Convert US Survey Foot to Caliber
Convert us survey feet to calibers instantly. 1 us survey foot = 1200.0024000048 caliber — use the live calculator, the exact formula, a conversion table and worked examples. Also check the Caliber to US Survey Foot converter for the reverse conversion.
Units explained
US Survey Foot
The US Survey Foot is a legacy unit of length defined as exactly 1200/3937 meters (approximately 0.3048006 m). It differs from the modern international foot by about 2 parts per million.
Established in the United States by the Mendenhall Order of 1893, which defined the foot in terms of the meter as 1200/3937 m. The US continued using this value for surveying even after the 1959 International Yard and Pound Agreement standardized the international foot at exactly 0.3048 m.
Used in US land surveying, geodetic measurements, state plane coordinate systems, and legal land descriptions. The US Survey Foot was officially deprecated by NIST and NOAA effective December 31, 2022, with the international foot becoming the sole US standard. Legacy data and recorded land surveys still reference it.
Mendenhall Order of 1893 defined the foot as 1200/3937 m; persisted in US surveying after 1959; officially deprecated by NIST/NOAA as of December 31, 2022.
Caliber
In length-measurement context, a caliber is a unit equal to one hundredth of an inch (2.54×10⁻⁴ m). The same word also refers to a firearm's bore diameter; in that context the value depends on the specific cartridge.
The caliber as a length unit derives from the inch by hundredth subdivision. Standardised through the 1959 International Yard and Pound Agreement.
Calibers appear in ballistics literature (alongside the more common usage as bore diameter), historical small-arms specifications, and a few precision-engineering contexts. Often confused with the cartridge-naming caliber, which is a different concept.
Length-unit usage standardised through the 1959 International Yard and Pound Agreement; the bore-diameter usage long predates this.
US Survey Foot to Caliber conversion formula
Note: this conversion uses a generally accepted modern value. Historical and regional definitions of this unit varied across times and places.
The relationship between us survey feet and calibers:
To convert us survey feet to calibers, multiply the value in us survey feet by 1200.0024000048. To reverse, multiply calibers by 0.0008333317.
How to use this converter
Type a value into the calculator. The result in calibers updates as you type. Tap a quick value, copy the result with one click, or use the swap arrow to jump straight to the Caliber to US Survey Foot converter for the reverse direction.
Step-by-step: convert us survey feet to calibers
- Write down the value in us survey feet (sft).
- Multiply that value by the factor 1200.0024000048.
- The product is the equivalent value in calibers (cl).
- To reverse, multiply the caliber value by 0.0008333317.
Worked examples
Example 1 — Convert 1 sft to cl:
1 × 1200.0024000048 = 1200.0024000048 cl
Example 2 — Convert 100 sft to cl:
100 × 1200.0024000048 = 120000.24000048 cl
Real-world example — Sub-meter precision
A 0.001-us survey foot (1 mm) tolerance equals 1,000 calibers — useful for surface-finish specs, where macro-scale dimensions are given in the larger unit but feature roughness in the smaller.
0.001 sft × 1200.0024000048 = 1.2000024 cl
Real-world example — Macro-to-micro scale comparison
2 us survey feet of measurement converts to a very large number in calibers — useful in materials science when comparing bulk-sample dimensions to feature-level surface specs.
2 sft × 1200.0024000048 = 2400.0048000096 cl
Real-world example — Macroscopic to microscopic
One us survey foot equals a million calibers. Optical engineers calculating coherence length compare macro-scale path lengths with micro-scale wavelength differences using exactly this conversion.
1 sft × 1200.0024000048 = 1200.0024000048 cl
US Survey Foot to Caliber conversion table
Standard reference values for converting us survey feet to calibers:
| US Survey Foot [sft] | Caliber [cl] |
|---|---|
| 0.01 | 12.000024 |
| 0.1 | 120.0002400005 |
| 1 | 1200.0024000048 |
| 2 | 2400.0048000096 |
| 3 | 3600.0072000144 |
| 4 | 4800.0096000192 |
| 5 | 6000.012000024 |
| 10 | 12000.024000048 |
| 20 | 24000.048000096 |
| 30 | 36000.072000144 |
| 40 | 48000.096000192 |
| 50 | 60000.12000024 |
| 100 | 120000.24000048 |
| 500 | 600001.2000024001 |
| 1000 | 1200002.4000048002 |
Frequently asked questions
How many calibers is 1 us survey foot?
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How many calibers is 100 us survey feet?
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Sources & references
Conversion factor (1 sft = 1200.0024000048 cl) verified against the following authoritative sources:
- BIPM — The International System of Units (SI Brochure 9th ed.)
Official BIPM publication defining the seven SI base units (including the meter) and the rules for their use. The global authority on units of measurement.
- NIST — Guide to the SI
US National Institute of Standards and Technology reference covering the SI base and derived units with definitions and usage rules for US technical practice.
- NIST Special Publication 811 — Guide for the Use of the International System of Units
Detailed NIST guide covering exact conversion factors between SI and US customary units along with formatting and rounding conventions.
- NIST — Refinement of values for the yard and pound (Federal Register 1959)
The treaty (signed by US
- International Astronomical Union — System of Astronomical Constants
The IAU defines astronomical units including the AU (149597870700 m exactly) light-year and parsec used in astronomy and astrophysics.