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

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC, UNC–Chapel Hill, or simply Carolina) is a public university, public research university in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1789, the university first began enrolli ...

. Retrieved February 22, 2012. is an imperial and US unit of measure for

area Area is the measure of a region's size on a 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 open surface or the boundary of a three-di ...

. One square mile is equal to the area of a

square In geometry, a square is a regular polygon, regular quadrilateral. It has four straight sides of equal length and four equal angles. Squares are special cases of rectangles, which have four equal angles, and of rhombuses, which have four equal si ...

with each side measuring a length of one

mile The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a imperial unit, British imperial unit and United States customary unit of length; both are based on the older English unit of Unit of length, le ...

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 17 ...

, "square mile" is an informal synonym for section.

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