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Measured in metres (or feet) which is longer, the land mile or the nautical mile? How much is the difference and why is this so?

Question #148993. Asked by odo5435.
Last updated Aug 27 2022.
Originally posted Aug 26 2022 5:01 AM.

wellenbrecher star
Answer has 1 vote
wellenbrecher star
20 year member
650 replies

Answer has 1 vote.
The nautical mile was originally defined as one minute of arc along a meridian of the Earth and later redefined as exactly 1,852 metres.

The land mile (or statute mile) was established by the Weights and Measures Act of Parliament in 1593 and standardised in 1959 as exactly 1,609.344 metres.

So the nautical mile is longer.

Aug 26 2022, 8:42 AM
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elburcher star
Answer has 2 votes
elburcher star
24 year member
1533 replies avatar

Answer has 2 votes.

Aug 26 2022, 10:09 AM
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gtho4 star
Answer has 4 votes
Currently Best Answer
gtho4 star
Moderator
25 year member
2399 replies avatar

Answer has 4 votes.

Currently voted the best answer.
It's easier for mariners to use nautical miles. Ditto air and space travel:
Nautical miles are used to measure the distance traveled through the water. A nautical mile is slightly longer than a mile on land, equaling 1.1508 land-measured (or statute) miles. The nautical mile is based on the Earth's longitude and latitude coordinates, with one nautical mile equaling one minute of latitude.

But why use a different measurement system for marine navigation? Using latitude and longitude coordinates is more practical for long-distance travel, where the curvature of the Earth becomes a factor in accurate measurement. Nautical charts use latitude and longitude, so it's far easier for mariners to measure distance with nautical miles. Air and space travel also use latitude and longitude for navigation and nautical miles to measure distance.

The word "mile" might leave you wondering if there's a "nautical kilometer," too. There's not. The international nautical mile is used throughout the world. The measurement was officially set at exactly 1.852 kilometers in 1929 by what is now known as the International Hydrographic Organization. The U.S. and the United Kingdom both used slightly different measurements after that time, but the U.S. adopted the international nautical mile in 1954 and the U.K. in 1970.
link https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/nautical-mile-knot.html

Aug 27 2022, 12:14 AM
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