Convert Acre-Foot (ac*ft) to Cubic Meter (m³) instantly.
About these units
Acre-Foot (ac*ft)
An acre-foot represents the volume of water needed to cover one acre of land to a depth of one foot—approximately 1,233.48 cubic meters or 325,851 gallons. This unit is foundational in water resource management throughout the western United States, where large-scale irrigation, reservoir planning, and drought analysis depend on acre-foot measurements. For example, major reservoirs like Lake Mead and Lake Powell hold billions of acre-feet. In agriculture, irrigation districts track water rights and allocations using acre-feet, making it a key component of water law. Its scale is ideal for representing the enormous water needs associated with farming, urban expansion, and environmental preservation.
Cubic Meter (m³)
The cubic meter is the SI unit of volume, representing the volume of a cube one meter per side. It is vastly larger than a liter, since 1 m³ = 1,000 L. Cubic meters measure the volumes of rooms, shipping containers, refrigeration units, natural gas consumption, and water flows in hydrology and civil engineering. Because it is derived directly from the meter, the m³ integrates perfectly into other SI measurements such as density (kg/m³) and flow rate (m³/s). In industry, pricing and standards for timber, construction materials, and natural gas often use cubic meters. For environmental science, m³ is essential when modeling rainfall runoff, river discharge, or air pollutant concentrations. It stands as the backbone of large-scale volumetric measurement.