Spanish units of measurement


SpanishEnglishLength in piesLength in SI
italic=no"point"0.1613 mm
italic=no"line"1/1441.935 mm
italic=no"inch"1/1223.216 mm
italic=no"foot"1278.6 mm
italic=no"yard"30.8359 m
italic=no"pace"51.3932 m
italic=no"mile"5,0001.3932 km
italic=no"league"15,0004.1795 km

There are a number of Spanish units of measurement of length or area that are now virtually obsolete due to metrication. They include the vara, the cordel, the league and the labor. The units of area used to express the area of land are still encountered in some transactions in land today.

(unit of length)

A vara is an old Spanish unit of length. Varas are a surveying unit that appear in many deeds in the southern United States due to the land previously being part of Mexico, and becoming part of the United States under the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. Varas were also used in many parts of Latin America. It varied in size at various times and places; the Spanish unit was set at about in 1801. In Argentina, the vara measured about, and typical urban lots are wide. At some time a value of was adopted in California.
Standardisation of measurement in Texas came with the introduction of italic=no, cordeles, and leagues. In Texas, a italic=no was defined as, or 1 yard = 1.08 italic=no. The italic=no and the corresponding unit of area, the square italic=no, were introduced in the 19th century to measure Spanish land grants. Stephen F. Austin's early surveying contracts required that he use the italic=no as a standard unit. The italic=no can be seen in many deeds as late as the mid to late 1900s. is equivalent to 5,645.376 Texan square italic=no. A league is equivalent to 5,000 italic=no squared or.
A measure of 100 by 100 italic=no is almost 7000 square meters, and is known traditionally throughout Spain and Latin America as a Manzana . As well, lumber is still measured in Costa Rica using a system based on 4 italic=no, or 11 feet, for both round and square wood. With square wood, using inches, the width is multiplied by the depth to get a measurement called pulgadas, or inches. The lumber is charged 'per inch', which is a measurement of.

''Palmo'' and ''coto'' (unit of length)

The palmo measured the distance between the tip of the thumb and the tip of the little finger with all fingers splayed. Its standardized value is . Half of a palmo in Castile was called the coto, described as six fingers and defined as. The ancient Romans had a similar, smaller unit called the palmus, which was.

Other Units of length

  • italic=no, a unit of length used for measuring depths ; 7 italic=no
  • italic=no used in Spain.
  • Jeme, measure of length, from the tip of the thumb to the tip of the index finger of an extended hand.
  • italic=no, a unit of length.
  • italic=no, unit of length equal to

    (unit of area)

The italic=no is a unit of area, used to express an area of land, that is equal to 1 million square italic=no. A italic=no is equivalent to about. It was used in the archaic system of old Spanish land grants affecting Texas and parts of adjoining states. The italic=no is often used as an approximate equivalent to a quarter-section. It is still encountered in modern real estate transactions.

Other Units of area

  • italic=no, a unit of land measure in Honduras.
  • italic=no, a unit of land measure in Cuba.
  • italic=no, a unit of land measure in the Philippines.
  • italic=no, a unit of land measure in Valencia.

    League (unit of area)

A league can also be a unit of area, used to express the area of land, that is equal to 25 million square italic=no. A league is equivalent to about. It was used in the archaic system of old Spanish land grants affecting Texas and parts of adjoining states and this use of league is used throughout the Texas Constitution.
A common Texas land grant size, discussed in James A. Michener's Texas, was a "italic=no and a league": a italic=no of good riparian land and a league of land away from the river.
The league is still encountered in modern real estate transactions.

Local units

Although some standardisation was achieved with the law of 1801, particularly in defining the league as varas long, varying measures continued to be used in various cities and regions.
Townitalic=no
italic=no
italic=no or
italic=no
italic=no
italic=no
italic=no
Alava0.8360.460116.13312.56355.501 5.5727
Albacete0.8370.4586.36528.325
Alicante0.9120.5330.6011.5520.7755.555
Almería0.8330.4608.1827.5315.573
Ávila0.8360.4607.9628.20
Badajoz0.8360.4608.216.2127.925.573
Balearic Islands0.7820.40735.17
Barcelona1.5550.40030.354.1534.759
Burgos0.8360.40017.0527.175.573
Cáceres0.8360.4561.731.6026.88
Cádiz0.8360.4607.9226.265.573
Canary Islands0.8420.4605.08
5.34
31.33
Castellón0.9060.35811.2712.1416.605.573
Ciudad Real0.8390.4608.006.2227.296.687
Córdoba0.8360.46016.3127.605.573
A Coruña0.8430.57515.58
16.43
12.4316.15 5.573
Cuenca0.8360.4607.8827.10
Girona1.5590.40015.4818.083.762
Granada0.8360.4608.2127.355.573
Guadalajara0.8360.4608.2127.40
Guipuzcoa0.8370.49227.65
Huelva0.8360.4607.8927.5315.573
Huesca0.7720.3519.980.3722.464.1173
Jaén0.8390.4608.027.1227.37
León0.8360.4607.9218.11
Lleida0.7780.40111.3818.34
Logroño0.8370.46016.0427.475.573
Lugo0.8550.5730.4713.13
Madrid0.8430.4608.1527.675.573
Málaga0.8360.4608.3326.975.573
Murcia0.8360.4607.8027.645.573
Navarra0.7850.37211.770.4128.135.495
Ourense0.8360.57415.9613.8818.79
Palencia0.8360.4607.886.1227.7505
Pontevedra0.8360.57916.3515.5820.86
Salamanca0.8360.4607.9927.295.573
Segovia0.8370.460827.30
Sevilla0.8360.46015.6627.355.573
Soria0.8360.4607.9027.57
Teruel0.7680.36710.9621.405.573
Toledo0.8370.4608.126.2527.755.573
Valencia0.9060.35510.7711.9316.75
Valladolid0.8360.4607.8227.395.573
Vizcaya0.8360.4886.7428.465.573
Zaragoza0.7720.3509.9113.93
13.33
22.425.573

Other units

  • Units of weight
  • * italic=no, a unit of weight used for chocolate.
  • * italic=no, subdivision of the ounce.
  • * italic=no, subidivision of the adarme.
  • * italic=no subdivision of the ounce, used for pharmaceuticals.
  • * italic=no, a unit of weight equivalent to 16 italic=no.
  • * italic=no, a unit of weight equivalent to 100 italic=no.
  • * italic=no, the fourth part of a italic=no
  • Units of volume
  • * italic=no, a unit of volume.
  • * italic=no, a unit of volume equivalent to approximately 4.625 L.
  • * italic=no, measure of grain by volume
  • * italic=no used in Galicia in northwestern peninsular Spain.