been used as a nautical unit of depth.
What are surveyors measurements?
noun. a system of units of length used in surveying land, based on the surveyor's chain of 66 feet (20.12 meters) and its 100 links of 7.92 inches (20.12 centimeters).
When did Surveyors stop using chains?
LITTLE CHANGE - The instruments used to survey America changed little from the early 1800s well into the twentieth century. An 1813 surveying text notes that, in New England, most work was done with a magnetic compass and a surveyor's chain. The compass, invented in 1511, was in wide use until 1894.
What is a chain in land measurement?
A chain is a unit of length; it measures 66 feet or 22 yards or 4 rods or 100 links (20.1168m). There are 10 chains in a furlong, and 80 chains in one statute mile. An acre is the area of 10 square chains (that is, an area of one chain by one furlong).
How many types of survey chains are there?
The term chain surveying in survey work refers to measurement of distances with the chain or a tape. Amongst different types of land surveying, the chain surveying is one of them.
How many feet are in a rod of pipe?
The rod as a survey measure was standardized by Edmund Gunter in England in 1607 as a quarter of a chain (of 66 feet (20.12 m)), or 16+1⁄2 feet (5.03 m) long.
What do furlongs measure?
furlong, old English unit of length, based on the length of an average plowed furrow (hence “furrow-long,” or furlong) in the English open- or common-field system. Each furrow ran the length of a 40 × 4-rod acre, or 660 modern feet.
What is LK in surveying?
Convert builder's measurements to surveyor's measurements. 1 engineer's chain = 100 ft = 100 links = 30.48 m. 1 Gunter's chain = 66 ft = 20.11 m = 100 Gunter's links (lk) = 4 rods. 1 acre = 100000 sq (Gunter's) links = 43560 ft2 = 160 rods2 = 10 sq (Gunter's) chains = 4046.87 m2 = 0.4047 ha.
What is called the chain made of iron rings which is used for measuring the land?
Gunter's chain (also known as Gunter's measurement) is a distance measuring device used for surveying. It was designed and introduced in 1620 by English clergyman and mathematician Edmund Gunter (1581–1626). It enabled plots of land to be accurately surveyed and plotted, for legal and commercial purposes.
How many chains are in a mile?
One mile, or 5280 feet, can also be stated as 80 chains or 320 rods. Especially when reading plat maps, you may run into the section and township system of measurement, which is related to the property’s measurement in acres. In this system, one township contains 36 sections. Its total area is 36 square miles.
How many feet is a perch?
And yet, references to a pole or perch measuring 16.5 feet can be found as early as the thirteenth century. Survey measurements are also commonly stated in miles or feet. This measurement system is more easily understood by people today, but even this system can be converted into chains and rods.
How many square feet are in an acre?
Today, land measurements are generally in acres. Each acre is equal to 43,560 square feet, or 10 square chains, or 160 square rods. Still, many people cannot visualize the size of an acre. A parcel of land exactly one acre in size and perfectly square measures 208.71 feet along each side.
How many links are in a rod?
A rod (sometimes known as a pole) is a measurement of 16.5 feet. Each rod is comprised of 25 links. A two-pole chain is twice the length of a rod, or 16.5 feet. Likewise, a four-pole chain, which is also known as a surveyor’s chain, measures 66 feet (or 100 links).
How many acres are there in a square mile?
A rectangular acre with a width of 100 feet would measure 435.60 feet long. Each square mile has exactly 640 acres, which is also a section under the township system. Although older surveying measurement systems use seemingly odd distances, most can be easily converted into acres.