Convert Square Hectometer (hm²) to Arpent (arpent (area)) instantly.
About these units
Square Hectometer (hm²)
A square hectometer, equal to 10,000 square meters, is equivalent to a hectare, making it a significant land unit in agriculture, forestry, and environmental planning. While the term "hectare" is far more common, hm² is technically valid within the SI framework and occasionally used in scientific or engineering reports where strict SI formatting is preferred. The unit's scale makes it ideal for measuring fields, park areas, forest plots, and moderate land parcels. Its equivalence to the hectare ensures its place in practical land measurement.
Arpent (arpent (area))
The arpent is a historical French land-measurement unit whose exact value varied across regions but is commonly taken as about 0.34 hectares, or roughly 3,400 square meters. The arpent was widely used in France before the metric system and carried over into French colonial territories, especially Louisiana, Quebec, and the Caribbean. In North America, the arpent became intertwined with colonial land grants, settlement patterns, and agricultural design. Properties in Louisiana often follow long, narrow "ribbon farms" extending from riverbanks, measured in arpents of frontage width. This arrangement maximized river access for transportation and irrigation, producing a unique landscape still visible today. Because of its regional variation, historians and land-survey experts must interpret arpents within local context. In Louisiana, an arpent is typically standardized to 0.84628 acres for legal purposes, but French historical documents may use values closer to half a hectare. The arpent thus reflects not only agricultural needs but also the administrative and cultural imprint of French colonization on North American geography.