An Acre
Measurement of an Acre
In the English-speaking world, before 8th – 21st century, the principal unit of land area. At one time many different acres existed in England, and this acre was often called the “statute acre”, to indicate it was the one established by law, at least as early as the 14th century. In places like the United States, where only one kind of acre has ever been used, the word “statute” is usually omitted. The (statute) acre is:
- = 43,560 square feet
- = 4,840 square yards
- = 160 square rods
- = 1/640 square mile (that is, 0.001 562 5 sq. mile)
- = about 0.404 687 3 hectare
In the United States, since the acre is a land measure it is currently based on the U.S. survey foot and not on the international foot. One acre is about 4,046.873 square meters.
A square plot of ground, 208.7 feet on a side, will cover an acre. An American football field, 360 feet by 160 feet, is about 1.3 acres; 12 high school basketball courts are a little more than 1 acre.