How to Measure Acreage With a GPS
GPS units can do more than just get you from point A to point B, speak turn-by-turn directions or direct you to your favorite restaurant. With a hand-held GPS unit and little bit of math, you can measure the acreage of an area of land. This can be important if you're looking to buy or sell a home or property. The distance-traveled meter feature on your GPS hand-held will take a lot of the guess work out of your mathematical equation.
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Instructions
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Take a look at a map of the property. To make this easier on you, you may want to highlight the area you want to measure, so you know where to fill in your numbers.
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Turn your hand-held GPS on. Activate the distance-traveled meter feature. This feature will measure the distance traveled -- driven or walked.
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Walk along the perimeter of the property with your GPS unit, recording the length and width of the perimeter on your map. When you've reached the end of your first length, reset your distance-traveled meter. The length and width need to be measured separately to get an accurate reading.
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Find the area of the property using a calculator. If the property has more of a rectangular shape, multiply the length of the property by the width (L x W). If the property is more square, square one side of the property (S^2 or S x S). If the property is more triangular in shape, multiple the base of the property by the height, then divide by two (b x h / 2). This will get you the square feet of the area of the property.
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Divide your area by 43,560 to find the acreage (1 acre = 43,560 square feet).
For example, let's say that the area you want to measure acreage is rectangular, with a length of 386 ft. and a width of 410 ft. Multiply your length times width to find your square feet: 386 x 410 = 158,260. Now divide the area by 43,560 to find the acreage: 158,260 / 43,560 = 3.63 acres.
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References
- Photo Credit handheld gps image by Christopher Dodge from Fotolia.com
