Convert Acre (US Survey) (ac (US)) to Square Chain (ch²) instantly.
About these units
Acre (US Survey) (ac (US))
The US survey acre is based on the US survey foot, making it slightly different from the international acre. With a value of 43,560 survey-square feet, it appears extensively in historical property records and federal land surveys. Because millions of acres in the United States were mapped using PLSS, the survey acre remains necessary for interpreting legal land rights, even though modern mapping often uses metric units or the international foot. This specialized acre illustrates how subtle unit differences can survive for centuries due to legal and administrative inertia.
Square Chain (ch²)
A square chain equals the area of a square one chain (~66 feet) per side, resulting in 4,356 square feet, or exactly 1/10 of an acre. This unit is closely linked to the chain, a surveyor's unit standardized by Edmund Gunter in the 17th century. Because 10 square chains make an acre, survey calculations for early colonial and American lands were extremely efficient. Square chains allowed surveyors to map and divide land rapidly using ropes or metal chains, producing a legacy seen in long, straight property lines still visible today across rural landscapes.