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square mile
Various units of area, with square mile being represented as a yellow square
General information
Unit system	Imperial, United States customary units
Unit of	area
Symbol	mi, sq mi
Conversions
1 mi in ...	... is equal to ...
Imperial/US	4.0145×10 sq in 2.7878×10 sq ft 3.0976×10 sq yd 640 acres
SI units	2.59×10 m 2.59 km

The square mile (abbreviated as sq mi and sometimes as mi) is an imperial and US unit of measure for area. One square mile is equal to the area of a square with each side measuring a length of one mile.

Equivalents

One square mile is equal to:

• 4,014,489,600 square inches
• 27,878,400 square feet
• 3,097,600 square yards
• 2,560 roods
• 640 acres

One square mile is also equivalent to:

• 2,589,988.1103360 square metres
• 258.99881103360 hectares
• 2.5899881103360 square kilometres

Similarly named units

Miles square

Square miles should not be confused with miles square, a square region with each side having a length of the value given. For example, a region which is 20 miles square (20 miles × 20 miles) has an area of 400 sq mi; a rectangle of measuring 10 miles × 40 miles also has an area of 400 sq mi, but is not 20 miles square.

Section

In the United States Public Land Survey System, "square mile" is an informal synonym for section.

References

1. Rowlett, Russ (September 1, 2004). "S", How Many? A Dictionary of Units of Measurement. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved February 22, 2012.
2. Davies, Charles (1872). Mathematical dictionary and cyclopedia of mathematical science. Original from Harvard University: A.S. Barnes and co. p. 582.
3. François Cardarelli (2003). Encyclopaedia of scientific units, weights, and measures: their SI equivalences and origins. Springer. p. 3. ISBN 978-1-85233-682-0. Retrieved 22 February 2012.

• Formula Conversion, Square miles to numerous area units with algebraic steps and unit cancellation shown

• Units of area
• Customary units of measurement in the United States
• Imperial units