GIS Unit Conversions [Cheatsheet]

When working with Geographic Information Systems (GIS), you often need to perform unit conversions for distance, area, temperature, and geographic coordinates. This cheatsheet provides a quick reference for common GIS unit conversions to streamline your workflows.

Common GIS Distance Units

These are the commonly used distance units in GIS and their equivalents in meters:

Common GIS Linear Conversions

Linear conversions are crucial when working across different measurement systems. Here’s a list of the most frequent conversions:

• 1 inch = 0.0254 meters
• 1 foot, International = 12 inches = 0.304801 meters
• 1 foot, US Survey = 1200/3937 meters
• 1 yard = 0.9144 meter
• 1 meter = 39.3701 inches = 3.28083 feet
• 1 fathom = 6 feet = 1.8288 meters
• 1 rod = 16.5 feet
• 1 chain = 66 feet = 20.1168 meters
• 1 furlong = 660 feet = 40 rods = 201.168 meters
• 1 mile = 5,280 feet = 1,609.344 meters = 8 furlongs
• 1 nautical mile = 1.15077945 miles = 1,852 meters
• 1 kilometer = 0.621371192 miles = 3,280.8399 feet

Common GIS Areal Conversions

Area conversions are essential for land use and spatial analysis in GIS. Use this table to convert between square feet, meters, acres, and more:

• 1 square foot = 0.092903 square meters
• 1 square meter = 10.76391 square feet
• 1 acre = 43,560 square feet = 4,046.856 square meters = 0.404686 hectares = 1/640 square mile
• 1 hectare = 107,639.1 square feet = 10,000 square meters
• 1 square mile = 640 acres = 2,589,988.11 square meters = 27,878,400 square feet
• 1 square kilometer = 247.105381 acres = 1,000,000 square meters = 10,763,910.4 square feet

Common Temperature Conversions

Temperature is often relevant for environmental and agricultural GIS projects. These are the basic formulas:

• Celsius to Fahrenheit: (°C × 9/5) + 32
• Fahrenheit to Celsius: (°F − 32) × 5/9

Geographic Unit Conversions: DMS to DD

Geographic coordinates are frequently converted between Degrees-Minutes-Seconds (DMS) and Decimal Degrees (DD):

Keep this guide handy for quick conversions in your GIS projects. Whether you're working on land analysis, environmental monitoring, or urban planning, these tables can save time and reduce errors.

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