Chain - Gunter's or surveyor's popular
A common forestry and land survey term that is equivalent to 66 linear feet. Often referred to as simply "chain", this term is more formally known as the surveyor's or Gunter's chain. A chain is broken into 100 equal parts, or links. One (1) mile is equal to 80 chains. A one (1) mile square piece of land (one section or 640 acres) is 80 chains on each side. Although an engineer's or Ramsden's chain is also used to measure length in surveys, the generic term "chain" when used in reference to land measurements refers to the unit of length (66 feet) represented by the Gunter's or surveyor's chain. For more chain conversions, equivalents, and examples, see Chain equivalents and conversions or the various Converting chains to... examples.
Added: Tue Apr 04 2006
Last Modified: Tue May 20 2008
Related Terms
Section Survey Acre Link Difference between square units and units square Chain equivalents and conversions Mile Feet (ft) Gunter's chain Surveyor's chain Converting chains to feet (ft) Converting chains to links Converting chains to rods, poles, or perches Converting chains to meters (m) Converting chains to furlongs Converting chains to miles Converting chains to kilometers (km) Converting chains to yards Converting chains to inches (in) Converting chains to centimeters (cm) Chain - engineer's or Ramsden'sHave something to add? How useful is this Landterm? Bookmark this term