Convert Square Foot (US Survey) (ft² (US)) to Square Rod (rod²) instantly.
About these units
Square Foot (US Survey) (ft² (US))
The US survey square foot is defined using the US survey foot and differs minutely from the international square foot. While the difference is negligible in everyday contexts, in land surveying even tiny discrepancies matter because property boundaries, right-of-way extents, and engineering alignments may accumulate errors over long distances. Surveyors and civil engineers must interpret historical documents using survey-based values to ensure legal consistency with old plats, deeds, and boundary descriptions.
Square Rod (rod²)
A square rod, also known as a perch or pole in some traditions, equals the area of a square one rod on each side (1 rod = 16.5 feet). This results in 272.25 square feet. Square rods were widely used in medieval English farming and early American surveying to measure garden plots, small fields, and building sites. Because land taxes were often assessed per rod, the unit became a practical economic tool as well. Though no longer widely used, the square rod appears in historical deeds and archival surveys, making it critical for land historians and legal property research.