Convert Aln (aln) to Foot (US Survey) (ft (US)) instantly.
About these units
Aln (aln)
The aln was a traditional Swedish unit of length equal to roughly 59.4 cm, though its exact value varied slightly by region and period. It belongs to the broader family of "ell" measurements used across Europe, originally based on the length of a human forearm. The aln played a crucial role in Swedish commerce, especially in the textile industry, where cloth was measured by stretching it along standardized rods or boards marked in aln lengths. Because such goods were often woven locally and traded regionally, the aln helped regulate and unify commercial practices before the adoption of the metric system. Although obsolete today, the aln survives in historical texts, architectural references, and Scandinavian museum records. Understanding the aln helps scholars interpret pre-modern construction records, land measurements, and traditional clothing industries, revealing a great deal about everyday life in early Sweden.
Foot (US Survey) (ft (US))
The US Survey Foot is a standardized version of the foot, defined as exactly 1200/3937 meters (~0.30480061 m). It was adopted to maintain continuity with older surveying records when converting to the metric system. Surveyors, engineers, and geographers in the United States used this unit for mapping, cadastral surveys, and infrastructure projects. Its slight difference from the international foot allows historical survey data to align accurately with modern geodetic coordinates. Although the international foot is now more common, the US survey foot remains relevant for interpreting historical survey data and legal property boundaries.