The square mile (abbreviated as sq mi and sometimes as mi²)Rowlett, Russ (September 1, 2004)

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States ...

. Retrieved February 22, 2012. is an imperial and US unit of measure for area. One square mile is an

area Area is the quantity that expresses the extent of a region on the plane or on a curved surface. The area of a plane region or ''plane area'' refers to the area of a shape or planar lamina, while '' surface area'' refers to the area of an ope ...

equal to the area of a

square In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90- degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length a ...

with sides of length one mile.

Equivalents

One square mile is equal to: *4,014,489,600 square inches * * * * One square mile is also equivalent to: * * *

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 ( × ) has an area of ; a rectangle of measuring × also has an area of , but is not 20 miles square.

Section

In the United States

Public Land Survey System The Public Land Survey System (PLSS) is the surveying method developed and used in the United States to plat, or divide, real property for sale and settling. Also known as the Rectangular Survey System, it was created by the Land Ordinance of 178 ...

, "square mile" is an informal synonym for

section Section, Sectioning or Sectioned may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Section (music), a complete, but not independent, musical idea * Section (typography), a subdivision, especially of a chapter, in books and documents ** Section sig ...

References

Formula Conversion, Square miles to numerous area units with algebraic steps and unit cancellation shown
{{DEFAULTSORT:Square Mile Units of area Customary units of measurement in the United States Imperial units