Marine Surveyors Lexicon

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Nautical Mile


Distance at sea is measured in nautical miles, which are about 6,067.12 feet, 1.15 statute miles or exactly 1,852 meters. Nautical miles have the unique property that 1 minute of latitude is equal to 1 nautical mile. (There is a slight error, because the earth is not perfectly round.) Measurement of speed is done in knots, where 1 knot equals 1 nautical mile per hour. A statute mile is used to measure distances on land in the United States and is 5,280 feet.