What is the parameter of an acre?

If I told you that my bedroom is 168 square feet, would you have any way to

calculate its perimeter, without making some assumptions ?

The area doesn't tell you anything about the dimensions. There are an infinite number

of different shapes with different dimensions that all have the same area.

1 acre = 43,560 square feet

If your acre is a circle, then the circumference is about 739.9 feet, or 225.5 meters.

If your acre is a square, then each side is about 208.7 feet, or 63.6 meters.

If it's a rectangle, then there are an infinite number of different perimeters

that it could have.

frequently asked questions about the acre

1. What are the dimensions of the acre?

“I just wanted to know what are the dimensions of an acre—how many feet wide and long?”

“If an acre is a square or rectangular why doesn't anybody on the web know what the measurements are in feet, not sq. feet. I have looked in about 1000 different places and no one has an answer that simple.”

“If I am to measure an acre as length x width what would that measure be? I have looked up many sites but cannot find this measurement.”

Since medieval times the acre hasn't had any set dimensions. It is purely an area of 43,560 square feet. The two sides of a 1-acre rectangular lot can be any lengths as long as multiplying one by the other gives 43,560 (if they are measured in feet). For example, imagine a sidewalk 5 feet wide. If it were (43560 ÷ 5 = ) 8712 feet long it would take up an acre, a long skinny acre. On the other hand, if the 1-acre lot were a square, its sides would be only 208.7 feet.

2. What is the perimeter of an acre?

“Can you tell me [if the distance around] one acre of land is more than a mile? I want to purchase property, but I want the distance around the property to be at least 1 mile.”

Because the acre is a measure of area, it has no specific perimeter. For example, using the examples in question one, the perimeter of the long, skinny sidewalk acre would be 17,434 feet (more than 3 miles), but the perimeter of the square acre would be 835 feet. If you don't know the shape of the lot you can't determine the perimeter.

3. How are acres measured on hillsides?

“If I buy a hill, it being sold as 242 acres, how are the acres measured? Are they as if the hill were cut off and the land was level? Or up one side of the hill and down the other as if it were covered with a blanket and then the size of the blanket was measured?”

It's as if the hill were cut off and the land was level. To quote from an old authoritative surveying text:

Horizontal Lines. -- In surveying, all measurements of lengths are horizontal or else are subsequently reduced to horizontal distances. As a matter of convenience, measurements are sometimes taken on slopes, but the horizontal projection is afterward computed. The distance between two points as shown on a map then is always this horizontal projection.

Charles B. Breed and George L. Hosmer.
The Principles and Practice of Surveying, Vol 1.
New York: John Wiley & Sons, 1908.

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Copyright © 2007-2008 Sizes, Inc.  All rights reserved.
Last revised: 11 February 2008.

Land may be measured in square feet or acres, depending on the size of the plot. Acres are generally used to delineate rectangular or square plots of land that cover an area too great to view from the ground. Because acres can vary in shape, the outside perimeter of a plot can vary. Knowing the outside perimeter of your acre of property would come in handy if you want to, say, build a fence around it. A distance measuring wheel and a simple formula can help you calculate the outside perimeter of an acre.

Draw a rough sketch of your acre. This will serve as a visual representation and reference for you when you calculate the outside perimeter.

Use stakes or other temporary placeholders to mark the four corners of the acre.

Measure the perimeter of the acre with a distance measuring wheel. Plant the measuring wheel into the ground at one corner of the acre. Run the wheel along the outside edge of the acre until you hit another corner. Write down your measurement for the first side. Repeat this for the other three sides of your acre.

• Draw a rough sketch of your acre.
  
• Measure the perimeter of the acre with a distance measuring wheel.

Add up all the sides. For example, if the acre measures 200 feet on two sides and 300 feet on two sides, the perimeter is: 200 + 200 + 300 + 300 = 1,000 feet.

Area and Perimeter

Calculate the perimeter of an acreage or building lot based on area and the length of one of the sides.

Perimeter of a Building Lot

Calculation works for a lot where the opposite sides are of equal length and is based on the square footage and the length of one side of the lot

The Calculation

1. square footage of the lot
2. the length of one side

Results

1. length of the adjoining side
2. the perimeter

Perimeter of an Acreage

Calculation works for acreage where the opposite sides are of equal length and is based on the number of acres and the length of one of the sides.

Perimeter of an Acreage Rectangle Shaped

The Calculation

1. total acreage or part there of
2. the length of one side

Results

1. length of the adjoining side
2. the perimeter

What are the dimensions of a 1 acre field?

What is the circumference of 1 acre in feet?

What is the parameter of 2 acres?

How do you find the perimeter of land?