Convert Span (Cloth) (span) to Fathom (US Survey) (fath (US)) instantly.
About these units
Span (Cloth) (span)
The span is a unit traditionally used in textile measurement, equal to the distance between the tip of the thumb and the tip of the little finger when the hand is fully extended, approximately 22.86 cm (9 inches). This anthropometric unit was widely used by weavers and cloth merchants to measure lengths of fabric quickly and intuitively. Its small scale made it convenient for practical applications where tape measures or rulers were unavailable. The span also appears in cultural and historical texts as a natural unit of human proportion. While largely obsolete today, it offers insight into pre-industrial textile practices and the anthropometric basis of early measurement systems.
Fathom (US Survey) (fath (US))
The US Survey Fathom is defined as 6 US Survey Feet (~1.8288 meters), identical in proportion to the traditional fathom but scaled to the US Survey Foot. Maritime surveys, early river navigation, and hydrographic measurements relied on this unit for determining depths and plotting charts. In terrestrial applications, the fathom occasionally served as a practical measure for large structures or obstacles. Although less relevant in contemporary usage, understanding the US survey fathom is crucial for interpreting historical navigation data, nautical charts, and engineering projects using older measurement systems.